On the edge of Katherine, a short walk from the town centre, a series of clear thermal pools well up beside the Katherine River, shaded by pandanus and paperbarks. The water sits at a mild, year-round warmth - perfect for a long soak - and steps and handrails make the main pool easy to enter. It is a beloved local spot, busiest in the cool dry-season evenings and closed when the wet-season river runs high. Free and unpretentious, the springs are the gentlest possible introduction to the thermal waters of the Top End.