As states and territories across Australia slide into lockdown, the Katherine Showgrounds has become a makeshift camp for stranded travellers, with a thousand vans and buses tightly packing the space.
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Horsham couple Duncan and Teresa Bottoms are among the stranded travellers, having missed crossing the border into WA by just 45 minutes.
"We drove five hundred kilometres to the border from Katherine, and then we had to drive back," Mr Bottoms said.
Supplies are low, with Katherine's service stations and a lone supermarket being swamped, according to Mr Bottoms.
"You can't buy supplies. There's no meat, there's nothing there. Petrol is being restricted. It's really tough," he said.
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Police patrol the Showgrounds "half a dozen times a day", and helicopters occasionally fly overhead, Mr Bottoms said.
However, the couple has resigned themselves to make the best of it, making trips to nearby hot springs.
"It is what it is. A lot of people are in the same position as us, if not worse," Mr Bottoms said.
"The people in the van next to us are from Swan Hill, and they were trying to get into West Australia just like us.
"Everyone's in the same boat, they're either going that way, or going to Queensland."
"You can't go anywhere. You can't even go to Darwin, which is just three hours away. We're really restricted in what we can do."
"Even when we are allowed to go, it's going to be a panic with everyone wanting to go. Fuel shortages might be a problem; we don't know.
"It's certainly not the dream holiday we'd hoped for, that's for sure,"
After enduring Victoria's annus horribilis, the Bottoms were looking to move forward in 2021.
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They planned a scenic road trip from Horsham to Perth via the Northern Territory to visit their daughter and six-year-old granddaughter and to meet their two-year-old grandson for the first time.
The Bottoms fled Victoria a week earlier than anticipated on May 27, before the latest lockdown in Victoria, packing up their things and hightailing it towards the South Australian border.
But things started to go downhill long before the Bottoms were stranded in Katherine.
"We hadn't really packed properly, we just chucked things in the bus and left in a hurry to get across the South Australian border in time, and it hasn't got any better," he said.
The couple was stopped in Port Pirie by the South Australian government and told they needed three negative COVID tests.
It's been horrible. It's no holiday being stuck here.
After passing that hurdle, they were stopped again at Coober Pedy when the Northern Territory government declared they couldn't enter unless they'd been out of Victoria for fourteen days.
"We had to wait three days in Coober Pedy and then three nights at the Marla roadhouse before we could cross to the Northern Territory," he said.
"Our bus broke down just north of Alice Springs. We had to get towed back and we were stuck there for five days while our bus was fixed. The mechanics were having trouble getting parts.
"It cost $2000 in Alice Springs to get the bus fixed for a start and (the trip will cost) probably $10,000 bucks.
"We've had to pay for huge amounts of fuel... everything's expensive. Even here, we're at the Showgrounds, but it's not free.
"We'll end up running out of money just paying the Showground fees. We'll try to get home by any means at this stage."
"I know it's cold back home, but I don't care. I just want to get home."
Mr Bottoms said he and his wife were most affected by the fact they won't be see their new grandson in Perth; they may not be able to until 2023.
"That was our goal, to go and meet our grandson for the first time," he said.
"Now we're still not going to see him; we're going to come home without seeing him.
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"Mentally it's been a struggle....It hurts that we're not going to see our grandson on this trip."
It was supposed to be a break from the stress of lockdowns, a chance to see their family again after a challenging year.
"It's been horrible. It's no holiday being stuck here," Mr Bottoms said.
"We didn't go anywhere last year because of the lockdown, and I said, 'we won't get locked down this year because we've learnt to deal with COVID a lot better,' but I don't think we have.
"The panic, the closing down and the way things we're stuck here, I never thought we'd see this now.
"It's a funny situation here, we don't have a TV, no-one's had direct communication, unless you go to the information centre.
"But they patrol around a lot, making sure everyone is paid up."
Ultimately, Mr Bottoms said, they'll make the trip to Perth, but it won't be for a while.
"We'll go home and start saving money to do this again, but it won't be next year," he said.
"We've lost so much money on this trip we can't afford to do it again. We'll do it in two years and we'll go straight over the Nullarbor."
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