Third time's a charm.

On Sunday, it started to rain. Here in Alice Springs, when it rains like this - heavy, drenching, soaking, straight-up-and-down rain - there's one thing that everyone hopes for. Most of the year, the river is a wide, snaking bed of sand, presided over by majestic river red gums, lined with motorbike tracks and dotted with coals from campfires. There are bridges and causeways and boom gates that seem redundant for the majority of the time. More than a day or two of rain and people start to speculate; some confidently dismissive, others quietly hopeful that the rain is falling in the right places and maybe, just maybe, the Todd River will begin to flow.

There's a local myth that says that when you see the Todd River flow three times, you'll never leave Alice Springs.

On Tuesday, my ears pricked up when I overheard someone say there was water over one of the causeways. I jumped in the car and headed straight to the main bridge to see what was happening. Could this be it? There was water but it was 'run off', streaming into the river from a creek that had quickly filled with the onslaught of rain. I've been duped by this before, my hopes mercilessly dashed by the realisation that water in the river is not the same as the river flowing.

Yesterday, I left work just after 5.30pm to head to a work function. In between, I detoured to do a check of the causeways. Apparently it's 'proper' flow when all three causeways are closed and the water flows past the Telegraph Station (or something along these lines). Nothing - not yet.

Then, on my way home from the function, I saw the telltale sign of police lights flashing at the junction of the Wills Terrace causeway. The boom gates were down and the water had just started to stream over the road. This was it! I drove around to cross the main bridge and around to the northern-most causeway at Schwartz Crescent. Yep - the lights from St Philips school were glimmering, reflecting on the inky dark body of water, the Todd River. An actual river! I raced home to grab the dogs and walked them down to see the river gaining speed and crashing over the causeway, smashing torridly against the drainwater pipes on the other side.

The most glorious part of the river flowing is the next morning. All up and down the river, people come out to splash around - children paddle, dogs leap and bound through the coffee coloured water. The river is more than a flow of water. It brings rejuvenation. It refreshes the heart and soul of the place, and its people. It brings people together to watch the speed of the water - will it break the banks? - and everyone stops to have a chat as they stand on the bridge, watching this life force.

Today, I rode home from work alongside the river, water glimmering where it's usually sand. I reached the causeway and there was only one way to get across. The water sprayed up and soaked my boots - wheeeeeeeee!

The river flowed the week I moved here to Alice Springs, and a second time later that year in December 2012. So this week is the third time I've seen the Todd River flowing. Maybe I'll be here for a while, yet.