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Katherine Gorge / Nitmiluk

  • Category:Tours & Experiences
  • Location:Katherine, ACT

Katherine Gorge, nowadays known by its Aboriginal name Nitmiluk National Park, is located in the Northern Territory of Australia, 29 kilometres from the town of Katherine and about 300 km. south of Darwin.
The park has been established around a series of 13 gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls, its northern edge borders the famous Kakadu National Park.
In an outback landscape that can be monotonous this place is a spectacular oasis where over 23 million years the river has cut its way through the ancient sandstone rocks creating walls of up to 70m high.
You can see the gorge on tours in flat bottomed boats, explore independently by hiring a canoe, or view it from the air on a helicopter flight.

To get to Katherine Gorge you will pass through the town of Katherine, which is a major stop along the Ghan railway line between Darwin in the Northern Territory and Adelaide in South Australia, and it is located on the meeting point of two highways; the Stuart Highway that runs north-south from Darwin to Adelaide, and the Victoria Highway that runs west from Katherine all the way down to Perth.

Katherine is not a real big town, about 10 000 people or so, and lies roughly 300km. from Darwin and 1200 km. from Alice Springs
The Katherine area was first observed by John McDouall Stuart in 1862. The original settlers were Aborigines of the Dagoman, Jawoyn and Wardaman groups. McDouall named it after the daughter of one of his sponsors.

From Katherine it is only 30km. to the gorge, you will first arrive there at a visitor centre where information displays are set up that explain the geology, landscape and aboriginal history of this National Park. The gorge and the surrounding landscape have great ceremonial significance to the local Jawoyn people, who are custodians of Nitmiluk National Park. In their language Nitmiluk means place of the cicada dreaming. The area has Aboriginal rock paintings up to 7000 years old.

There is a huge difference between dry and wet season in weather and conditions in the Katherine Gorge.
During the dry season (roughly from April to October) the water in the gorges is calm and perfect for swimming and canoeing and the gorges become separated as the level of the river falls and you may have to carry your canoe across the rocks.
There are harmless freshwater crocodiles in the river all year but during the wet season swimming is not allowed when saltwater crocodiles may find their way down there from neighbouring Kakadu National Park, but rangers capture and relocate them at the end of the wet season. The gorges are connected in the wet when the river can rage out of control.

There is a variety of walking tracks in the Nitmiluk Park that range from a short stroll to the Jatbula Walk which is a 66 km long walking trail from Katherine Gorge at Nitmiluk Visitors Centre to Edith Falls, which takes four to five days. Along the trail are the Biddlecombe Cascades, Crystal Falls, 17 Mile Falls, and Leliyn (Edith Falls.

There is also a variety of Katherine Gorge boat cruises available from easy two hour cruises with or without a short walk to four hour tours/cruises that include some walking, the longest cruises go up in to the fifth gorge. Some of the tours may not run in the wet season when the river can get pretty wild.
You can hire canoes to paddle up the gorge and explore at your own pace but a maximum of 75 canoes is allowed in Katherine Gorge at any one time, so if you planning on canoeing, make sure you book in advance

If you are staying a few days in the area make sure to check out some other attractions in this area;
- the Cutta Cutta Caves are well worth a visit, find them 27km south of Katherine, , 500 million-year-old limestone caverns which are an important roosting site for the endangered Orange Horseshoe bat.
- The Mataranka Thermal Pools
- Edith Falls is another great place for a swim or to stay overnight and camp.
Edith Falls is located about 60 km north of Katherine a short detour off the Stuart Highway, there is a camping ground and cafe here, and a choice of walks to the top of the escarpment, providing great views of the waterfalls.

For current information on fishing and camping at Katherine Gorge,see t the visitor centre at the end of Gorge Rd.

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