Australia
Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge)
Thirteen sandstone gorges carved in sequence, each one revealed only after paddling through the last.
You paddle through the first gorge and the river turns. A sandstone wall rises on both sides, the water changes colour, and you enter the second gorge. Then the third. Each one revealed only after you pass through the last — thirteen gorges in sequence, each more remote than the one before.
Nitmiluk National Park in the Northern Territory protects thirteen sandstone gorges carved by the Katherine River over millions of years. The gorges are navigated by canoe or cruise boat, with motorised access limited to the first two gorges — beyond that, only paddlers continue. Freshwater crocodiles bask on rocks in the upper gorges, and rock art sites along the walls record millennia of Jawoyn custodianship. The Jatbula Trail, a 58-kilometre walk from Katherine Gorge to Edith Falls, follows the escarpment through monsoon forest, crossing waterfalls and rock art galleries. Each gorge is separated by a rocky portage where you carry your canoe overland — the effort filtering out casual visitors and preserving the upper gorges' silence.
Solo
Multi-gorge canoe expeditions where the silence deepens with every portage — Nitmiluk rewards solo paddlers who are comfortable with their own company.
Couple
Paddling through a sequence of gorges that get more beautiful the further you go — each portage is a shared effort, each new gorge a shared reward.
Friends
A fleet of canoes threading through thirteen gorges — the portages become team efforts, the camping becomes communal, the experience becomes a story.
- Thirteen gorges carved in sequence from sandstone — each one revealed only after paddling through the last.
- The upper gorges are accessible only by canoe — no motorboats allowed beyond the second gorge.
- Freshwater crocodiles bask on the rocks in the upper gorges — shy, but undeniably present.
- The Jatbula Trail follows the gorge rim for 58 kilometres through monsoon forest and rock art sites.
Cicada Lodge — Indigenous-owned fine dining overlooking the gorge, with bush tucker tasting menus.
Katherine's outback pubs — cold beer and barramundi after a day of paddling through the gorge system.
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