Canoeing @ Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park, AU

by tomoki · Published 2018年6月21日 · Updated 2018年6月21日

Katherine Gorge is located in Nitmiluk National Park, which is to the south of Kakadu National Park.

We enjoyed canoeing and camping there.

First we went to Visitor Centre and applied for a tour. Yes, we have to participate in the tour. All participants ride a boat and go to the 2nd Gorge, which has a pier for canoe boats.

We rented two canoe boats for two persons. It cost 65.50 AU dollars per person(2017). They gave us a leaflet on Katherine Gorge.

Preparing for the luggage, we left for the Boat Tour departure point.

On the way, we saw many fruit bats.

This is the Boat Tour departure point. You can buy some snacks or drinks at a kiosk.

The morning tour came back at 1 p.m. and the canoeists in the afternoon tour went down to the boat ramp and rode a boat.

Take a look at a map. This is the 1st Gorge. We left Boat Ramp for the 2nd Gorge.

We didn’t see the gorge right after we started.

After a while we began to enjoy the scenery of the beautiful gorge.

10 minutes ride brought us to the end of the 1st gorge. We walked to a pier for canoe boats. On the way we got life jackets and paddles.

Then we reached the pier.

Here we go! My wife and my elder son went kayaking first.

I rode on a boat with my younger son. A few minutes canoeing took us the gorge with high cliffs on both sides. The river might be so deep and we didn’t see any waves on the surface of the water.

At first we still rowed actively. We went upstream, but didn’t feel the stream of the river.

There are several beaches where you can land on, but some are prohibited. It reads, “Crocodile Nesting Area DO NOT ENTER”.

That is, crocodiles live in this area. We enjoyed kayaking such a place.

It was hot in a sunny place while it was cool in the shade.

In the shade we ate a late lunch; a sandwich and an apple.

Satisfying our hunger, we went forward.

We saw trees ahead and I thought there was an island in the river. But it was not. Trees stood on the shallows across the river. It was impossible to go on a canoe boat. But no canoeists could be seen there. It seemed that we had to take the boats across the shallows.

I forgot to take photos on the way, so let me show you the photos on the way back from the 2nd gorge to the 3rd gorge. We carried two boats in two different routes.

As you can see, it was very laboursome. We couldn’t afford to care about hitting the bottom of the boats on rocks. We were not able to bring the boats up on such a rough shallows. This consumed our stamina.

Now we went across the shallows and we were in the 3rd gorge.

Take a look at a map.

3rd Gorge is 1km long. My wife was exhausted, so we looked for a resting place.

My younger son was also tired a little.

There were some groups taking a rest on the corner of the 3rd Gorge. We went forward to find a beach.

At last we found a small beach and landed on it in order to take a rest.

We ate some snacks and drank water. According to the map, we went through the gorge about 3kms. We had to rowed 3kms back. However, I wanted to see the end of the 3rd gorge. So I started to row with my elder son, who had enough stamina.

The boat went faster with a 15-year old energetic boy.

The farther we went, the narrower the river and the more black the rocks. That was the end of the gorge.

Not so interesting.

We went back to the resting place.

While resting, we saw a tour boat on the other side of the river. The boat tour is good for those who don’t have enough time or listen to a tour guide, but I believe canoeing is better because you can feel the atmosphere of the great nature in the splendid and spectacular gorge.

When other canoeists started to go back, we followed them.

As we were very tired, it was hard for us to drag the boats from the 3rd gorge to the 2nd gorge.

We went through 2nd Gorge leisurely.

And we returned to the pier.

The passengers of the boat tour were on the other side of the river.

After all the canoeists went back, we rode a boat.

On the way back we saw a crocodile.

This is the cage to capture a crocodile.

The boat returned to the boat ramp at around 5 p.m. We went to Visitor Centre and satisfied our exhausted body with ice creams.

It was delicious.

We enjoyed the canoeing tour in Katherine Gorge very much. It was a rare experience to look up high cliffs on a boat in the gorge. We saw a great nature, passing through the valley by rowing for ourselves. Kakadu National Park is famous in Northern Territory in Australia, but I recommend you to visit Nitmiluk National Park and enjoy the grand views from a boat in Katherine Gorge.

Some tips: it is better to wear a rash guard or sunscreen. Bring a water proof bag and put your valuables in it. The river is slow and a boat will not turn upside down, but some water comes inside the boat.

Here is the link to the canoeing tour.