Katherine Gorge will forever be a place that greatly impacted me when I was in my 20’s.
I absolutely loved my visit there and if I really think about it, my visit was what really instilled a great passion for the Australian Outback.
We were filming for our TV series Leylands Australia, and we had the chance to take the boat tour. I remember the guide that took us on the trip telling us about the area and his passion for what he was sharing was contagious. That night I remember lying in bed thinking, that’s what I want to do. I want to come back here to the gorge one day and be a tour guide. Just like him.
Of course, I never got back there. Life got in the way. We filmed for a few more years. I got pregnant with my son Rex, then my girls came along. My ex and I talked about getting a bus and working/travelling Australia together when the kids were all still young. We got as far with that plan as purchasing the bus and removing a few seats to start the bus reno. Then we separated, got divorced and life became about raising the kids as a single mum for the majority of the time.
Jump forward in time and the kids are now 24 and 21(twins). I did go and work at Winton for a while as a tour guide at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs. I love my time at the museum. Talking all day about an exciting subject to people who wanted to hear what I had to say. A time that I will always treasure and am grateful that I had the chance to work there.
2026 is now here and I am still passionate about Australia, the idea of working as a tour guide and I love writing and researching about our wonderful country.
So, this August I will get to go back to Katherine Gorge again. Not quite as a guide running boat tours but as a guide taking guests on a trip that will visit Katherine Gorge as a part of a tour that I am putting together. It’s really quite exciting. I am still fine tuning the tour, but I know that it will start in Darwin travel to Longreach though the gulf and finish with the overnight sleeper train from Longreach to Brisbane.
So, why is Katherine so special? It’s a spectacular sandstone gorge that is actually made up of 13 different gorges. The area is called Nutmiluk Gorge and is located in the Nutmiluk National Park located 30 k’s from the town of Katherine. Nutmiluk means place of cicada dreaming.
There are several boat cruise options available where you can see two or three gorges depending on the trip that you choose to book. When I go there next August, I’ll be partaking on the sunset dinner cruise which includes a three-course meal while you cruise two of the gorges.
Visitors can rent a canoe to explore privately, or you can even do an overnight canoe trip. This will be on my agenda on a later date when I visit again. As I know I’ll have several more visits throughout my lifetime.
The park also offers over 100ks of walking trails. How awesome is that. I love bush walking. So, I’ll hopefully get to do a walk next visit but on one of my future trips I’ll be undertaking the 62k hike that takes 5 to 6 days and ends at Edith Falls. This will be an amazing experience when I finally get to do it.
If you really want to indulge on your visit, then make sure you include a helicopter trip that flies over all 13 gorges.
The gorge is approximately 1.65 billion years old and was created by water erosion. The Gorge has a deep connection with the Jawoyn people and there are over 400 rock art sites across the park with some art that is dated back to 8000 years ago. It is believed that the rainbow serpent inhabits the deep pool of the second gorge.
Europeans reached the river in 1862 when John McDoull Stuart was exploring the region. He named the gorge after Katherine Chambers, the daughter of his expedition sponsor. In fact, there is some artwork that depicts this first contact where that are figures with guns and horses. I think that’s pretty awesome.
So, to conclude this article, make sure you visit the gorge when you are in the area of Katherine and make sure that you allow enough time to explore it as much as possible. With so many different options available we are spoilt for choice, and we can really appreciate what this place has to offer.
I have included some photos that were taken by dad when we visited all those years ago.
