Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
their ecotourism content. Gecko's founder, Martin “Snowy” Wohling, and three
other Gecko guides have Australia's elite “Savannah Guide” ecotour guide status.
They do 3- to 5-day canoeing/camping safaris on the Katherine River, but also
run a 1-day canoe safari at a cost of A$178 (US$116) per person. The company
also runs canoeing and camping safaris (with any other activities you like thrown
in such as mountain biking, rock climbing, wildlife photography, hiking, or
fishing) of up to 18 days in little-explored wildernesses and river systems across
the Top End. Tours only run between April and November, with departures on
request, and can be tailored to your needs.
Some 100km (62 miles) of
hiking trails
crisscross Nitmiluk National Park,
ranging in duration from 1 hour to the lookout to 5 days to Edith Falls (see
below). Trails—through rocky terrain and forests, past water holes and along the
gorge—depart the Nitmiluk National Park ranger station, located in the Nitmiluk
Visitor Centre, where you can pick up trail maps. Overnight walks require a
deposit of between A$20 and $50 (US$13 and US$33) per person, and a A$3.30
(US$2.15) per-person camping permit, payable at the Nitmiluk Visitor Centre.
One of the nicest spots in the Park is actually 42km (26 miles) north of
Katherine, 20km (12
1
⁄
2
miles) off the Stuart Highway.
Edith Falls
is a real
Eden of natural (croc-free) swimming holes bordered by red cliffs, monsoonal
forest, and pandanus palms. Among the couple of bushwalks leading from the
Falls is a 2.6km (1
1
⁄
2
-mile) round-trip trail, which takes about 2 hours, and
incorporates a dip at the upper pool en route.
More than the gorge itself, the aerial views of the ravine-ridden Arnhem
Plateau, which stretches uninhabited to the horizon, are arresting.
North Aus-
tralian Helicopters
(
&
1800/089 103
in Australia, or 08/8972 1253) does
daily flights of 3, 8, and all 13 gorges for between A$60 and A$150 (US$39 and
US$98) per person, adult or child. Take at least an eight-gorge flight to get a
sense of Australia's wild vastness. In the Wet it also makes flights from Kather-
ine to see Jim Jim Falls in Kakadu National Park.
ABORIGINAL CULTURE TOURS, HOT SPRINGS & MORE
On a 1-day visit to the
Manyallaluk Aboriginal community
, a 90-minute
drive southeast from Katherine, you chat with Aborigines about how they bal-
ance traditional ways with modern living; take a short bushwalk to look for
native medicines and bush tucker like green ants (they're refreshing!); try light-
ing a fire with two sticks, weaving baskets, throwing spears, painting on bark,
and playing a didgeridoo; take a dip in a natural water hole; and buy locally
made Aboriginal art and artifacts at better prices than you may find elsewhere.
Lunch is a barbecue featuring stuff like high-grade kangaroo filet, kangaroo tail,
Scotch filet steak, or barramundi cooked on hot coals. Some visitors rush into
these tours and expect the community to be a kind of Aboriginal Disney World
theme park with a new attraction every 10 minutes, but that's not how it is. It's
an unstructured experience (this is the community's home), so it's up to you to
take part. A 1-day tour from Katherine costs A$143 (US$93) for adults and
A$79 (US$51) for children 5 to 15, or A$110 (US$72) adults and A$67
(US$44) for kids if you drive yourself. There are basic camping facilities includ-
ing tent sites and powered and unpowered sites. The last 35km (22 miles) of
road is unsealed (unpaved), for which rental cars will be insured only if they are
four-wheel-drive. The tour runs Monday through Friday in July and August,
and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from October to mid-December, but hours
may be reduced, or the place may close, in the Wet. Call ahead before setting off
