Paddling in Nitmiluk National Park

Nitmiluk National Park sits in the Northern Territory's Top End, about 30 kilometres from Katherine. The paddling here is flatwater — the Katherine River winding through a sequence of sandstone gorges, their walls rising sheer from the water.

This is canoe country, not whitewater country, and the gorge system is the reason people come. The gorges are the defining feature on the water.

The Katherine River has carved thirteen distinct gorges through the sandstone, separated by rock barriers that require portaging between them.

The first gorge is off-limits for swimming and self-paddling — freshwater crocodiles move through it freely, and the launch point for canoeists is the second gorge, reached by boat transfer from the jetty.

From there, paddlers can work their way deeper into the system at their own pace.

A half-day trip covers gorges two and three; a full day pushes into gorges three through six; the overnight trip reaches the fifth gorge and beyond, with camping on the riverbank under open sky. The season matters here.

Canoeing runs roughly May through October during the dry season — the wet season raises the river and closes access. Canoe hire, including single and double canoes with paddles and life jackets, is available through Nitmiluk Tours at the Visitor Centre.

Entry to the park requires a Park Pass (Northern Territory residents are exempt — check current requirements with the park). Children aged six to twelve must share a double canoe with an adult.

Swimming is permitted in the upper gorges beyond the first, in the clear rock pools and shallows you find along the way.

The banks are lined with pandanus and paperbark; freshwater crocodiles are present throughout the system and are part of paddling here, not an anomaly. The gorge rewards paddlers who move slowly.

The further you go from the boat traffic of the lower gorges, the quieter it gets — the walls narrowing, the light shifting, the river doing what it has always done.