The Outback meets the tropics in Katherine, a big country town three hours’ drive south of Darwin. Straddling Katherine River, the jewel of this area is the Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge, but there’s so much more to see and do. Here are 10 things to do around the Katherine region.
1. Explore the mighty Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge
There are many ways to experience world-famous Nitmiluk Gorge in the Nitmiluk National Park. Canoe up the gorge spotting hidden waterfalls, Aboriginal rock art and wildlife, or board a peaceful cruise. Swim between sheer cliffs to camp on sandy freshwater beaches, or jump in a clear-nosed helicopter for the ultimate view of the 13-gorge system. The excellent Nitmiluk Visitor Centre explains this icon’s significance for the Jawoyn Aboriginal people.
2. Conquer the world-famous Jatbula Trail
Lace up your boots for one of the world’s best bushwalks, the five-day, 58km Jatbula Trail that takes in waterfalls, monsoon rainforest, stone country and Aboriginal rock art, camping alongside swimming holes. The trail starts at the Nitmiluk Visitor Centre and ends at Leliyn (Edith Falls) where the palm-fringed plunge pool is a fitting reward for the trek. Permits to hike the trail sell out quickly, so book your hike well in advance.
3. Admire Aboriginal art at Katherine's galleries
Visit Top Didj Art Gallery on the way to or from Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) to see an extensive range of Aboriginal art works. Works are exhibited by artists from across the Top End, Central Australia and the Western Desert region.
At Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Art& Culture Centre you can wander amongst the artworks in the gallery or time your visit to coincide with their performing arts program.
In downtown Katherine, Mimi Aboriginal Arts and Crafts has a gallery, studio and retail space representing artists from the Tanami Desert to the Kimberley border in the west through to Arnhem Land in the east.
4. Try the Katherine Outback Experience
Join award-winning country music artist and horseman Tom Curtain at Katherine Outback Experience. This entertaining show will give you a taste of life on a real outback Australian cattle station. Watch Tom break-in a wild horse and see how his clever working dogs muster cattle. During the show, Tom performs his country music and tells colourful stories about the bush.
5. Explore Elsey National Park
Dip your toe in Australian literary history at Elsey National Park, an hour’s drive south of Katherine, best known as the setting for the Australian novel We of the Never Never. Soak in the warm turquoise water of nearby Mataranka Thermal Pool, surrounded by pandanus, paperbarks and palm forest. Then take the walk into Bitter Springs, another spring-fed thermal pool set among palms and tropical woodlands.
6. Go underground at the Cutta Cutta Caves
Take the winding boardwalk down through the Cutta Cutta Caves, one of Australia’s only tropical limestone cave systems, a short drive south of Katherine. Take a guided tour to see fascinating stalactites of all shapes and sizes sprouting from the ceiling and crystals that look like spun sugar adorning the walls. The caves shelter the rare ghost bat and horseshoe bat.
7. Relax in the Katherine Hot Springs
After a busy day exploring, relax your muscles in the clear water of Katherine Hot Springs on the banks of the Katherine River, just outside the Katherine township. Take the raised walking path to a viewing platform where you can see the source of the spring water, which is a constant average of 32°C – perfect for swimming in all year round.
8. Discover old treasures
Housed in an original WW II air terminal, the charming Katherine Museum preserves a wide and eclectic collection of Aboriginal artefacts, photographs, furniture, maps, tools and pioneer memorabilia. See the Overland Telegraph display of objects dating back to 1872, the planetarium made by a Russian peanut farmer and the first flying doctor, Dr Clyde Fenton’s De Havilland Gypsy Moth plane he flew in the 1930s.
9. Find the perfect souvenir at Mimi Aboriginal Arts & Crafts
Buy Aboriginal art ethically at Katherine’s Mimi Aboriginal Art and Craft, an Aboriginal-owned, not-for-profit art centre. Paintings star in this excellent gallery, which represents artists in the vast Katherine region of 380,000km2. There’s a range of locally designed luggage items as well as didgeridoos, wooden plates, boomerangs, fabric pieces and postcards. The gallery is named after the Mimi Spirits, an important part of Aboriginal beliefs.
10. Experience Aboriginal culture at Barunga Festival
Pack up the car and head to Barunga Festival, a three-day community celebration held mid-year at Wulgarr (Beswick), approx 80km south-east of Katherine.The festival brings together local and interstate musicians, sporting clubs and displays of Aboriginal art from the region.
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