Katherine Gorge in the wet season

What is the weather like at Katherine Gorge from November to April?

Hot and humid. Mean maximums sit between 34 and 37°C, and January alone averages 267 mm of rain at Katherine.

The numbers below are the long-term means for Katherine from the Bureau of Meteorology. November is the build-up: still very hot, with storms building in the afternoon. December to March carries most of the year's rain. April dries out fast. NT Parks warns that temperatures from October to April can pass 40°C.

For this season, the BOM northern rainfall onset outlook issued on 27 August 2026 gives the Top End a 55 to 80% chance of a later than normal start to the rains. That points to a long, hot build-up in November and the first heavy rain later than usual.

Which Katherine Gorge cruises run in the wet season?

The 2-hour NitNit Dreaming Two Gorge Tour runs year round, river permitting. When the water is too high, it becomes a 1.5-hour One Gorge Tour or a jet boat trip.

Nitmiluk Tours runs the Two Gorge Tour daily, "subject to river conditions". The catch is the rock bar between gorge 1 and gorge 2. When the walkway floods or the current is too strong, the second boat cannot be reached, and the company runs the Green Season One Gorge Tour instead: 1.5 hours, first gorge only.

When the river is well up, NT Tourism says jet boats run the gorge cruises. A different ride from the usual tour boats. Ask Nitmiluk Tours which one is running on your date before you book the rest of the day around it.

The Darwin day trips keep running too. AAT Kings serves its buffet lunch on board only from May to September, so in the wet you eat before the cruise. Autopia's listing warns of high heat from October to April.

Do helicopter flights over Katherine Gorge run in the wet season?

Yes, weather permitting, and the wet adds waterfalls you cannot reach on foot. Only the sunrise flight is limited to May to October.

Nitmiluk Tours books its flights through North Horizon Heli Adventures, which flies from the helipad by the Nitmiluk Centre. Its list of flights has one wet-season special, Chasing Waterfalls, which runs "when the wet season gifts us waterfalls" and lands near rock pools no track reaches.

On GetYourGuide, the 10-minute flight covers gorges 1 to 3, past Jedda's Rock, Butterfly Gorge and the Lily Pond, and its listing sets no season. The sunrise flight runs May to October only. The 40-minute sunset flight is weather-dependent, with a reschedule, an alternative or a full refund if it cannot go. For the waterfalls, the 70-minute flight over the gorge and Leliyn (Edith Falls) is the one to pick.

Fly in the morning. Afternoon storm cells build fast in the build-up and are the usual reason a flight gets bumped.

The cheapest way into the air: ten minutes over gorges 1 to 3 from the Nitmiluk Gorge helipad.

★ 4.8 · 10 minutes · from $133

Explore the 10-minute helicopter flight → Tour details

Can you swim at Katherine Gorge or Edith Falls in the wet season?

Not in the gorge, and usually not in the Edith Falls plunge pool. Sweetwater Pool, a walk above Edith Falls, is the exception.

Gorge 1 is closed to swimming all year. Above it, Be Crocwise lists the gorge as dry season only, and the same for the Leliyn (Edith Falls) plunge pool and upper pools. The reason is saltwater crocodiles. At high water they can swim up from the lower river, and rangers keep sites closed after the wet until they have surveyed and trapped. The crocodiles you see from the boat are freshwater crocs, which nest in the gorge.

Sweetwater Pool, on the 8.6 km return walk from Leliyn, is listed as open all year except in extreme floods. The long walks shut for the heat, and the Jatbula Trail is closed from October to March. Swim only where a sign says you can. Our swimming guide has the full list.

How do I get the 10% Best Kept Season discount on the gorge cruise?

Book the NitNit Dreaming Two Gorge Tour direct with Nitmiluk Tours using code BEST2GNITMI. Book by 30 November 2026 for travel from 31 October 2026 to 30 April 2027.

The offer, published on NT Tourism's listing, takes 10% off the 2-gorge base fare. On the A$139 from-price that is about A$125. It is for new direct bookings only, so it does not work through GetYourGuide or a Darwin tour. You can upgrade to another tour and pay the difference, but the 10% applies only to the original 2-gorge fare.

Read the cancellation terms. More than 48 hours out you get a full refund. Inside 48 hours it is non-refundable. In a month when a storm can close the road, that is a real risk: book once you are in Katherine or sure of the drive.

Is the wet season a good time to visit Katherine Gorge?

For photographers, flyers and people who hate crowds, yes. For swimmers, hikers and anyone on a tight schedule from Darwin, no.

Floods can cut you off. In March 2026 the Stuart Highway closed north and south of Katherine, and freight operators reported the highway and rail link to Darwin shut for days (Airroad). Gorge Road from Katherine is sealed, but it ends at a river. Check Road Report NT before you leave Darwin, and leave a spare day if you can. Travel insurance that covers weather is not optional this time of year.

Come anyway if you want the gorge green and loud with water, a flight over waterfalls that are dry by June, and the 10% off. Stay away if your plan was to swim at Edith Falls, paddle, or walk anything longer than Baruwei Lookout in the midday heat. Our flood recovery post has what is still shut from last March.

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