Gregory National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Natural features
- Native plants
- Wildlife
- WALK the ridge of Limestone Gorge and look over the untamed country
- VISIT Gregory’s Tree and contemplate the feats of the early explorers
- TAKE a bone-shaking 4WD adventure drive along the Humbert Track
- FISH for barramundi on the Victoria River
Introduction
Gregory National Park lies in the transitional zone between the tropical and semiarid regions of the Northern Territory, and encompasses a range of habitats including soaring escarpments with spectacular range and gorge scenery, at tropical woodlands and magnificent river systems. There are signifi cant Aboriginal sites, and old stock routes along which drovers moved large mobs of cattle are evidence of early European pastoral history.
Fact file
Access
From Katherine or Kununurra via Victoria Hwy; from Halls Creek via unsealed Buntine Hwy; from Top Springs via unsealed Buntine Hwy or Buchanan Hwy and Victoria River Downs station
Best Season
May to August
Location
160 km west of Katherine; 220 km east of Kununurra
Park Information
PWCNT Timber Creek (08) 8975 0888PWCNT Katherine (08) 8973 8888
Permits
Permits required for overnight bushwalking, available from Timber Creek or Bullita ranger stations
Size
1 300 000 ha
Where to Stay
Timber Creek/Victoria River
Roadhouse (08) 8972 2650
A look at the past
Indigenous groups associated with the park are the Wardaman, Ngariman, Ngaliwurri, Nungali, Jaminjung and Karrangpurra people. Naval officers John Lort Stokes and John Wickham were the first Europeans to discover and name the Victoria River in 1839, while Augustus Gregory was the first to explore the district extensively in 1855. In the late 19th century drovers took large mobs of cattle through en route to the Kimberley and back. The large Victoria River remained the main supply route for pastoralists for more than 100 years.
Natural features
Blood-red escarpments of Stokes Range soar high above the highway near Victoria River Roadhouse, and nearby is picturesque Victoria River Gorge. During the wet season the river is massive at this point, often rising more than 20 metres to cover the bridge. In the largest section of the park is old Bullita station, and the East Baines, Humbert and Wickham rivers are pristine waterways with beautiful waterholes, many created by tufa dams. The park’s southern section is primarily grassland.
Native plants
Confined to north-western Australia, the boab is one of the park’s most distinctive trees, some hundreds of years old. Gregory’s Tree, a large boab west of Timber Creek, has the explorer’s name carved into it. Elegant Livistona palms cling to the most precarious outcrops of rock, while communities of northern grey box are unique to the park. Spiky clumps of spinifex are found in the south, covering the plains and hills. Waterways are flanked by pandanus and paperbarks.
Wildlife
Common and antilopine wallaroos and flighty but graceful agile wallabies are frequently seen. Goannas and water monitors bask on rocks by the watercourses. Saltwater and freshwater crocodiles are also very common and visitors are warned to swim in designated areas only. The waterways attract hundreds of birds such as the rare purple-crowned fairy-wren, which flits amid the grass along the Victoria River. The ground-dwelling white-quilled rock-pigeon is easy to approach but will fly off when you get too close. Sunrise and sunset are good times to stake out remote waterholes to view the rare Gouldian finch and, late in the year, red-tailed black-cockatoos are seen high in the eucalypts, gnawing on gum nuts.
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
Private tours of the Victoria River can be organised in Timber Creek and at the Victoria River Roadhouse. Limestone Gorge is one of the few places in the park where swimming is considered safe.
Bushwalking
Most walks in the park are well marked and start close to the Victoria Highway. Carry plenty of drinking water. Walks in the smaller east section include the Escarpment Walk (3 km return), 2 kilometres west of the Victoria River bridge, a steep, rocky trail that opens out on spectacular views from the top of the Stokes Range. Joe Creek walk (1.7 km loop), 10 kilometres west of the bridge, meanders among Livistona palms, with the opportunity to see Aboriginal art on rock walls and overhangs. Kuwang Lookout (100 metres), 57 kilometres west of the bridge, is a short stroll to a viewpoint with interpretive boards offering Aboriginal dreaming stories and tales of explorers and pastoralists.In the larger section of the park near the town of Timber Creek, walks include the Calcite Flow walk (600 metres), which starts at Limestone Gorge, 52 kilometres south of town. The calcite flow is explained in signs at the site. Limestone Ridge walk (1.8 km) begins at Limestone Gorge campground, 57 kilometres south of town, and winds through limestone karst formations. Gregory’s Tree walk (250 metres), 9 kilometres west of Big Horse Creek campground and 3 kilometres from the highway, leads to Gregory’s Tree, the site of Gregory’s base camp in the 1850s. It is also an Aboriginal sacred site.
Fishing
One of the main reasons people come to Gregory is to fish the Victoria River for barramundi, along with salmon, bream, shark and other species. There are boat ramps at Victoria River Gorge and Big Horse Creek campground.
Four-wheel driving
This is a remote area so be informed and well prepared. A 4WD brochure, available at ranger stations, details the park’s extensive 4WD tracks. Several tracks, including the Gibbie, Broadarrow, Wickham and Humbert, offer some particularly challenging driving.
Campsites
Bullita Homestead camping area
Escarpment Lookout camping area
Spring Creek Yard camping area
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