Outback show or Nitmiluk?

The short answer

They answer different wishes. The outback show is a performance with a team, animals and yarns, staged in a shed with grandstands. The gorge cruise is the landscape itself. If your time in Katherine is short, the gorge is the bigger name; if you are travelling with children who love animals, the show is the safer bet. With a full day, do both, one in the cooler part of the day. This guide sets out what each offers so you can pick by what you want, not by which is more famous, and it leaves prices to the booking pages.

• Show: animals at work, yarns, a roof overhead
• Cruise: sandstone walls, water and the park's story
• Both: possible in one day if you plan the drive

What the show is

The booking page describes a live horse-starting and working-dog show of about two hours in an undercover arena that runs in all weather. A young horse is started live, then trained horses, a working-dog team and songs from the saddle follow. The operator says the arena is under a 60 by 40 metre shed with elevated seating, and that the show is wheelchair and pram friendly. It is a seated, mostly stationary afternoon, which suits anyone who cannot or would rather not walk in the heat, and it ends with a chance to talk to the team. The operator says commentary is amplified, which helps in a large shed.

Read next: Outback show: worth a stop?

What Nitmiluk is

Wikipedia says Nitmiluk National Park covers 2,946.64 square kilometres, lies 23 km north-south-east of Katherine, and that the Nitmiluk Gorge is made up of thirteen gorges carved by the Katherine River through sandstone. It says the Jawoyn people are the custodians of the park, and that in their language the name means place of the cicada dreaming. Nitmiluk Tours, the Jawoyn-owned operator, says the gorge winds along 12 km of sheer rock over 70 metres high. Its cruise page lists one-, two- and three-gorge options and a sunset dinner tour, and Wikipedia says cruises go as far as the fifth gorge. Wikipedia adds that the park was formerly named Katherine Gorge National Park. The park borders Kakadu National Park to the north, according to Wikipedia.

Season and water

Wikipedia says the gorge waters are placid in most spots in the dry season, roughly April to October, and ideal for swimming and canoeing. It also says swimming in the wet season is prohibited, because saltwater crocodiles regularly enter the river then. Nitmiluk Tours says the Southern Rockhole ferry runs only seasonally, so check availability before you plan. The show shares the dry-season window, and the operator says its team tours elsewhere in the wet. Both are easiest to plan for in the dry months, and both depend on dates you confirm at booking, not on a general rule. Wikipedia describes the freshwater crocodiles as harmless to humans and ties the wet-season swimming ban to saltwater crocodiles.

Heat and shade

Wikipedia says daily highs can pass 40 degrees Celsius from late September to late November, and that dry-season nights can fall to about 7 degrees around June and July. The show's arena has a roof, and the operator still warns that Katherine can be quite warm and that the grandstands can get dusty. For a boat trip, check the cruise operator's page for shade and what to bring, because this guide does not describe the vessels. In the hottest weeks, plan the cruise early and keep the show for the shade, and carry water for both. Wikipedia's figures describe the town's climate in general, not a forecast for your week, so check a current forecast.

Read next: Dry season: what to bring

Getting to each

The operator's directions put the show venue south-east of Katherine along the Stuart Highway, then Byers Road and Collins Road, about six minutes from the town centre. The same page puts the Nitmiluk kiosk about 30 minutes from the venue. Wikipedia places the park 23 km north-east of town, and Nitmiluk Tours says it is roughly 30 km from Katherine. The show ticket includes no transfer, so a hire car or your own vehicle is the simplest plan. Ask the cruise operator about its own transport and the departure point before you set out. Distances here come from the operators and Wikipedia, and your own maps app will give a current drive time.

Read next: Driving to the show

A day that uses both

The simplest day is a cruise in the morning and the show in the afternoon, or the reverse, with lunch in town between. The operator says show days and time slots change through the season, so open the Viator calendar first, pick your show, then book the cruise around it. Allow for the drive between the two, for parking and for a break in the shade. If the day starts to feel crowded, drop one and keep the other for a second day. Two relaxed halves beat two rushed ones, and Katherine rewards a slower pace. Book the show first, because its dates are the narrower choice, and treat the cruise as the flexible half.

Other ways to fill the afternoon

The operator's location page lists other options near the show. It mentions Leliyn, also called Edith Falls, as a swimming spot within an hour's drive, the Katherine Hot Springs just minutes from the town centre, and Aboriginal art galleries in Katherine. Cutta Cutta Caves and the town museum are on the same list. Those are suggestions from the operator rather than a tested itinerary. Wikipedia describes Katherine's climate as dry tropical savanna with distinct wet and dry seasons, which is why most visitors come in the dry months and why a free swim is a common afternoon plan. None of these needs a booking through this site, and the operator lists them as options near the venue.

A note on country and custodians

Nitmiluk is Jawoyn country. Wikipedia lists the park as jointly governed by the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory and the Jawoyn people as the Aboriginal traditional landowners, and it describes the Jatbula Trail as following the route travelled by generations of Jawoyn people between the gorge and Leliyn. Nitmiluk Tours says proceeds from Jawoyn businesses are reinvested in the community. A cruise therefore supports a Jawoyn-owned operator, which is a reason to choose the park's own cruise company when you book the boat. Wikipedia says Jawoyn country occupies areas south-east of Katherine, including the park.

Choosing by the weather you land

A cool dry-season morning suits a boat trip, when Wikipedia says the water is placid in most spots. A hot, dusty afternoon suits a seat in the shade, which is where the show's roofed arena helps. If a trip falls in late September or October, expect heat and plan around it. If it falls in June or July, remember that nights can fall to about 7 degrees, and bring a layer for the evening drive. Whichever you choose, check the forecast on the day and keep a spare half-day in the plan, because a change of weather can reorder everything.

Who should choose which

Choose the show if you travel with young children, enjoy animals, or want two hours seated and sheltered. Choose the cruise if scenery and a slow float matter more, and if you are happy to follow the park operator's advice on water and seasons. Choose neither if you are in Katherine in the wet season, when the show is touring and swimming in the river is prohibited. If you can only have one, book the one that matches your weather, your legs and your children, and leave the other for the next trip north. Neither option needs a large budget of time, only a plan for the drive.