Borroloola is situated on the McArthur River, 986km south east of Darwin. Originally the exchange site for rum smuggled from Thursday Island for sale to overlanders working the Queensland - Kimberley run, the town had a reputation in the late 1800s as rough and wild.
Lower Top End
State:
Borroloola
Gulf District
Area Attractions include
The Caranbirini Conservation Reserve.
The Lost City - Sandstone Columns in the middle of the Abner Range, and accessible only by air.
The Baranyi National Park - a 5,421 hectare island park in the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands off the McArthur River Mouth. It's long white sandy beaches are suitable for walking, and bird and turtle watching.
The Borroloola Regional Museum contains an old Tree Stump marked with the gothic 'L' of Ludwig Leichardt. There is also a display of Aboriginal artifacts, and history of the pioneers of the region. The museum also contains a history of the Maccassan visitations hundreds of years prior to the Europeans.
Katherine
The explorer John Stuart named the Katherine River, on which this town is located, after Katherine Chambers, the daughter of his patron James Chambers. The Katherine Gorge National Park is located 30km to the east of the town, and river cruises travel into the area to view the giant cliffs.
Lajamanu
Manangoora
Mary River
Mataranka
110km south-east of Katherine on the Stuart Highway, Mataranka is close to the Elsey National Park.
The Mataranka area was made famous by Jeannie Gunn's book "We of the Never Never".