Cicada Lodge

Nitmiluk, the Jawoyn name for Katherine Gorge, means 'cicada country'. Legend holds that Nabilil, a dragon-like ancestral figure, heard the cicadas' song at the gorge entrance and named the place for the sound. Cicada Lodge takes its cue from the same story, and is itself 100 per cent Indigenous-owned, held jointly by the Jawoyn Association, Aboriginals Benefit Account and Indigenous Business Australia, with profits reinvested into Jawoyn community services, education and land management.

Eighteen suites perch on an escarpment above the Katherine River. Each comes with a private balcony and Indigenous artwork on the walls. The gorge itself is really 13 gorges linked by rapids and cascades, cut through sandstone that the Jawoyn have managed for tens of thousands of years and continue to co-manage today. Make the most of the location by canoeing downriver from a helicopter drop-off, visiting remote rock art sites with a Jawoyn guide, or join a bush tucker walk covering the plants used here for food and medicine. The restaurant, an award-winner in its own right, builds its seasonal menu around native ingredients.