Cobbold Gorge

Cobbold Gorge was only found by the station family who own the land in 1992, a narrow slot cut into sandstone on Robin Hood Station in the Gulf Savannah, in places just two metres wide with walls thirty metres high, holding permanent water in a landscape that is otherwise dry for most of the year. Freshwater crocodiles bask on the ledges. Tours run by electric boat through the gorge, quiet enough not to disturb the wildlife, combined with a walk over the top to a glass-floored bridge suspended across the slot, installed in 2019 and the first of its kind in Australia. The station operates a campground, pool and lodge, and the whole area is UNESCO-recognised as part of a geopark.

What you actually see

• The narrow slot - a gorge two metres wide in places with thirty-metre walls.
• The glass bridge - a transparent-floored span across the top of the gorge.
• The electric boat tour - a silent cruise through the water in the slot.
• The freshwater crocodiles - basking on ledges along the water.

When to go

April to October; the wet season closes the roads and the station, which shuts for several months each year. Tours must be booked in advance and run to set times. Winter is the peak season with travellers on the Savannah Way.

Honest expectations

The gorge can only be seen on paid guided tours, and the station closes entirely in the wet. Access is by unsealed road, and the drive from Cairns takes most of a day. Facilities are good for the location but remote, with limited supplies.

Nearby

Georgetown lies north on the Savannah Way; Undara is northeast.