Ferns beside a still pool

Murray River Gorge

Wild rivers are earth's renegades, defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the authority of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning.

Richard Bangs, River Gods
River with minimal water and a lot of boulders Gorge at 0.22 m at Bigarra

The river has four distinct sections between Tom Groggin and Bringenbrong Bridge.

Grade II-III
Tom Groggin to Grassy Flat.
Pools and mostly Grade II rapids ~8 km
Grade III-IV
Murray Gates
The main upper gorge ~7 km
Grade I-III
Lower Gorge
Below Hermits Creek the river gradually eases. Bunroy Creek take out ~17 km
Flatwater
Below Biggara
Flatwater paddling out of the national park through farmland ~34 km

Above Grassy Flat, there is one notable harder drop, Grade III Riley's Ride (Japanese Bend) with a hidden rock stopper.

From Grassy Flat you enter the gorge proper and you will be facing up to a ~15 km swim if you can not handle the Grade III+ to IV rapids. Below Hermits Creek the river eases from a series of Grade III+ rapids, to easing Grade I-II rapids before exiting out into farmland and flattening out.

Walking the main gorge is not an option. There is a hiking trail that bypasses the gorge if you do not want to paddle this section of whitewater. The track rejoins the river at Hermits Creek just before the final Grade IV rapid near Surveyors Creek. You can continue walking or you could tackle the lower sections with a packraft.

More details about walking this track can be found in the Hiking and Camping page.

Guiding Companies

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Alpine River Adventures

Inflatable kayaks and / or rafts. Bespoke guiding on the upper sections including the top 150 km mixed hike / kayak of the Murray River.

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Rafting Australia

Guided rafting trips down the Murray Gorge starting from Tom Groggin Station

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Whitewater Guides

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The Indi - Murray Gates

Whitehorse River Map

by Whitehorse Canoe Club

Single page guide for the Murray Gates whitewater section between Tom Groggin and Bunroy Creek

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This is a summary of the rapids taken from various whitewater guides.

Starting from the Grassy Flats Track:

Grade
III - IV
Season
Late winter to early spring
Time
4 - 6 hr
Length
16 km
Level
0.55 - 1.5 m
Gauge
Bigarra (Indi)

Note that the Murray Gate grades are dependant on the water level and this section is very dangerous in flood. With a water level above 1.6m there will be minimal scouting opportunities.

Grade III
Under 0.7 m
Grade IV
0.7 - 1.3 m
Grade V
1.3 - 1.5 m
Grade VI
Above 1.5 m

Distances are from Tom Groggin Campground.

Distance Grade Name Description
0 Tom Groggin Campground.
1.2 km Track down to an old ford to Dogman's Hut.
1.3 km III Japanese Bend A 1 m drop with a hidden stopper in the wave. Also known as Riley's Ride.
2.0 km Tom Groggin Horse Camp
3.0 km Low Bridge to Tom Groggin Station. You may be able to duck under this with water levels under 1 m. Bridge
Numerious easy grade II rapids lead down towards Grassy Flats.
8.1 km Grassy Flats
9.1 km II+ - III The Wall It is recommended to stop if you have difficulty here.
11.8 km Murray Gate Track
Gates ~1-2 km downstream. Two cliffs on either side of the river, Baxter Creek on the right.
13.8 km II+ - III Headbanger 1st Rapid before short pool. Also known as Bobsled.
III Guides Mistake
III - IV South African Swim 150 m downstream. Easily scouted on the left.
III - IV Sharks Tooth 150 m downstream. This 100 m section is hard to scout and finishes with the abrupt drop and undercut rock of "The Thing".
III+ The Thing Ending of Sharks Tooth. Drop and undercut rock.
Easier 400 m section with the following 3 rapids:
III Long Island
II+ Rock Garden This can be a bony scrape in low water.
III Himalayan Wrap
A couple more pools bring you to a classic section of whitewater.
III - III+ Nutty’s Garage Also known as Tanks Garage.
III - III+ Hole in the Head
15.5 km III+ - IV Hermits Creek A small campsite can be found between Little Hermits and Hermits Creek on the left.
III Easy Over
Another pool before:
III - III+ Swimmers Delight Also known as Swimmers Joy.
III - III+ Gorgeous George Also known as Gorgeous Gorge.
III-III+ Roller Coaster ~200 m downstream. There is a nasty sieve on the right.
17.4 km III Jellyfish Rock ~450 m downstream. Last rapid of note in the gorge
Another 9 km of fun II+ and III getting easier as you go down the gorge.
26.5 km Bunroy Station, at Little Bunroy Ck ("Little Niche"). This is a privately owned farm so get permission if you want to take out here. Don’t trespass!
32.4 km Bunroy Creek take out.
36.5 km

Exit from the national park and into sections that are often lined with willows passing through farmland.

In higher flows, some of the following bridges may require portages.

37.8 km Damms (Maguires) Bridge. There were fairly high overgrown banks here in 2019. Bridge
45.4 km Biggara Bridge Bridge
55.9 km Indi Bridge and Reserve Bridge
61.4 km Private farm bridge Bridge
61.8 km Private farm bridge Bridge
65.9 km Swampy Plain River
68.4 km Bringenbrong Bridge Bridge