Denison River
Denison and Gordon Rivers - November 2025
Trip Report
Time: 6 days (with a rest day)
Length: 95km
Gradient: 3(p)
River Level: unknown
Rainfall: 10mm before the trip, 30mm during
Summary
Five of us (Luke, Josh, Justin, Liam and myself) set off with the hopes of a medium to high Denison. Four of us had already done the Dension River and knew what we were getting ourselves into.
Day 1 – Travel to Strathgordon, boat across to Pearce Basin and hike
Early Saturday the 1st of November, we set off in a speedy Zodiac (an improvement on the 15km Luke and I paddled last year) to arrive at the beginning of the hike.
The hike involved 5.4km on my Garmin and surprisingly only 3.0km on Luke’s Garmin, took the group 6 hours and 41 minutes to complete. It was a brutal slog involving steep climbs, thick scrub, pack heaving and crawling through mud under horizontal branches. The leeches made sure we didn’t stop for long however, I still managed to get done about nine times, even while being vigilant. Finally, while the sun was still out, we arrived at the Denison River get-in. We enjoyed washing off in the cold river and even washed our hiking clothes.
Day 2 – 21.7km – Truchanas nature reserve, Marriott’s Gorge to arrive at Roslyn’s pool
A quick and efficient breakfast consistening of a breakfast bar, figs and coffee; we set off onto the misty river. Plenty of flow meant we made it to Truchanas Nature reserve for a pre morning tea stop. Once the mist cleared, the sun appeared and this made for very enjoyable paddle, with a few stops for sunscreen top ups. I unfortunately had the first swim of the trip by jumping into my boat during a portage and coming straight back out. We efficiently descended and portaged our way through Marriott’s Gorge with only four portages, we sailed through Freedom’s gates and arrived at our campsite for the night – Roslyn’s pool. Luke and I pitched a tent among the driftwood and enjoyed our alcoholic blackberry vodka (which I carried up and over the hike in) while learning a few different card games.
Day 3 – 49km – Denison Gorge and huge paddle to Sir John Falls hut.
I slept atrociously, constantly waking to the sound of a downpour of rain. The Garmin had predicted about 40mm of rain and I was anxious of what the Dension Gorge would be like. In pouring rain, we packed and set off. Surprisingly, the gorge appeared approximately 10-15cm lower than when Luke and I had completed our previous trip. In true fashion, once we arrived at the triangle shaped rock the unload our packrafts and prepare for the portage; the rain began hammering down. Luke had one slip and almost ended up in the river while lugging a pack, two large drybags and the paddles, and Justin managed to lose his water bottle to a strainer. A few curse words later and the portage was complete and we arrived on top of a large “jump-rock” about 5m above the river where the bolder sieve ends. After removing the few leeches that I managed to collect on the portage, we all made an enjoyable jump into the river to signify the end of the gorge. Of course, by the time we stopped for lunch on a nice rocky outcropt, it again began pouring down with rain. Upon reaching the confluence of the Gordon at about 2pm, we realised we would not be able to paddle up to the Splits due to the large flow of the Gordon. We made the decision while rain continued to pour, to paddle the extra 26-ish km to Sir John Falls hut to treat ourselves to a warm and dry hut. With slight hypothermia and a few blisters, we arrived after an 11.5 hour day.
Day 4 – Rest Day
After a huge sleep-in on bunk beds, we enjoyed many different card games, an unsuccessful Lea tree mission (we probably walked past the tree about three times), a stroll to the pumping Sir John falls and finished dinner off with a Christmas pudding (thanks to Justin).
Day 5 – 24km – Heritage Landing
Cons:
– Flat paddling
– Pouring rain
– Headwind
– Flow going against us
– Mild hypothermia
Pros:
– Excellent spotify playlist
– Seeing Heritage Landing
