Buffalo attack in Northern Territory leaves tourist shaken

Two tourists from Victoria say they had the fright of their lives this week, when they were attacked by a buffalo at a gorge near the outback Northern Territory town of Katherine.

Hattie Frdelja and Emma Hipwell, both 21, were walking the 13-kilometre trail to Butterfly Gorge in Nitmuluk National Park, 300km south of Darwin, on Monday when they came face to face with a feral buffalo.

"[It was] literally just right in front of us, maybe five or 10 metres away," Ms Frdejla said.

The couple said they froze after seeing the buffalo and then heard warning shouts from other hikers further down the track.

"I looked at him and could tell in his eyes that he was definitely happy to have a go," Ms Hipwell said.

Ms Frdejla said the buffalo then "pushed her over" before running away.

"[He] did a U-ey and came back and picked her up … and tossed her onto the ground,"

she said.

"We just screamed and screamed and yelled 'Help! Help!'."

Ms Frdelja said the other nearby hikers, who had already managed to escape the buffalo, came to the couple's aid.

"The people down the track were so lovely and ran straight up, and they said the buffalo had actually charged at them as well but they ran down the gorge," she said.

Ms Hipwell described the encounter in an enclosed area leading into the gorge as a case of "just bad timing".

"If we were further up I reckon he would've just picked a side and we would've moved, or if we were further down we would've been able to outrun him," she said.

“He was already spooked and we were in his way – he had nowhere to go, we had nowhere to go, so he just went straight for Em,” Ms Frdelja added.

Ms Hipwell said she was left with bruising and scratches down both sides of her hips and legs.

"It didn't tickle," she said.

Ms Frdejla said the pair would now continue their three-month tour of Australia after taking a break to recover from the ordeal in Katherine.

The Northern Territory has hundreds of thousands of feral buffalo, which can weigh up to 1,200 kilograms, concentrated mostly in wetland areas of the Top End.

In 2023, a 73-year-old man was hospitalised after being gored by a buffalo near Borroloola on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

An NT Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said buffalo were managed through annual aerial removal programs, with almost 350 of the animals removed from Nitmiluk in May.

"While this is an extremely rare occurrence, visitors are advised if they encounter a buffalo to stay calm, back away slowly and avoid making sudden movements,"