Nitmiluk - Litchfield National Park

Edith Falls again

We left Nitmiluk National Park on Tuesday and stopped in Katherine to fix a windscreen chip and chase a mossie net. With the temperatures soaring we are not keen on sleeping 5 in the caravan any more for one night stops, so a net is imperative for the Blunderbuss sleepers. We found one in a camping shop, where Lachie was in heaven checking out all the fishing gear and trying to talk me into buying a Lachie sized rod for "Father's Day"! Edith Falls was not far out of our way on the road north to Litchfield National Park, so we stopped there for the second time for a late lunch and another swim. We all swam out to the falls again and this time I managed to jump off the rocks. I got a good sinus clearout and lost my top for a tangled few minutes, but it was worth it! The family were suitably impressed.

500 ... or was that 430?

We made it to Adelaide River before roo hour, which is always a relief, so we set up and Dave started teaching the boys how to play 500 while there was still a little light. Jackson and I installed the mossie net in the Blunderbuss with only a couple of rude words. The kids were very excited when the Ghan rumbled past us on its way to Alice just after dark. We also heard some big roos hop past, but they fortunately did not stop to do any washing up, so it was a fairly peaceful night.

Come and get me, you mongrel mossies!

Ella was keen to be a horse and run around the
lovely grass racetrack the next morning, but as it was already very hot when we got up, she went off the idea. She contented herself with making her excellent horse noises in the shower!

We didn't have far to go to get to Litchfield but we wanted to be early to get a powered site as the fridge keeps turning itself off when running on gas. And no, this time it is not Mr. Security's fault! We checked in to Litchfield Safari Park and quickly got organised to go swimming at Wangi Falls. The pool at Wangi was only about 70m across, but it was an impressive falls with two waterfalls coming down over the sheer cliffs. Many fish species were abundant in the water, so we got the snorkelling gear out and had a great time fish watching. We kept the snorkel on Lachie so he wouldn't think about fishing rods!

Iceblocks and 500

Wangi Falls

Checking out the spa pool

The kids and I scrambled up the rocks near the smaller waterfall and found a deep, spa pool sized rock hole which was continually filled by the waterfall. It was fantastic sitting there in the water watching the cockatoos fly overhead and water at the top of the falls.

White cockatoos water at the top of the falls

It was a few nights since the last bushfire experience so it was no surprise to awake to a tent filled with smoke and the campsite filled with what looked like heavy mist. I couldn't see the glow from the fire anywhere, so I went back to sleep.

On the drive out to the Termite Mounds the next morning, we got a good view of the fires surrounding us. There were several large fires burning off the plateau out to the west, but a couple of smaller ones were much closer. National Parks Rangers give a lot of free talks in the dry season so we took advantage of the Termite talk and learnt lots about termites and the mounds that we have been seeing everywhere.

Magnetic Termite Mounds

Huge Cathedral Mound

It was stinking hot by the time the talk had finished, so a trip to Florence Falls was an easy decision. This waterfall was different again - a powerful falls and an enclosed, gorgeous pool with sparkling clear water. There were more fish here than we'd seen anywhere, so out came the snorkelling gear again. We bought it for the Reef, but it has been great in the Outback!

The bottom half of Florence Falls

Ella found a patterned rock

Getting lots of use from the snorkels

Dave has trouble swimming without
his pink floatie!

After reaching the vehicle by climbing 135 steps, we were ready for another cool swim (it was 34 degrees!) so we checked out the Buley Rockholes, a series of pools gouged out from the rocks with waterfalls linking them all. There was not much shade, so we slid through them all pretty quickly, but it was hugely enjoyable.

We'll need new boardies soon!

Our drive back home included a visit to Tolmer Falls (where colonies of endangered bats are protected, so no swimming there) and as we were hot (again) another swim at Wangi Falls.

Tolmer Falls

On to Darwin next.


Stay tuned ...

Got a good view of one of the fires

Right, let's go for another swim!