Litchfield National Park

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Today we headed to Litchfield National Park for an overnight stay. As we had not booked any accommodation we had to first find somewhere to stay. Our first choice was booked out so we moved down the road to our second choice, it too was booked out. The last place had budget accommodation available for $70 a night. This bought you a 4x4 metre room with 2 bunk beds, a fridge and a vinyl floor. We did have a clunky air conditioner, so that was alright. After the owner came and gave it a thump it was quiet enough to be able to get to sleep. The lady who showed us the room said “the cobwebs are free”. The place had a real outback feel.

Once our accommodation was sorted out, we headed to Florence Falls for a swim. On the way we stopped at The Termite Mounds, this area has a large number of termite mounds which are built facing North to South, these are called the magnetic termite mounds. There is a little information display and a board walk to view the mounds.

It was pretty hot so we moved on to Florence falls. This is a designated swimming area. No crocs. We climbed down about 150 stairs to get to the base of the falls. The water was a little cold, but we all needed to cool down. There were heaps of fish, the girls were trying to catch them. We had some sandwiches with us so we sat on the rocks and had lunch.

After Florence Falls we went on to Buley Rock Hole, this is a series of little water falls and rock pools, it is beautiful spot and great for lazing around and keeping cool.

Down the road a little further is Wangi Falls. This is a popular spot, with picnic grounds and a large swimming hole. As long as there are no crocs around. The water fall is quite high, but there wasn’t a lot of water flowing as it is the end of the dry season. Cooled off again after our swim we headed back to our accommodation for a shower and food before bed.

There was no shower or toilet in the room so Sandra and the girls went to the closest shower block for what turned out to be a cold shower. The hot water was not working. They returned voicing their disapproval. I decided to visit the shower block way down the back, as I noticed it had two rather large solar hot water systems sitting on the roof. Plenty of hot water for me.

All cleaned up, we drove to one of the other caravan parks as they had a bit of a dining area where you could get meals and a drink. It was quite nice and the meals were good. All full, it was back to our room for a good nights sleep.

We were heading back to Darwin today, as we had to get some groceries and stuff for the motor home which we were to pick up tomorrow. We wanted to go back to the rock pools for another swim before heading back. After eating our breakfast cereal out of coffee cups, we load the car and set off for our swim. Then back to Darwin.


The Mierans

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