Blogs from Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 7

I just got back from a 5 day camping trip in Litchfield, Nitmiluk & Kakadu National Parks. It was an absolute blast. We traversed 3 major parks over the course of 5 days. The group consisted of 5 Ozzies, 1 Dutch & 1 English. This probably doubled the amount of Australians I've met throughout this trip. I'm going to break it up into each National Park just for the sake of pictures. Litchfield was the first stop on the tour and it is about 150km from Darwin. The tour was an active tour but because of the heat and humidity this activity would be limited to a few kilometers a day of hiking. It was just way too hot to go any farther, mainly because we couldn't carry enough water. This entire area of the Top ... read more

Litchfieldin kansallispuistoon saapuessamme kavimme ensimmaisena katsastamassa isot katedraalitermiittikeot. Ne olivat erilaisia kuin keot Lansi Australiassa sijaitsevat pyoreat termiittikeot. Ne muistuttavat katedraalikirkkoa pylvasmaisine muotoineen ja ovat aina ita-lansi suuntaisesti rakennettuja. Taten keko saa maksimaalisen lammon auringosta suurimpien pintojen ollessa auringossa koko paivan. Aamuisin termiitit ovat keon itapuolella ja iltapaivisin lansipuolella ja yoksi ne vetaytyvat keskelle keon uumeniin. Suurimmat keoita ovat monen metrin korkuisia. Yoksi perustimme leirin lahelle Florence Falls vesiputouksia ja kokkailimme ruokaa kaasuhellalla. Juotiin vahan viinia ja pelattiin jazia ennen nukkumaan menoa. Ma herasin rapinaan teltan ulkopuolella ja kaivoin paniikissa taskulampun esiin murtovarkaiden ja murhamiesten pelossa. Avatessani teltan oven silmiini osui edessani kokot... read more

After leaving Edith Falls we headed for a place called Douglas Hot Springs, a little way north and about 70k’s off the main highway, the last section of that on unsealed road. There are still plenty of unsealed roads still in regular use in Oz, providing the only way to get to certain places. These can be gravel, mud, sand or anything else and are often corrugated, vibrating vehicle and passengers to within an inch of their life. Many were sealed during the war particularly up this way, to provide an efficient supply route to the northern ports and airstrips, but there are some pretty major roads that have only been tarmac’d surprisingly recently. Travelling the vast distances involved here is challenging enough on smooth bitumen, it is difficult to imagine the weeks and weeks ... read more

Smaller than Kakadu, but closer to Darwin, is Litchfield National Park. It doesn't require 4WD nor does it contain any crocs, so it represents a much "easier" experience than Kakadu. I plumped for a day tour with a company that Darren (the Kakadu guide) had recommended. The group was a real mix, from some pensionable-age Aussies down to a pair of Danish teenage girls. One of the Aussie women turned out to originally be from Redcar, from where surprisingly she had emigrated. The guide was Pat, a Darwin-born chap with an unkempt beard that looked like it had been stolen from the chin of Gimli from "The Lord of the Rings". He delivered a barrage of info during the day - the only times he wasn't talking were when we were swimming, or he was playing ... read more

In case you’re wondering, we left Katherine on 20/7 and we headed to the Douglas/Daly River area which was 186 kms up the highway and then 60kms west. It was a nice short drive for a change and we booked into the small bush caravan park called Douglas/Daly Resort (Resort was a bit of an overstatement), got set up and went for a walk along the river which ran along the rear of the park. It may not have had resort facilities and was stuck in the middle of nowhere, but the river was really pretty. There are a number of designated bush camping spots for about 1km along the river at various pools, one of which was a hot springs which we intended to swim in, but when we got there, there were 4 kids ... read more