Litchfield National Park

Manton Dam

Litchfield was our first destination after leaving Darwin.  Our expectations were high as we had heard from so many people that Litchfield was a highlight on their journey.  Before arriving here we stopped off at Manton Dam Recreation Area.  This dam was finished in 1942 to store water for Darwin but was replaced by the Darwin River Dam in 1972 and has just been used as a recreation area since; that was until Cyclone Tracy hit.  On the morning after the cyclone, water supply staff realised that all water storage tanks in Darwin were empty and they had no electricity to start the pumps.  An emergency plan was put into effect and someone was sent to Manton Dam to start up the original 1939 diesel pumps.....water flowed by noon that day.  They still maintain the diesel and electric pumps to provide water to Darwin in an emergency.  Wonder what Brisbane’s contingency plan is?

Magnetic Termite Mounds

Donna and Cathedral Termite Mound

Our first stop in Litchfield was the Magnetic Termite Mounds.  Termite mounds have been a constant on our trip since Central Western Australia, however the mounds we have seen before we arrived in  Litchfield have been the cathedral termite mounds.  In Litchfield they have many examples of these, however they also have some magnetic termite mounds.  These are very thin and all face a direction which will lead to better chances of survival, depending on where the mound is located.

Florence Falls

Mark Enjoying the Plunge Pool at Florence Falls

Seeing that the next stop on our journey was Florence Falls it was quite exciting to prepare for a cooling dip as the heat near the termite mounds had us both ready and raring for a swim.  Even at the end of the dry season these falls were still flowing fiercely.  The swim was definitely worth the climb down the 135 steps!  We are sure getting used to swimming in these plunge pools!

Tollmer Falls

From there we drove to a lookout over Tolmer Falls.  These falls are at the top of a plateau that stretches endlessly on the horizon.  Because the caves underneath are the homes of the rare Orange Horseshoe Bat and the Ghost Bat, walkers aren’t permitted to enter Tolmer Gorge.  Personally I was quite happy not to walk down the hundreds of metres, particularly if we couldn’t get a swim.

Wangi Falls

We then headed to Wangi Falls to set up the caravan for two nights in the National Park.  Can’t wait for tonight – dark – quiet – we will definitely sleep better than in Darwin.  The campground here is wonderful, while it doesn’t have power, there are hot and cold showers, flushing toilets, free gas barbeques and numerous sheltered picnic tables complete with lawn – all for the price of $6.60 per adult per night.  Wangi also has a plunge pool that is ideal for swimming and cooling off.  We were both looking forward to walking the 300 metres or so, whenever we felt like a swim.

Lost City

Lost City

Definitely a Cat!

After unhooking the van we headed off to the Lost City.  David and Shirley had said this was a highlight for them when they last visited Litchfield.  We were both wondering whether we had missed a turn off on this 4 wheel drive track when we finally reached our destination – a collection of some very strange sandstone formations that definitely had the feel of a Lost City.  By using your imagination you could see different shapes and figures in the stones – or at least I could.  Mark was a philistine, said they still looked like large boulders to him.  What a killjoy!

Mark Relaxing Upper Cascades

Upper Cascade

On our return to the campsite, we met and shared dinner with a lovely couple from Cairns and really enjoyed being back out in the bush again.  Terry and Robin gave us a ‘heads up’ about the walk to the Upper Cascades.  Although it is only 1.7km to the Upper Cascades the track is mostly uphill and winds over some very rough terrain.  We decided to do the walk early in the morning and we were so glad that we did.  By the time we got to the pools at the Upper Cascades we were pretty hot, tired and fried.  It was great to be able to cool off before heading back to the Lower Cascade walk.  It took us three hours from when we started, but we did spend at least 45 minutes of that time relaxing in the cool running water.  The walking is great and we're definitely getting fitter.

View from Upper Cascades

Curtain Falls

Lower Cascades

Wallaby and Joey

From Litchfield we headed back to Katherine, where Footy once again beckoned.  Mark thought that it was an omen that the wallabies kept visiting us in this campsite, so bring on the footie!  One of the wallabies  had the tiniest of joeys.  On our way down to Katherine we were lucky enough to see ’The Ghan’ as it made its way south.  Unfortunately it wouldn’t stop so I could get a better photo.  It feels strange to be heading back to somewhere we’ve already been but after Katherine we are once again exploring areas of Australia we have never seen.  Any places we shouldn’t miss?