Off to See the Wizard - Darwin to Litchfield National Park

We were both ready to get on the move again, but we were not travelling very far.  Our destination for the day was Litchfield National Park just south of Darwin.

A feature of the landscape I haven’t mentioned before is that most of the roadside landscape has been burnt for fuel reduction.  Most looks like it has been burnt this dry season.  

Yesterday we saw one that was still smouldering.

Our campsite was at the Litchfield Safari Park.  It was down about 1km of dirt road and then opened to a beautiful site with GREEN grass.  We had grass at Alice Springs, but it was not green.  It is one of the prettiest since we left home.

There are several waterfalls and swimming holes within the park and they are the main attractions.  We were warned at the caravan park that a few would be jam packed, so to avoid them.  The others all seemed to have quite a long walk to access and we didn’t really feel like that in the heat and humidity.  Each day is well into the 30s and very muggy.  

Therefore, we ventured to Wangi Falls, as they were the closest to where we were staying and easily accessable.  We would see what it was like and take it from there.

By the way, I was unsure how to pronounce the name.  I heard someone say “Wang-ee Falls”, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t be correct.  There is a town on the New South Wales coast spelled Wangi Wangi and pronounced “Wonn-gee Wonn-gee”.  I think this place is pronounced “Wonn-guy Falls”.  

When we arrived there was a large area where people were enjoying picnics and barbecues and a steady stream of people walking to and from the swimming hole.

What a beautiful spot.

Yes, there were a lot of people, but it is a large area and there was no crowding.  Plenty of room for everyone.  Time to go for a swim.  It was colder than the previous places we have been, so a nasty shock to start with.

Now, I’m no swimmer, being hardly able to swim at all and terrified of not being able to touch the bottom.    I was very brave (for me) at Mataranka Springs with my pool noodle and even braver at Berry Springs.  This was in a somewhat bigger league.  That is a big hole and very deep.  I was rather proud of myself (if I say so myself) as I bobbed along on my noodle all the way to the other side to the two waterfalls.  Apparently it is 120m across. We had a very enjoyable and relaxing time there.

There was a sign for a viewing platform, so we went around after our swim.  You can see from here how the rainforest goes right down to the water.  It was rather lovely.  According to some signs freshwater crocodiles live here, but you don’t see them.  During the wet season salties do come in and the area is cleared of any before the swimming hole is opened for the dry season.  There are several species of fish as well.  We saw a couple, which would be black bream.

Yes, the obligatory photo.

After the viewing platform a path continues on.  You can walk a loop right up over the creek at the top of the waterfalls and back or can go part way to a tree top spot.  We elected to just do that section.  There were loads of fruit bats roosted above the first sections, creating quite a racket.

You can’t really see any distance, but it is interesting being up in the tree tops of the rainforest.  This area is to the right of the waterfalls in my earlier photos.

After that exercise, we had to have another dip in the waterhole before having an ice cream and leaving.

We are working on the basis that we can’t and don’t want to see everything.  As we had enjoyed such a nice time at Wangi Falls we didn’t even go to look at any others.  What we had seen and done was enough for the day.

Back at camp I stitched another hexy flower and started reading a book.  When we checked in there were a small book exchange in reception and I noticed a vintage LM Montgomery book that I don’t think I have in my collection, so a swap was quickly executed.  They are such a different style of book.  Mick would find it incredibly boring “no car chases”, but I’m enjoying the slow pace of it.

Overnight was rather cool after the last week or so.  We only had a sheet on and woke up a bit chilly.  A pleasant change from the hot muggy nights.  There were also lots of curlews calling throughout the night.  I can definitely understand that they would be a bit disturbing if you didn’t know what it was.

So, another fun day of exploring.

The highlight of the day was definitely swimming at Wangi Falls.