Thomas Family Road Trip: Litchfield National Park (6/5/12

From Darwin, we headed 100 kilometres south to Litchfield National Park. We stopped at Batchelor, a small town, 15 kilometres from the national park for a few supplies and info. We set up at Litchfield Tourist Park, just outside the national park. As it was a long weekend in the NT, we had a quiet afternoon as we had be warned the waterfalls and swimming holes would we packed. We thought we would wait another day until the "tourists" went home. The kids made some new friends and we all enjoyed a few drinks with Murray, Clint, Sharnie, Charlie, Chloe, Will and Sophie. Once in Litchfield, we discovered we had no phone or internet reception. Made us realise how much we use our mobiles and the internet!

We spent all of Monday in Litchfield. We thought we'd do the furthest sites first and work our way back. Our first stop was Bamboo Creek Tin Mine, an old tin mine 75 kilometres from where we were staying. The mine has not been in operation since the 1950's. We did a short 800 metre walk around the remains. It would have been a tough life for the miners in the heat. Plus they frequently became cut off during the huge rains of the wet season.

Next stop, Walker Creek. We set out on a walk along the creek, which was dotted with campsites, waterfalls and swimming holes. Ben became fed up with walking after only 100 metres! After much bribery we made it to the final campsite and swimming hole, 1.8 kilometres from the carpark. It was definitely worth the walk. So many beautiful swimming spots with lovely crystal clear fresh water. We decided to swim at campsite 8 - Plunge Pool. What a spot - two beautiful swimming holes, one with a small waterfall at the end. We spent an hour or so enjoying the tranquillity. We had it all to ourselves until we were just about to leave. It doesn't get much better than this! We had a quick dip in a swimming hole at the start of the creek when we finished the walk back.

We thought we could get one more walk out of the kids, so headed to Wangi Falls. Wangi Falls has two huge waterfalls, one much larger than the other flowing into a massive swimming hole. It was just stunning. As the wet season had just finished, the water was still flowing strongly and because of this the waterhole was not open for swimming. It was such a shame as it looked beautiful.

We did a steep 400 metre walk to the treetop platform. A great view over the trees, but not of the waterfalls. From here we were undecided which way to go - it was a 400 metre walk back the way we had come or an 800 metre walk via the Loop Walk, passing over the top of the waterfalls. Bribery came into play once again - we did the long walk. Although we wondered why we had when we were piggy backing both kids up and down some very steep steps! Ben's little legs were well and truly exhausted and Chloe had a fall so was over it! We made it back in one piece, albeit hot, sweaty and exhausted. That was the last of our walks for the day. We soaked up the gorgeous view before heading back towards home.

We headed past the caravan park into Batchelor to buy the kids their bribery - a can of cool drink and some lollies. It was an early night for everyone tonight.

On Tuesday we spent another long day in Litchfield. 9 hours in fact! We hadn't planned on such a long day, it just worked out like that. First stop, The Lost City, a series of rock formations that look like ancient ruins. It was a 10.5 kilometre 4wd track off the main road. We did a 700 metre loop walk. Pretty fascinating.

Ben was losing it even before we went into the Lost City, so we thought we wouldn't get too much done. However, bribery once again came into play and the kids were brilliant all day.

Next stop was Tolmer Falls, not far from The Lost City. A short walk took us to a viewing platform, providing a great view of the falls. Very nice, but you can not swim there.

Next stop, Cascades, 60 kilometres from our caravan park. The walking track takes you along the creek and over a number of creek crossings, until you reach the Lower Cascades, a lovely swimming spot. We continued on until we reached Curtain Falls and had a swim in a rock pool here. Donna and the kids sat in the small waterfall and let the water flow past us. Bit more of a walk and we came to the Upper Cascades. We decided to take a slightly longer walk track back, to avoid the river crossings, some of which were a bit difficult to cross. All up a 3.5 kilometre walk.

Next stop, Greenant Creek. A fairly difficult (and hot) 1.5 kilometre hike to our destination - Tjaetaba Falls. Wow - it was amazing - was definitely worth the walk. We were at the top of the waterfall. The view down was stunning. The best part though was the beautiful rock pool that sat right at the top of the waterfall. A fairly small but deep rock hole, with a small waterfall running into it. Just beautiful! A slight hiccup when we first arrived was a man was having a skinny dip in the rock pool. Each to their own, but not really what Chloe and Ben needed to see, especially because they never go swimming without their goggles! After a bit of encouragement from Simon, he put his gear on and all was good. They left soon after and we had this piece of paradise all to ourselves. The kids (and Simon) loved jumping and diving in to the pool from the rocks. A highlight for the kids. This is definitely our favourite swimming hole so far.

By this time it was about 2.30 and we had a bit more energy in us, so we all agreed (with bribes of course) that we would finish all the sites we wanted to see in Litchfield today. So on we went to Buley Rockhole, a series of cascading rock pools. We had a swim at the lowest pool, which was lovely and the view upwards was beautiful. We then walked up to the top rock pool. There were waterfalls, many swimming holes and quite a few tourists. This is one of the closest and most accessible of all the swimming spots in Litchfield, making it very popular.

Next stop, very close to Buley Rockhole was Florence Falls. There is a great lookout at the top, providing a very spectacular view of the two waterfalls and large swimming hole. Down 135 steps we went and in for our last swim of the day. Beautiful, clear water with heaps of fish swimming around. Simon and Donna swam out to the falls which was lovely. The kids loved it here, although we all agreed Tjaetaba Falls was still the best. The worst part of Florence Falls was climbing the 135 steps to the top.

One final stop before heading back to camp. Magnetic Termite Mounds are masses of termite mounds, standing up to two metres high. They are unusual in that they are constructed in a north- south orientation, acting as a built in temperature control mechanism, allowing only the least possible surface area to be exposed to the heat of the sun. Thankfully, there was only a short boardwalk where you could view them.

After 9 hours, 9 kilometres of walking, 130 kilometres of driving, swims at four beautiful swimming spots and visits to 7 amazing spots, we arrived back at our caravan park. Needless to say we were all a bit tired.

We are pleased to say that we visited every place in Litchfield that was open and completed every walk except one. There were only two swimming spots that were still closed, Wangi Falls and Sandy Creek and one site - Blyth Homestead Ruins. We will have to do them next time.

We LOVED Litchfield. What a special and beautiful part of Australia.

From here we will start making our way toward WA. A quick stop at Katherine to stock up on supplies and then west as far as we get. It is sad to be leaving NT - we absolutely loved it. As sad as it is, once we are back in WA we will be starting the final chapter of our trip toward home. However, we still have seven weeks to go and we plan to enjoy each and every day.

Until WA.....