Located only about an hour’s drive south west from Darwin, Litchfield National Park is easily accessible via good roads. Because of this, it is extremely busy and rather over-developed for my taste . I’m glad I went but I wouldn’t hurry back here.
I first stayed at Wangi Falls (pronounced “Wong-guy”) which has an extremely popular and developed swimming spot – think your local water-park in summer! There are concrete paths (no dirt tracks here) and steps with handrails making access into the rock pool easy…
Even though it is well into the dry season, the waterfall is still flowing and nicely spectacular. The pool at the base of the falls has clear water and is refreshingly cool in the heat of the day.
This hawk is watching for any scraps left in the campground and later swooped down and relieved a very startled child of his biscuit, which was pretty funny – the kid wasn’t too impressed though!
Wangi is designated as a “Low Risk” swimming area, in that crocs MAY be present – in fact there was a small freshwater croc lurking in the pool when I was swimming there. “Freshies” eat fish and frogs and generally don’t bite people, unless maybe you stick your hand in their mouth…
Saltwater crocs on the other hand will happily eat people – and do. The presence of “salties” is monitored in these waterways and hopefully they are detected and taken away before you get in!
Rainbow bee-eaters live in the park and are beautiful birds.
Leaving Wangi I traveled to Tjaynera Falls, driving down a 10 kilometer rough dirt road in the park. This area is accessible by four wheel drive only, although I didn’t have to engage 4WD to get there.
Litchfiled is known for its termite mounds, some of which are very spectacular. These can be well over 2 meters tall and are aligned to magnetic north. They make pretty amazing sentinels in the bush.
On the way there is a impressive drive through a deep river crossing. Definitely no swimming advised in this river as salties may be lurking – note the sign on the left of the photo. Funnily enough, I keep the windows up, too – not sure if the glass would stop a hungry croc, but I definitely feel better with the windows closed!
As the route across the river curves, the course ahead of you is obscured as you drive through the water, which makes this river crossing a bit more interesting and exciting!
Tjaynera Falls are near the Sandy Creek campground. The falls and pool are then a rough, rocky walk from the camping area. I think these falls are actually more spectacular than Wangi, with beautifully cold and clear water, which is very welcome after the 2 km walk in the heat.
I stayed here for a couple of days with the weather very hot and sultry. Now we are into August, it is starting to become more humid, giving an indication what the approaching wet season has in store. This campground only has cold showers, which is fine for these hot days.
I would have stayed longer, however the second long weekend in a row ensured that this popular park was overrun by loud and unpleasant bogans from Darwin.
Leaving Litchfield I stayed for a couple of days outside the park, which was a bit less busy. As I am experiencing some problems with the solar power in the camper, I have now returned to Darwin to get this fixed, before heading off-grid again.
