Enough laksa hunting, time to get out and see some more of the Northern Territory! After taking breakfast at the hotel, we set out south for Litchfield National Park.
The quality of the road is very good but once outside of the greater Darwin area the divided lanes of the A1 highway merge. Yet the speed limit increases to 130 km/h, faster than anywhere else in the country. Too fast for us to be truthful.
Initially the old trackbed of the North Australian Railway is on our left, the main evidence being the rusting steel bridges crossing the creeks. The far more modern railway across the continent to Adelaide runs on our right, but there are no trains to be seen.
Our mobile signal disappears, but navigating to the national park presents no difficulties thanks to road signage and we turn off towards the town of Batchelor.
Once an experimental agricultural station and then a township to support the now-closed Rum Jungle uranium mine, the road into Batchelor passes a massive solar farm. Batchelor itself is a very green town, surrounded by verdant tropical trees that contrast with the dryer surrounds. The Batchelor Institute, supporting Indigenous education courses features prominently, but the company town origins are still visible.
We pass by other very green caravan parks, whose isolation must present some interesting challenges for the holiday residents.
The entrance to Litchfield National Park is signified by a sign and a cattle grate. A few kilometres further in is an information station with printed maps.
We stop first at the Termite Mounds. Two types are on display. The huge cathedral mounds tower over us, multiple peaks of dry dirt bound together and over fifty years old. Across in the swamplands are the magnetic mounds, blades aligned north-south to ensure optimal shelter for the insect residents.
Next along the way are Florence Falls. B and Alex change into swimwear and we climb down the 135 mainly metal steps to the base of the waterfall. Crowds of visitors are already swimming in the large pool beneath the waterfall.
While Alex and B drift in the current, I wander along the creek, shallow and reasonably warm waters running across the rocks beneath the cool greenery. It is very pretty and the two of them thoroughly enjoy their swim. I can’t be bothered with the effort of changing and suffering the painful consequences of damp chafing.
We return to the car up those 135 steps again. It’s lunch time and we have no food, so I encourage them to skip the next falls and head straight to Wangi Falls, where the park’s only cafe is located.
There is an AAT tour group already there, lining up for a buffet. For the rest of us, last service is 1.30 pm, so it is fortunate we came when we did. The service is slow, but generous, with warnings that raptors may swoop down to steal meals.
Now more than satisfied, we walk down to the Wangi Falls pool, closed for the Wet Season due to the risk of crocodiles. The view is worth it, the two threads of the falls splitting apart, separated by sharp red sandstone on which a large tree grows alone.
The creek that takes the waters away has small fish darting within the waters and I wonder if they are the yellow striped rainbow fish mentioned in the signage. There are no crocodiles to be seen though.
We take the metal and stone path up into the monsoon rainforest canopy, enjoying the cool shelter from the sun, decide that it is too hot to continue along the entire path around the falls.
Our final stop is at Tolmer Falls, heading back the way we came. The views here are incredible, down along the eroded sandstone gorge and out towards the plains beyond, the waters carving caves for protected bat species in the walls of the gorge. In the distance a single conical peak pokes up from the horizon, like a volcano, but I cannot find its name.
This feels like a classic view of the Northern Territory and I can quite imagine watching the storm clouds of the wet from up here.
It is not until the road back that we get a taste of NT’s Wet Season. We are driving along the 130 km/h stretch of the Stuart Highway when the downpour hits and we slow to half that speed. Then we reach the edge and the rains are gone.
Along the way we passed a three trailer road train, one of which was hauling tractors, a real case of mixed freight. Surely a train would be more efficient for this?
The highway passes sites of military significance, camps and airfields. There is a lot to see around Darwin and I’m looking forward to visiting museums to provide some interpretation.
I realise today that the city of Darwin has around a hundred thousand fewer people than the Sutherland Shire itself. Yet obviously, isolated as it is, Darwin must provide a greater range of services to its population.
It’s a relief to be back at the hotel. I use my powers of invention to cook a stir-fry with beef marinated in garlic, red onion, pepper and lime juice. It’s quite a challenge when you don’t have bottles of sauces in the pantry.
Looking forward to less driving tomorrow.