A Weekend in Litchfield National Park

There are two trips from Darwin that both locals and tourists recommend. Kakadu and Litchfield National Park are known for beautiful scenery and fantastic waterfalls. Kakadu is a much bigger park known for it’s aboriginal artwork, while Litchfield is smaller and more low-key. My plan was to do both – 2 days in Litchfield and 4 days in Kakadu. Due to unseasonable rain I had to scratch Kakadu off my list as most of the roads were closed due to flooding.

I directed my  full attention to Litchfield National Park. The guidebooks recommend just one full day for Litchfield, but I was intent to make it at least two. I had a week to kill before my flight to Alice Springs and was getting antsi to move on. So after getting some advice from MeanderWithMeg‘s Blog, I rented a car and drove the hour and half to Litchfield National Park.

My plan was to drive into the park by the East road, see each sight as it came along, and leave by the North road. The Magnetic Termite Mounds were my first stop. I had seen plenty of them at a distance but never up close. It gave me the heebie jeebies to know that inside this big heap of dirt were millions of termites. I could already see the mounds as I pulled into the parking lot. There they were. Big, scary mounds full of termites… let’s get a closer look!

The termite mounds were huge! It’s difficult to get a feel for how big they actually are until you get right next to them. I touched the mound and found it extremely hard, even though it looked like clay. I’d compare the feel of it to concrete. This type of mound is made by cathedral termites which is a fitting name by the look of them. I could see one on top of a cathedral somewhere in Europe (ok, maybe a very old, crumbling cathedral).

I walked to the other side of the parking lot where there were hundreds of termite mounds in the distance. It looked like a planet from Star Trek (or Star Wars, whichever side you’re on). These ones were different from the cathedral mounds I had just seen. Different types of termites make different types of mounds, and these tall, skinny mounds are made by magnetic termites. I had no idea termite life was so complex.

I spent more time than expected at the termite mounds and suddenly there was a rumble. A dark storm cloud was quickly approaching and it had started to rain. I ran to the car and slowly continued my drive through the park. I wanted to see more than just the termite mounds on my first day, so I drove to the Florence Falls parking lot and waited out the rain. It was late afternoon and daylight was slowly fading, but just before the sun set the clouds broke open. Florence Falls was lovely, but the walk to the bottom of the falls was closed off due to construction. I would have liked to have seen them from below but it wasn’t meant to be.

The next morning I went back to Florence Falls and explored the surrounding area, or specifically the Tabletop Track. This is a 39km overnight hike that had just closed for the summer, otherwise I would have liked to do it. Since I couldn’t do the full hike I opted to walk a small section of it. In the end I was thankful the Tabletop Track was closed, because the flies were so horrendous that I couldn’t imagine walking in them for 3 days.

Honestly there wasn’t much to see besides trees. It was hot, bugs were everywhere, and the views left something to be desired. I hiked about 4 miles until I was over it. Overheated and unimpressed I turned around and made my way back to Florence Falls.

My next stop was Buley Rockhole, and as I pulled into the parking lot I was taken aback by the amount of cars. At this point in my travels I wasn’t keeping track of days, and I realized I was in Litchfield on the weekend. Maybe it wouldn’t be as crowded as it looked. I grabbed my bathing suit and walked the short path to the creek. There were people everywhere! The bottom pool had a rowdy group of guys with a cooler full of beer in it. Kids were running and jumping around the second pool. I made my way to the smaller top pools and thankfully found them to be quieter.

I climbed in and enjoyed the cool water on such a hot day. My little pool only had two couples in the throws of young love in it, so it was peacefully quiet aside from the occasional giggle. That is until a group of kids came and flung themselves into our pool. They were loud and enjoyed splashing everyone in sight, so the couples and I took our leave.

It was lunchtime and I stopped at Tabletop Swamp to make myself a PBJ. This was not the most popular attraction as I was the only car in the parking lot. I almost skipped it too, but courageously put on my mosquito net and walked to the swamp. Although there were a ton of flies there were also many birds. I am continuously amazed at the variety of birds in Australia and always appreciate the chance to see new ones.

Since it was the end of the dry season none of the waterfalls were flowing much. However they were still interesting to see and my next stop was Tolmer Falls.  There is no trail going to the bottom of the falls, but the boardwalk offers beautiful views over the entire Litchfield National Park. The trees went well past the horizon and the clouds were perfect puffy balls of fluff. The waterfall was just a trickle but the structure of the cliffs was impressive. I spent a good amount of time here because the views were just amazing.

Our fallen friend, Mr. Palmtree

Wangi Falls is the most popular spot in Litchfield because it’s easy to get to and has a giant swimming hole. There is a little gift shop where you can buy floaties and goggles (and where I bought ice cream, duh). I knew this spot was going to be busy, but was happy to find the pond was so big that it didn’t matter. I had plenty of space to myself. In many spots it was shallow enough to stand and I claimed a nice little patch where I could people watch.

Some guys were doing a really big jump off the left side of the waterfall and I’ll admit I was scared for them. Thankfully there were no injuries, just big splashes. I spent most of my afternoon watching them make the jump. Wangi Falls is a great spot to stay out of the heat and find some entertainment. I also found a nice patch of grass and basked in the sun for a while.

Before the day ended I eventually motivated myself to drive to The Cascades. When I pulled into the parking lot I gave a big sigh when I saw the amount of cars. I was sleepy from the sun and didn’t want to deal with the mass of people anymore. Instead I went to my campsite and spend the rest of the evening lazing around and reading my book. Sleep crept up on me early and I went to bed with the hope to be the first one at The Cascades tomorrow.

I woke up with sunrise and was the first one there. The hike to Upper Cascades was quick and I found myself at a picturesque patch of waterfalls and swimming holes. I won’t go into details about the rest of this hike, but if you want to know EXACTLY what happened at The Cascades take a minute to read My First Travel Story (that is sure to make you pack your bags). I did the full loop and walked to the Lower Cascades as well. It was a great leg-stretch early in the day and a perfect preparation for the drive ahead of me.

My final stop in Litchfield National Park was the Bamboo Creek Tin Mine. The flies were incredible, but thankfully I had my trusted bug net on. It was a short walk to the mine and turned out to be an interesting stop. A few poor families used to work in this tin mine in the 1940’s. It was a hard life which was made even harder by the location. Going to the nearest city was more than just a day trip and the wet season made it extremely difficult to enter or leave the location. Even now the roads flood so much in The Wet (monsoon season) that they are deemed undrivable. What would it be like to make the trek on a horse?

It was finally time to leave the park. I drove to the very edge of the north end of the park and came to the realization that the road was unpaved. My guidebook didn’t specify this and the park map was just as vague. Unpaved roads are very common in Australia but 4 wheel drive vehicles are usually recommended.

I inspected the sign carefully and discovered the road had been deemed OK for 2 wheel drives. I decided to give it a try, and hoped my little Yaris would make it through unscathed. There was a bit of water damage and some suspiciously large holes, but my Yaris made it just fine. It was pretty fun buzzing down the road and watching the red dirt fly in my rear view mirror.

Interested in Visiting Litchfield National Park?

Litchfield is an hour and a half drive from Darwin. I chose to rent a car which certainly has its perks. However, car rentals in Darwin only offer 100km a day. Getting to the park and back to Darwin is 230 km (not including side trips). So if you’re heading to Litchfield for less than 3 days you won’t have enough kilometers to do so.  I was there for 3 days, and with side trips (park sights and gas) I barely stayed under 300km.

You can also do an organized tour. There are tons of Litchfield tours being offered in downtown Darwin. They are typically 1-2 days, which I probably would have taken if I hadn’t just finished a 9 day tour. There are also tours that go to Kakadu and Litchfield which range from 4-6 days. I didn’t get a chance to do Kakadu because of the weather, but I’ll just have to save it for another day.