Australia Trip Day 3: Litchfield National Park

Thank God that I enjoyed today's trip to Litchfield better than yesterday's trip to Kakadu. The weather was as bad and unbearable as yesterday but the sceneries and the photos were better. Hehe..

The first part of the itinerary is the town of Batchelor. I was expecting that we would stop for awhile but we only passed by it. It is quite an old scenic town which I think will be quite wonderful to take pictures at.

The first stop was at Florence Falls. The waterfall is very huge and very distant from the viewing platform. In fact there is one tree branch which is blocking the view of the waterfall.  There are 2 ways to reach the swimming hole at the bottom: a 160-step staircase or a 1 km walk through the forest areas. I opted for the staircase. At the end, I had to walk across a wooden bridge with a stream flowing underneath. I was so tempted to stand on the rocks on the stream which are still higher than the water but the thoughts of crocodile kinda deter me. I know they will inform us if there are crocodiles nearby but the thought of risking my life from being eaten by a crocodile just for a photo is very stupid. Although I am not a swimming person, I have to admit that the swimming hole looks pretty comfortable and scenic to take photos as well. There is another way back up which is about 1km walk through the woods. Normally I will be adventurous to try different part but I chose to climb the stair back up as I don't find the vegetations to be that interesting.

Florence Falls viewed from the viewing platform.
They should cut away that tree at the corner which blocks the view.

The second waterfall for the day was Tolmer Falls. The surrounding area is dryer than Florence and there is hardly any trees to form canopy. However, one side of the track to the viewing platform overlooks something like a cliff and the view is really breathtaking.

Tolmer Falls

After that, we went to Wangi Falls. Unlike the previous two which are seen from afar at the viewing platform, this waterfall is accessible from the bottom which happens to be a large swimming area. It looks even nicer than the swim area at Florence Falls. There was a crocodile sighting so the swimming area was closed. I am not complaining since that means I got to take pictures without strangers at the background. Hehe..

Wangi Falls which is as beautiful as its tourism pictures.

Lunch was at the cafe nearby and it was a similar buffet spread from yesterday. The weather was amazing as it changed really fast: from the scorching sun, to heavy rain on our journey to Buley Rockhole, and back to the heat when we reached Buley. I thought Buley would be the most disappointing one but it turned out to be the best. Unlike the name which suggests it to be a large 'hole' filled with water, it is actually a long streaming river on a gentle gradient where people can take a dip at the more flat parts. I enjoyed walking along the stream and the challenge of finding a solid ground to step on. I also finally had the chance to have a picture in the midst of the tall speargrasses. Yay!

On the way back, we made a stop at a termite mound at roadside. Termite belongs to cockroach family and after googling the pictures, I kinda regret touching the mound. Lol. It was raining heavily on our way back and because of the vast open areas, I can finally appreciate why Northern Territory is also famed for the lightnings.

It is my final night in Darwin so I took the chance to take pictures at the Esplanade. Unfortunately it started to drizzle halfway and I had to skip photos on the children's playground. Lol.. Despite the weather fluctuations, I am thankful that the rain did not ruin the phototaking opportunities at Litchfield :) And to have a little bit of walks before reaching the phototaking destination is my kind of holiday. Hehe...

View from the Esplanade. Nothing fantastic here.