Early start.
Litchfield National Park day trip today. At the end of a “dry” dry season looks rather parched although tops of trees are green. Sparse undergrowth green in places. Lovely specimen cyads though and very impressive in clumps together. Several patches showing signs of bushfire and a couple still smouldering. One smoke hazard warning and a dark plume. Smelt it in the air.
The park must look very different in the wet season. Lots of signs saying floodway but hard to imagine the scale of the area flooded when you look at the depth markers. One lovely spot allowed a view of a part of the Adelaide River still looking good and with plenty of water.
The park is located about 120 km southwest of Darwin driving via Bachelor/Rum Jungle. This area flourished with the discovery of uranium in 1949. Australia’s first uranium mine was established here and it operated til 1970s. Sure doesn’t look so prosperous now.
The park is important to Koongurrukun, Mak Mark Marranunggu, Werat and Warray Aboriginal people who believe their ancestral spirits formed the landscape, plants and animals in the park.
The intriguing magnetic termite mounds (left) are unique to the area. They are plinth like and the thin spines are aligned north to south and can be used for navigation if you are lost in the bush! (Google You Tube video). Apparently the alignment keeps the mounds cool. Such amazing ants! There are also Cathedral Termite mounds – these are the particularly sculptural ones.
We checked out a few waterfalls, possibly not at their best in the dry season but with great gswimming holes beneath them.
Wangi Falls (left) did have a croc warning but on a hot day only a few appeared deterred!
Also visited Florence Falls, a double waterfall in a monsoon forest and the
Not much wildlife seen – a dead kangaroo and one bird at our lunchstop. Heard a few crickets and birdcalls but no sightings.
On the way back we checked out the old tin mine ruins at Bamboo Creek. Tin was mined there on a small scale from 1905-1955. Adverse conditions of transportation and unfavorable weather in the wet seasons were the death knell.
Interesting round trip tiki tour- as above with more long straight roads, some windy unsealed and corrugated road and lots of red dust! Not as hot today, only 33.
Photos Litchfield National Park
