The drive up to Darwin from Katherine is an easy three hours and if you plan your trip right, you can drop in and see two of the most amazing National Parks in Australia on your way. It's still super hot up here, so we decided to stop over at Litchfield National Park on the way up to Darwin, leaving Kakadu for the way back.
Litchfield National Park is kinda like Wet-n-Wild on the Queensland Goldcoast (minus the pricey entry cost, the scores of people and the million dollar water bill to power all the water slides). The drive into the park is a little deceiving, with tons of spot fires along the sides of the roads raging and the dry bush scattered with termite mounds - hardly the lush wonderland we have been told about. But keep driving. The pockets of paradise are just up the road.
The first is the amazing Magnetic Termite mounds, that look like some kind of spooky cemetery. There are two different types of termite nests at this site, some over five metres high and all aligned north-south, apparently to keep the inside of the mound from getting too heated by the sun (which tracks east-west).
But the termite mounds are just a little appetiser for the fun times ahead at the Blueys Rockholes and Florence Falls. The cascading freshwater is soooo refreshing and I didn't think about getting eaten by a crocodile once! (There are freshies and the odd salt water croc around these parts but apparently freshwater crocodiles are harmless... still, they've got sharper teeth than me and I bet a nastier bite as well!).
You can check out the beautiful Florence Falls from the top and then brave the steep climb to the bottom for a dip. It's definitely worth it - the clear water and thrill of swimming right under the thundering waterfall is just awesome! The walk up hundreds of steps back to the car park? Not so awesome...
Yours in the great outdoors,
Odette
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