July 26th-30th, 2011- Litchfield Tourist Park-Litchfield National Park

Tuesday July 26th saw us travel the short distance North and West to Batchelor. We took the scenic drive from Douglas Hot Springs which was slow travelling but very beautiful. We stayed at the Litchfield Tourist Park which is 15KM west of Batchelor near Litchfield National Park. The caravan site was very nice, shady, and clean. Fifth night was free if you paid for four which was good as well. We set up here as our base to explore Litchfield National Park. Both Alan Pierson and Craig Williams who I worked with in Newcastle highly recommended Litchfield. We managed to see quite a bit of it and really enjoyed it. It may not be as spectacular of some of the places we have seen but it was beautiful and had the added bonus of several nice swimming holes at most of the falls locations.

We took a drive into Litchfield on Tuesday afternoon to visit the Termite Mounds and the Lost City. Termite mounds were interesting but not much better than several we had seen previously. The Lost City was about 10KM down a 4WD track and was very corrugated. Rock formations were interesting but I'm not sure they were worth the trip. Not our favorite two sites in Litchfield. We returned home dusty and shaken from the corrugation.

Wednesday morning we drove to the far West and North end of the park. Our first stop was the Cascades which is a new feature recently opened. The Ransleys and Bewells walked approximately 2Km to the Upper Cascades. The walk was somewhat steep and fairly hot as not too much shade. We had a bit of excitement on the way up as a Wild Boar crossed the trail not far in front of Stephen. Luckily it kept on going without bothering us. The Upper Cascades were nice and then we followed the creek down to the Curtain Falls and the Lower Cascades. Beautiful location. The water is so clear and we had a lovely swim. We had good timing as shortly after we had our swim it began to get busy. We followed the creek down to the parking lot. This way was shorter and more sheltered from the sun.

From there we met Di and Terry at the Wangi Falls for a Picnic Lunch. We had a nice lunch and did a short walk to the viewpoint and the treetop platform. This takes you up through the rain forest to look out over the canopy. The falls were very nice but unfortunately closed for swimming.

We then travelled to the Tolmer Falls. This was a short walk into a lookout point looking down at the falls. No further access to falls at this location. Beautiful.

We stopped off at Buley Rockpools on the way home for a cool dip. They were quite busy and we all loved the signs in the parking lot "If there are no parking spots, Buley Rockpools are busy and you should come back later". Good Logic! We found a parking spot and a small pool to cool off in. Loved it and decided to come back another time when it was less crowded to really enjoy.

Thursday morning we got up early and went to Florence Falls near Buley Rockpools. We viewed from the top viewing platform before walking down about 300 steps to the base of the falls. From there we were able to view the falls and have a swim in the bottom plunge pool. There was a large snake perched on the rock wall just above the water which somewhat discouraged us. Stephen and I had a quick swim with a watchful eye over our shoulders. The falls are beautiful. We saw a little Rock Wallaby and baby on the walk down and back. Cute picture!

From there we returned to Buley Rockpools. Only a few cars in the carpark and we got a great rockpool near the top of the creek. Was very deep and we were able to jump and bomb away to our hearts content. Even Carol, Sandra, and Di got into the act. Had a great time! Probably our highlight from Litchfield.

We drove into Batchelor in the afternoon to make phone calls and internet as no coverage at Caravan park. Topped off the day with a lovely baked dinner at the caravan park.

Friday morning we headed to the west end of the park again to explore Blyth Homestead and Sandy Creek. This was another 4WD track with a couple of creek crossings. The first was about 40cm which is one of our highest to date. Blyth Homestead was interesting. Amazing that a family with 14 children was raised in it. Very basic and small in the middle of nowhere.

From here we travelled the rest of the way into to Sandy Creek campground. We did a 2Km walk into the Tjaynera Falls from there. It was a strenuous walk but well worth it. The falls are very impressive. The pool below is very deep especially next to the falls. We had a great swim although it was cooler than some of the others (probably because of the depth). Was a highlight for me as far as the falls went. Once again we timed it perfectly as had the pool to ourselves when we arrived. Several people arrived before we left.

We returned to the main road before stopping at Wangi Falls for a picnic lunch. A nice surprise as the plunge pool had opened up an hour before we got there. Stephen and I enjoyed a nice swim after lunch. It was a beautiful swimming area and the water coming off some of the falls was somewhat warm because of the heat of the rocks. Very nice. We returned home after a big day.

Saturday we enjoyed a relaxing day around the campground. We did go into Batchelor for a few hours as they were having the Batchelor Festival. We enjoyed a small market and watched some AFL football between two indigenous teams. We really liked Batchelor. Returned home to prepare for next leg of our journey.