Litchfield National Park is the best one!

We came back to Litchfield. 

This was definitely NOT on our itinerary for this trip. It was a late and superb addition. 

Early planning, and some bookings, had us zipping across the NT only stopping out of necessity and into western Queensland. Catastrophic flooding and uncertainty around roads and the general state of things in the region had us rethinking the last few weeks of the trip. And it turned out GREAT! What we did not want, was to feel that the last month is just going home. The focus of this adventure was definitely WA and we didn't want to feel like it was all over just because we had left the state. I think we nailed the brief - more adventures - tick!

From Katherine it was a three and a half hour drive up the Stuart Highway via Batchelor (which for the record is looking very down on its luck with the supermarket having closed since we were here a few years ago). Our destination was Central Valley campground #2  in Litchfield National Park, and new to us all. 

It requires booking ahead and picking up a key for the access gate at the Central Valley Escarpment. We were so excited! After turning off the Litchfield Park Road we followed the signs for 17km on a deeply rutted gravel road (air out again!), opened the gate with our key, and then another 5km down the 4WD track to the campground. The last section into the campground was pretty steep.

 Here we are at Central Valley Escarpment before heading down the hill into the valley via the 4WD track.

 Opening the gate to Central Valley track 2

 Our set up at Central Valley. This spot is stunning. Our site was right on the East Reynolds River. It was hot enough that we decided to sleep without the fly on our tents. The zippers on the flies of both tents have been playing up for several weeks, mostly due to dust and general wear and tear, and we decided we'd give them a rest (spoiler - they didn't fix themselves).

 East Reynolds River right beside our camp. Man, this place is so beautiful. And wild.

 Pandanus ::: within minutes of arriving the kids and I were mucking around down in the river. It turned out to not be the best point to access the water, as I found out. I lost my footing on some smooth, sloping rocks and reflexively grabbed some pandanus fronds to stop from falling. It did that, but I ended up with a hand and arm full of those spikes! 

There were so many in my right hand, and a chain of about 10 in my forearm. It made me feel a bit sick to look at it. And it hurt like hell fire - there was something on the spikes causing an irritation - GREAT! I grabbed the 'harmacy #1 (we carry 2 x 'harmacies aka first aid kits) to get the tweezers and a magnifying glass which was a bit silly as now I effectively only had one hand for the tweezing; my left. 

I started pulling out the spikes one by one, most had enough to grab onto, leaving the more deeply embedded ones for last. It took ages and by the end my hand was a bloody mess. No photos here because it was really hurting and Andy was busy setting up, which I was meant to be doing too. I ended up missing a couple of spikes as it was hard to tell what was congealed blood and what was a bloody spike. I wasn't sure how it was going to heal as there was an irritant in there, so I cleaned it up and put some antiseptic on it and crossed my fingers. 

Everyone was giving the pandanus a wide berth - nasty plant! This wasn't as simple as it sounds as they grow everywhere here.

Jemma fell into one a few days later ending up with a dozen or so spikes around her ankle. She was very brave as I pulled them all out. It is really horrible looking at a part of your body with all these little harpoons embedded in your skin. I guess we should be grateful they are not barbed or poisonous. 

Despite this initial 'accident' we had fallen in love with Central Valley.

 Tent life with no fly

 Sleepy heads

 Cooling off in the river. The days were hot and getting hotter so it was lovely to have access to swimming holes.

 Crossing the river access the walking track on the other side.

 Walking along the East Reynolds River to another waterfall and swimming hole.

 Cascades

 A really beautiful place to cool off.

 I found this little plant growing at the base of a tufty grass on the riverbank - looks like a carnivorous one to me.

 One of the waterholes in the East Reynolds River. The water was crystal clear.

 A slightly different view of the waterhole. This was an easy 1.5km walk from the campground. We didn't see anyone else on the walk or at the waterhole - possibly the most remote and alone we have been. And we love that!

 When I first saw this I thought it was a pile of green grubs.

 Then I saw these dried out seed pods on the same plant. These small trees were everywhere here.

 We took a drive to the Central Valley picnic area, which we also had to ourselves, for a picnic ( of course) before a bit of an explore.

 The waterhole here was a lovely spot to sit quietly and watch the wildlife, including a Merten's Water Monitor.

 We saw quite a few of these big lizards in Litchfield. They didn't seem to mind us being quite close, as long as we didn't move suddenly or make too much noise.

 Jemma fetching water from the river to be heated for washing up dishes. Where possible I try to use 'other', as in not our drinking water, for washing up, or for cat washes. Our 60L of drinking water needed to last us 6 nights/5 days if we couldn't pick up more - that's just 15L each. Or just 3L each per day. This is really not a lot of water for drinking, cooking and teeth brushing. Especially in this heat. Hence the use of river water for other jobs.

We were able to get drinking water inside the park - it was a similar set up to Lake Argyle. One tap (not well signposted) really meant for filling personal water bottles. What are jerrycans, if not big water bottles?

Campfires are one of the {many} magnificent things about camping in the Top End! There was an abundance of perfectly seasoned wood that we were allowed to collect. We did a few foraging trips for fire wood. Not one snake!

 Where there's fire, there is damper. Jemma is the chief damper maker now.

 High tech cooking right here. Damper and potatoes roasting in the embers. We didn't bring our camp oven as it takes up too much space, so we just used what we had at hand. Foil and a stick.

 We even managed to use the hotplate here to cook some sausages.

 Happy diners. 

 I think I have said it before but at home my family are very quick to point out when things are burnt, or otherwise not-quite-right with my cooking. Cook it in the fire, in the bush, and burn it black, and nobody says anything except "yum, this is delicious".

Cooking on an open fire is the best, if a little unpredictable.

 Flowers everywhere you look

 The camp sites at Central Valley are very private. They are spaced out with vegetation between sites.

We had three beautiful quiet nights at Central Valley, but needed to move on as we were not able to book more nights here. Litchfield is a popular weekend destination for Darwin locals as it is very close. Due to the road in and out being pretty rough we didn't venture much further than wood collection trips and to the picnic area. 

No matter - we were heading to our favourite campground in Litchfield NP for the next 3 nights, which would include a weekend so we were bracing for some noisy neighbours.

 The Lost City was a small detour off the gravel road on our way out from Central Valley, so we thought we may as well go and have a look. It was a short loop walk around the sandstone formations.

 Into the Lost City

 Lost city selfie

 And now for the Reynolds track to Sandy Creek campground for 3 nights. This track was sandy and corrugated, and pretty rough in parts. There is a decent water crossing at the start of this track which is always exciting in croc country.

 Here we are at Sandy Creek campground with a fire going 

 Playing some made-up game together

 Nachos for dinner

We used Sandy Creek as a base for exploring the national park. 

 Swimming at Wangi Falls. A good indicator of air and water temperatures being in the high 20s or 30s is Andy getting in, and staying in.

 The walk to Tjaynera Falls from our campground took about 40 minutes each way.

I am about to cross the creek - that is/was a white shirt I am wearing. 

 The stunning Tjaynera Falls. It is a very popular spot with day visitors but camping close by meant we could early, beating the crowds. 

 It is my favourite waterfall in Litchfield. It is secluded, harder to get to than most with its stunning falls and plunge pool.

 Noodling around and thinking about getting in. One of the cons of getting there early was the sun was yet to rise over the falls. And the water here is cccold.

 But refreshing and beautiful. As long as you don't start thinking about crocodiles and giving yourself the heebie jeebies.

 This is Florence Falls. A bit warmer than Tjaynera Falls as evidenced by Andy being in the water.

 Sometimes when you keep driving on rough roads, things fall off. We were lucky that our number plate was hanging on by a thread. After pointing our dangling numberplate out to us, the new camp host offered the use of his drill and Andy had it back on in a jiffy. It is still on. The other thing that started happening, and would continue happening intermittently for a few weeks, was every time we braked the left indicator would come on. The most likely cause was water from repeated river crossings, we hoped it would dry out.

 Walking in one of Litchfield's monsoon rainforests. James and I saw an orange footed scrubfowl.

 Swimming in Florence Falls.

 Jemma lighting a fire - note her safety gear.

 The enormous termite mounds of Litchfield

 This is a rainbow pitta, we saw this little guy hopping along the path of the monsoon forest along Shady Creek from Florence Falls.

 

Us on our way out of Litchfield after another brilliant stay. I am so, so pleased we were able to have 6 nights here. I think it's our favourite national park. We did lots of walking and {more} swimming beneath waterfalls. Being the end of August it was starting to get very warm, and we enjoyed this last hurrah of our seemingly endless summer.

Litchfield National Park is the furthest north we have been on this trip. From here we are seriously pointing our noses south and beginning the trek homewards. But we do have a few more incredible stops along the way. 

With less than 4 weeks until we need to be home, we have started to talk about how that feels, and what that might look like for us all. We all still have our heads firmly in this trip, but at the same time we are trying to prepare ourselves emotionally for going home, and back to our lives. More on this later.

Airing up before hitting the bitumen. Our left indicator was still on the fritz at this point. Jemma was compressor operator for us.

Although we have visited Litchfield three times now I know there is still plenty to explore in the area. I know we will be back.