Nitmiluk National Park Edith Falls (Leliyn)

After Litchfield I stayed the night at a 24hrs rest stop next to the highway. Next day I wanted to visit the Nitmiluk National Park, I was told to find great swimming places there. 

It is 20 kms from the Stuart Hwy and costs $10 p/p per night. I first intended to stay only one night but stayed 2.

The ladies who run the camp area are very friendly, no surprises there. And the older gentleman with the long white beard tending to the sprinklers and maintenance of the place shared my love for the wallabies and paradise birds who were all around the place.

  

    

    Two little wallabies strolling around behind me.

    

    

   Amazing colours, free the way they should be.

Sitting in the dark reading my book on my Ipad "port mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, I suddenly hear a woman screeching, then running... Turns out she came across something that went after her but according to my neighbour a NT Aussie is harmless and probly is protecting its nest. I cannot help but laugh. Yesterday I went to the toilet and accidentally stepped om the toe of one flashy green frog in the men's toilets...I had seen another kind of toed a couple of hours before so I should have known to look out...  At least I know now I do not scream, just do a funny dance to try and undo, unfeel the slimmy feeling. And after that apologise to the frog, who looked at me in a very accusing way...

Next day I caught a toad taking a shower, or at least waiting for the water to come on...

    Kermit, thank God with all his toes left!

    

   

    Pardon the bad quality of the pic but hey the dude was in his shower!

   

    On my way up to the upper pool!

   

   The waterfalls at camp level, again took a bit of courage to swim across it, especially after reading      there were water snakes in there..

   

   The upper pool, well worth the 1km walk in the heat!

   

   

   Yep me laughing in a selfie...I know it takes getting used to....

Litchfield National Park

Litchfield National Park is next to a city called Batchelor about 120kms from Darwin on the way to Alice Springs. 

When I stopped there on my way to Darwin all I had time for was the Florence Falls. They are the closest falls in the park. 

The park itself is about 43kms away from Batchelor.

After having stocked up on food for at least a week (mostly cans and noodles) I arrived at Litchfield around 14h, so I decided to spent the night at the Florence Fall campground, 100 meters from the Falls. Normally you are supposed to pay $6,6 per person per night and place it in an envelope with your license plate number and name in a sort of letter box... Because it was just me and 2 or 3 others I didn't, thinking nobody did, which is no excuse I know, and also it was a way of saving money. The camp area had a toilet and shower and fireplaces. But most of all it had flies.. 

I spent four nights in Litchfield. Two in Florence Fall camp area, one in Wangi Falls and one in Buley Rockhole camp area.

Florence Falls was the most beautiful place, small but gorgeous. I spent almost a day swimming and laying in the water getting picket at by small fish. 

Wangi Falls was a different kind of place, it looked like a giant swimming pool surrounded by huge gorges and with two waterfalls in the back. I must admit the first time swimming to the waterfalls was a bit scary, but I have faith in the crocodile surveys that gives the all clear for swimming.

Buley Rockhole is something different, it is where the water flows from one hole to another till it get back to Florence Falls. A great place to jump from rocks into deep holes and to lay pondering on a bit of rock just covered in warm spring water. Water that was okay to bottle by the way so I filled about 3. With this heat it is always good to have drinking water.

   

Florence Falls, just bliss....

   

    

   Mean little fish, nibbling at my side or my mosquito bites on my feet..

   The wonders of nature. How something can grow again after being burned.

   Wangi Falls took a bit of courage to swim to the waterfalls, but I did it more than once! 

   

   

   

   

   Buley Rockhole

   

    

    

    

    Found a celeb in the Rockholes!

    

    Strike a pose...

Elsey National Park thermal pool

On my way down from Darwin to Alice Springs I somethimes see signs directing to touristic worthwhile places. A lot of them are in memory of WWII, there are a lot more places of rememberance over here than in Belgium.

  

When I read "thermal pool" I could not resist. It is quite warm, about 35 degrees *C, and I am in no rush so...

Only 2kms from the Stuart Hwy there is the Elsey National Park. 

You get to the park via a camper area. The Jalmurak camping area, number 89 in Camps 7.

This time of year, summer, and the wet season around the corner, it was very peaceful and just a few families and couples staying there.

Only the thermal pool was okay to swim in, the Waterhouse river not, the chance of a saltwater croc to have gotten into the river was by now to big.

The freshwater crocs are as the sign said harmless. 

    

 

    

The Waterhouse river, no crocs to be spotted but they are good at hiding...        

 

 

The thermal pool with around it the forest. I spotted a group of wild boar, three wallabies and lots of red foxes (bats) who got disturbed by giant water sprinklers. 

The water was nice and warm, about 30*C. 

Darwin

Not much to write about Darwin. Arrived, checked in in the Banjan lodge, normally $27 a night in a dorm of 6, but no more room so paid $35 for a 3 bed room, but had it for nights all to myself!

Returned the van to Apollo in time, returned the 7km to the lodge on foot, so I could check out the secondhand cardealerships. Found nothing, so went online sent some emails to advertisers on Gumtree as well as a text and took a dip in the warm pool. What I did see on my walk was 3 young Aboriginal people waiting for a bus, minding their own business, getting honked and flipped the middle finger at. They were as shocked as I was. Darwin was very different than Broome.

Next morning received a text back the van I wanted was in Katherine, about 300kms from Darwin and they were on driving to Darwin in a couple of weeks...

Started calling people, and went to see a van that was just placed on Gumtree for $2500. The seller was a Dutch hunter. The van was dirty and had an old small freezer in it he got from the dumbster and used it to fill with food and ice. He promised to clean the van and put in a board for a bed by the next day if I bought it. I decided to first call some more people before accepting.

A young couple had their van "Trevor" for sale, they first listed it for $6000 and had come down to $5000. They were only 10 mins away so we arranged a meeting.

Trevor had everything I needed, a bed, an Esky, 2 cookers, dual battery, usb chargers, cutlery, etc.. And had been checked by a mechanic 2 weeks ago. He runs on unleaded wich is a lot cheaper over here than on diesel. And can go 400kms on a full tank, about 40lt. 

We agreed upon $4600 and Trevor is mine!

When I arrived in Darwin a petrol war had just begon, wich ment that the petrol was as cheap as I ever saw it on my trip so far. 154,7/lt. 

On my way out of town I filled him up as well as 2 jerrycans of 5lt. 

First stop, back to Litchfield National Park!

    

    

    

    

Broome to Darwin

 Yeah back on the road! Can I make it...

   

Yes I can!

Rules were clear, no unsealed roads and no driving before dawn or after dusk...

I stayed away from unsealed roads...

Drove 11hrs on the first day and about 10h on the second leaving me with a day of on the day before handing the van over and only 300kms to go. I stayed at rest areas next to the highway to sleep. 

Spotted some bush fires in the hills but think they were controlled because very close to the edge and in a straight line. Refused to fuel up while passing the Kimberley , cause it was over $2 a litre and had to walk 5kms to get some when I ran out..but got a lift to and from the gas station and paid  $1,8, and a Jerrycan ..:(..

A guy working at the YHA in Broome told me to stop at Litchfield National Park told me it had amazing waterfalls and great places to swim. So on Thursday a few hours away from Broome I made a little detour to Lichfield . And boy was it worth it! 

I spent the whole afternoon at Florence falls, a "pool" with two waterfalls pouring cool salty water in it. This is what I wanted to see on this trip. I missed out on gorges and waterfalls and creeks last time because I was rushing from one spot to another. In the park there were more creeks and waterfalls but sadly I did not have the time. I spent the night in one of the parks campsites, wich had a flush toilet and nice shower! It also had a billion insects...But that is life in the bush in wet season I guess.