On Monday August 12 it was time to move closer to Darwin. Josh was due to depart Darwin for his East Coast work trip on the 17th, and we had planned to explore the famed Litchfield NP for several days. I had been there some 20 years ago with my good friends John and Gooba. At that time, John had been on a lengthy trip in a troopie around the country and we had flown up to Darwin for 10 days, visiting Kakadu, Katherine and Litchfield. We’d had a memorable time.
The drive to Litchfield was an easy one and we found a great caravan park on the outskirts of the NP with towering shady trees under which to set up. Our new friends Sean, Olivia, and girls had caught up with us in Adelaide River and were to join us in Litchfield for two days. The kids were, of course, delighted to spend more time together. Our 3 had taught Mila and Alex how to play Rat-a-tat-Cat, a clever card game, and it had become a mini-obsession for the lot of them, Jeremy included.
After setting up shop, it was around midday and following a quick bite, and the obligatory game of Rat-a-tat-Cat, we planned a drive along a 4WD track to Sandy Creek. The track was fairly sandy, as the name suggested, with some deep ruts, but not particularly difficult. We were the first to reach a shallow creek crossing, which according to the depth markers was under half a metre, and around 25m across. Mindful that as we travelled north the presence of estuarine crocodiles in such waterways was more likely we were somewhat trepidatious. Sean, driving the Audi 4WD, had requested that I go first, on the premise that I had higher clearance. And so we gathered some momentum prior to entry and launched ourselves across. Our fears were completely unfounded - not much depth and a fairly even base. As far as river crossings go, something to build one’s confidence. There would be more challenging crossings further into our journey. At the end of the track was a basic but beautiful camping area, only accessible to 4WDs. A 2km walk along Sandy Creek through some pretty monsoonal rainforest was partly shaded but hot nonetheless and the stunning Tjaynera Falls and plunge pool at the end was like a garden of Eden. It was to be one of several magnificent and less visited spots we were to discover in Litchfield. The pictures, as is often the case, tell more than any words...
The Litchfield Tourist Park was a great place to stay and there was a lot talk about the burgers, which were definitely substantial and also reasonably tasty. A much awaited game of pool with Oscar and me, ended in disappointment for OJ. Despite my explanation that years wasted at university shooting pool had given me the skills to dominate my 10 year old son on the billiard table. He didn’t seem to understand, but I assured him his time would come.
The next few days were spent around the waterfalls and creeks of Litchfield, all were beautiful, some were overcrowded, but all provided welcome and refreshing relief from the weather which was gradually becoming warmer.
One of the highlights was definitely Walker Creek in the north of the Park. No spectacular falls but a meandering creek interspersed with rocky outcrops and deep pools perfect for an afternoon of lazing about, swimming and observing the many microcosms surrounding the waterway. The lack of a big waterfall we guessed was the reason for a lack of visitation. The kids found novel ways to navigate the rock formations, Trace enjoyed submersion in the pure spring fed waters and I got busy photographing the smaller details of this mini-ecosystem.
We all decided it was a spot worth returning to before our departure. In fact, it was agreed by all that the afternoons spent at Walker Creek were the sort that reinforced why we were taking a year away to spend together as a family enjoying all the beauty, grandeur and ancient culture that Australia has in great abundance.
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