We had a decision to make: to visit Kakadu National Park or the less popular Litchfield Park, which is sometimes overshadowed by the fame of the former. If this is not the first page you read about our travels, the answer is easy to imagine.
Litchfield National Park is known for its green forests, spectacular waterfalls, sparkling natural pools and the high termite mounds. A few kilometers away from the west entrance of the park, in fact, you will see a surreal expanse of giant termites. Armies of millions of tiny termites have built them, facing north-south, in order to protect their colonies from the intense heat. You will be amazed by these structures, many of which exceed two meters in height.
The park is also known for its waterfalls: from the entrance, the Florence twin Falls are the first you’ll find. Here, you can enjoy a splendid view of the waterfalls and the surrounding valley from the panoramic platform close to the car park; then a stepped path will lead you directly to the pool where you can take the usual restorative bath.
From there, by following a 3km long road along Florence Creek, you can reach the Buley Rockholes, a series of thermal pools and natural whirlpools framed by the peaceful bush vegetation. Tolmer Falls, which plunge for over 100 meters into a sparkling pool of water (not accessible for swimming) are also nearby. Close to Greenant Creek, a 90-minute walk (round trip) will take you to the top of Tjaetaba Falls, a sacred site for the Aborigines.
Next stop is Wangi Falls, the largest and most spectacular waterfalls in the park. When we got there, we saw that the surrounding trees hosted a huge colony of fruit bats known as “flying foxes”. After a while, we decided to dive in and swim as well. We discovered with great pleasure that one of the two waterfalls was of hot water. From there, the Wangi Falls Walk continues through a monsoon forests, by climbing a rocky escarpment. Further up, the trail to Walker Creek is dotted with eight campsites located between some natural pools.
