Well , what a funny night , it was cool when we went to bed , then warmed up again . Waking up at 12:30 am , by the warmth , and the 3 frenchmen beside us , who decided it would be good to yabba away for hours - till I mentioned the time to them - they apologised and went to bed !!
We continued to toss & turn all night , getting up at 7:30 . Today we are headed into Litchfield National Park - a lot of people rave about Litchfield - we will wait and see !! We decided to go to Wangi Falls first - it was one of the furthest attractions to see - we’d been advised to go to the furthest & work our way back (thanks Bryce ) .
The road wound it’s way into the national park , we passed the turnoffs to :- Magnetic Termite Mounds , Tabletop Swamp , Lost City , Tolmer Falls , Greenant Creek and Florence Falls , to mention some of the attractions . After a few more kilometres , we arrived at Wangi Falls , probably one of the main attractions here . You walk about 100m from the carpark to the plunge pool below the twin falls . There wasn’t a lot of water flowing over , but enough to get your attention , and it cascaded into the plunge pool - crystal clear green water . We were fortunate to get some photos taken before the crowds arrived .
While it was still cooler , we took the walking track to the side & above the falls and back down the other side . It took us through the monsoon rainforest where a colony of flying foxes have taken up residence , it was much cooler in there as well . The trees and foliage were lush , and as we walked up the steps , there was a section covered in ferns .
We made it to the top and spied a small lizard scampering across the track , it had bluish dots on its back and didn’t mind posing for a photo .
The view from on top wasn’t remarkable , you are looking out over a flat sea of trees .
There is nowhere close enough to the edge for any views down on the plunge pool or the falls . The track crossed over the crystal clear creek feeding the falls , then through some of the rocky bush , before heading down again . It is a fairly rugged walk in patches , clambering down rocks all the way down .
Back to the plunge pool , we sat & watched as the crowds started to roll up and fill the pool up . There were bus loads of people on tours , people camping about 200m away and anyone else who drove out this morning .
We decided to drive up the road to find a quieter spot for lunch and a swim . Walker Creek was the spot - about 15klms away . Only about 500m off the road to the carpark , we pulled up beside the day use area and had lunch beside the creek .
Walker Creek is a day use and camping area - mind you , you have to carry everything in if you decide to camp here . There are 7 campsites , the closest is about 900m , the furthest is 1.7klms . Mind you , each campsite has its own section of creek , with large pools to swim in. We chose to have a swim in a section of the creek in the day use area .
Having cooled down , we heade back to the ute and drove back toward Batchelor , stopping at Greenant Creek for a look , then going to Tolmer Falls where we took the Tolmer Creek walking track .
The walk started beside the carpark and wound through some rocky outcrops where there are quite a lot of Cycads growing - only on one side of the track though - curious !!
The track took us down to the creek , not much water flowing here , but would be roaring in the wet season , carving its way through the rock .
Gradually the track led us around to above the falls - again about 150m of rough rocky track to scramble over . The creek & falls have carved a gorge out of the mountain below the falls , where many tall palm trees grow , vegetation is lush & green . The walls of the gorge are orange & grey and glowed in the afternoon sun . The lookout gives you views down the sheer rock walls below you and across the other side - an extremely rugged landscape !!
It was now getting hotter , the ute telling us it was 31 degrees - time to head for the park and the swimming pool , then a compulsory beer & salsa .
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