We were picked up at 7.30 by our tour bus and guide Brad, from ' Litchfield Dreams', and joined the other 15 travellers on the mini bus on the way to Litchfield.
But first we were to embark on 'The Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise' crewed by an all girl crew. The only all girl crewed crocodile cruise in the top end.
On arriving at The Adelaide River we were offered toast and coffee before boarding, and we also had the chance to 'handle' a very large snake. We were all very brave and each took our turn - and yes we do have photos to prove it.
We then boarded for a one hour calm water cruise where the girls enticed crocodiles up to 6 metres long to jump for a meal. The crocodiles put on a great show 'jumping' for large pieces of buffalo meat which was held out over the edge of the boat from a small platform.
We were fortunate to get to see about 20 crocs, but the girls informed us that for every crocodile you can see, there are 10 below the surface. So today there were an estimated 200 crocs in the section of water we travelled.
After the 'crocodile's performances' and on our way back to the jetty, one of the girls then began to 'feed' the Whistling Kites, large Hawk like birds. She stood on the little platform out the side of the boat and threw small pieces of meat into the air, enticing the large birds to swoop down and catch the meat in mid air with their feet/claws. This was a spectacular site.
On to Litchfield -
Litchfield National Park is an aesthetically stunning landscape shaped by water and time, culturally rich and steeped in history.
Covering approximately 1500 sq metres, near the township of Batchelor, 100kms south west of Darwin. Each year the park attracts over 260,000 visitors.
Proclaimed a park in 1986, it is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, a Territory pioneer and
member of the Finniss Expedition, who travelled from South Australia in 1864. This was the first
European expedition to visit to Top End of Australia.
Aboriginal people have lived throughout the area for thousands of years. It is important to the Mak
Mak Marranunggu people (Northern portion) and, Werat and Weray (Southern portion) Aboriginal
people, whose Ancestral Spirits formed the land, plants and animals, and are still present in the landscape today.
Wangi Falls - our first stop was one of the most popular places to visit in Litchfield and also the most easily accessible, hence it was very busy.
The waterfall descends from an elevation of 84 metres. The plunge pool at the base of the falls is a
popular swimming spot, however it is often closed after significant rainfall as crocodiles are often
spotted here. Today it was open and there were lots of people swimming.
Our guide Brad had set up a lovely picnic lunch for us here in a nice shady spot, so we chose not to swim at this spot, but to have our lunch and walk out to the lookout for some photos.
Buley Rockhole - are a series of rock holes and waterfalls that tier down the side of the escarpment, creating some wonderful pools to dip in, some large enough to swim in, some even large and deep enough for you to jump in from the surrounding rock ledges.
We couldn't resist taking to these inviting bubbling waters. Jeff, Laurie and I found a ledge a couple of metres high and tested our jumping skills. It was a lot of fun. The water in these rock holes is crystal clear.
We all had a great time cooling off in these rock holes, some easier to get into, and out of, than others, as the rocks were quite slippery in places.
Florence Falls - is a spectacular double waterfall set amid the monsoon forest and cascading down to
a large swimming hole. The waterfall descends from an elevation of 64 metres via a series of tiered ledges. There is a 160 step staircase down to the swimming hole, so we chose not to swim here, instead we viewed the falls from the viewing platform which gave us a panoramic view of the whole
area.
We then wandered further up the shady walk that would have taken us all the way back up to the Buley Rockhole if time permitted, so we just paddled in a few of the rock holes before returning to the bus.
 |
| The lovely shady walk |
Our guide was very knowledgeable about Litchfield, telling us lots of stories about the history of the park, he had a passion about the whole area, its people, animals and plants, and imparted this
knowledge with a great sense of humour.
 |
| After our dip in the pool |
 |
| With Brad our guide |
 |
| These termite mounds were over 60 years old and as you can see about 6 metres high |
No comments:
Post a Comment