Litchfield National Park and Darwin

Staying amongst the Mango Trees

Hasn’t this post been a long time coming??

Life can get busy no matter where you are and what you’re doing :-).  Travel keeps me well occupied (I know you’re feeling very sorry for me right now LOL).

I’ve immersed myself in the world of books.  Never being much of a reader before this new found past time takes you away to far places with interesting characters and gives my eldest child and me endless conversations about authors, characters, story lines and then of course we have to watch the movies of the books too.  I’ve also finished a long awaited crotchet blanket for my second daughter, crotched a small lap blanket for a dear friend, experimented with new recipes I make up depending upon what I feel like at the time, cook, wash, shop, teach etc.  Then there’s the sight seeing and travel planning…. oh what a life :-).   I’ve no complaints, but the short of it is I do enjoy blogging, but lately reading and crocheting have won the affections of my time.

We were welcomed at Crazy Acres! Stephen serviced some vehicles and got the fork lift going that had been in the shed for the past 18 months. I even helped with the ice-cream production!

A stay in Darwin was at Crazy Acres Mango Farm.  What a wonderful place to find ourselves for a few weeks, camped between the mango trees in Berry Springs.  We loved our time here with Karen, John and their two lovely boys who played with our two boys most days.  It was perfect timing as it was school holidays in Darwin so the boys had plenty of time for games plus we had the pleasure of spending time with friends we met in Broome!  Sharing meals and outings with Chris, Keith & Alexander was definitely a highlight of our stay.  Seeing familiar faces is always good for the soul.

I had a lovely birthday at Berry Springs with our Broome friends (who are actually from Victoria) Chis, Keith & Alexander.

We chose to do a day trip to Litchfield National Park from Berry Springs rather than make that our first stop after Darwin as originally planned.  It was perfect to visit for the day as it’s much smaller than Kakadu, although of course we didn’t see everything there is to see but neither did we at Kakadu.

We stopped off at the old tin mine having a little look around the old buildings.  Litchfield had quite a tin mining history and there was plenty of specimens of tin lying around the ground.  Standing in the places people used to inhabit and work really gives you a sense of their lives.  To think how remote with lack of amenities it was for our pioneers sure gives you an appreciation for how good we have it today!

Wangi Falls was one of our stops.  I was surprised to see so many people, plus a cafe and even stairs with a railing into the water!  We were wondering why everyone walking back from the falls with towels around their necks appeared to be dry.  Once we got to the water ourselves it became apparent why.  The water was FREEZING COLD!  Many people still ventured in as it seems human nature to immerse oneself in any water you see (hence the constant crocodile warning signs at every puddle in the NT) BUT the percentage of people who actually went in completely, ducking their heads under was next to none!

We headed off to another abandoned cottage which we could potter about plus a walk to a spectacular waterfall lookout and then finished with the magnetic termite mounds.  The mounds run from South to North so the mounds can control their temperatures from the sun.  I really wished I photographed one of the signs there as I found an amusing quote from an early explorer along the lines of being VERY unimpressed when he’d trekked so long with nothing to see and then came across these ghastly looking mounds!

Overall Litchfield was a pleasant day out…. BUT does it surpass Kakadu?  I think my impressions of Kakadu have risen.  Kakadu has loads of interesting features, fascinating remote locations and although it could be because we gave it more time to explore, I definitely found Kakadu to be a wonderful experience and it’s continual comparison to Litchfield and being inferior we don’t agree with.  If you’re visiting the Northern Territory please visit both National Parks – spend time immersing yourself in all they have to offer and enjoy :-).  And don’t forget to call into Crazy Acres mango farm for lunch, smoothie or ice-cream!  I recommend the lime ice-cream (my personal favourite).  www.crazyacres.com.au

Wangi Falls… VERY cold.

Water crossing in Litchfield

Magnetic Termite Mounds

The Cathedral Termite Mound

Tin Mine Ruins

Tolmer Falls

 

What’s happening now…

It’s a beautiful evening here at Berry Springs NT… Cooking outside, kids playing and the bonus of no Mosquitos at present.

You know one of the only things I really miss while traveling in our camper trailer is a real fridge! Our little kitchen is great to cook by and a fire even better, our beds are comfy, we always have use of a shower and toilet – even if its our portable ones that we use from time to time. I have my own little washing machine plus enough power via solar to charge lap tops, phones, camera batteries and use the washing machine.

We’re currently Wwoofing at Crazy Acres mango farm and loving their lime ice cream! While we wait for parts to arrive we will visit Litchfield National Park from here. It’s all great here, although the shopping centers have driven me almost truly crazy, the crowds, car parks and hustle and bustle is all a little too much for a girl that’s spent so long away from it all :-)!

My dinner is cooked – I shall go to eat it now before we head off to some local night markets… Just thought I’d write a few waffles on what we are actually up to now, rather than the usual blogs of what we’ve just done :-).