As we had 2 full days in Litchfield we decided not to rush things as often happens when visting these places. First stop for the day would be Wangi Falls which was a whole 5km down the road. So after that long drive it was time for morning tea (we were pretty relaxed that morning and didn't leave camp until around 10am). Coffee and treats downed we checked the water which was a bit chilly compared to Mataranka and Douglas hot springs, so we went on one of the walks to take in the surrounding area. Right at the start of the walk we noticed some people taking photos of something and it was a golden orb spider on its web. The females of these grow rather large and this one would have been the size of our hand. The males apparently don't grow as large and the female sometimes eats them after having her way with them (if you know what I mean).
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| Golden orb spider. |
After the walk and with Brett deciding he would leave photographing the falls to later in the day due to the location of the sun we pushed on to our next location.
Not far down the road is the turnoff to Sandy Creek Falls and Blyth Homestead and this track is 4wd only. Soon after the turnoff was the first creek crossing which was about 40cm deep and 20m long. No problem as the bottom was rocky and solid and soon after we we returning left for the last 1.5km to Blyth Homestead. This house was built in 1928 and the fact it's still standing after fires and storms that often go through here is remarkable. It was built as a secondary house on the property for some of the sons to live in while mining for tin nearby. I'm sure it also helped in getting some of the kids out of the house as there were 13 or 14 children growing up on the property. There is a well put together book inside which has lots of detail written by the family about life back then along with pictures of those times. A few relics are also scattered about to give you a sense of how hard it would have been then (or how easy we have it now).
Back along the track for a few more kilometres and we come to the car park to Sandy Creek Falls. All the day spots are filled (which isn't many) so we park in the first of the camping bays along with 2 other cars. We make lunch to carry in, cover ourselves with sun cream and get all our things ready and head off for the 1.7km walk to the falls. It's mostly an easy walk but there are sections which are quite rocky as the path takes you from the creek bed level and up over ridges before coming back down again. It took us about 40min to do the walk but thats with a 4yo who likes to look at things in rather then what's she's stepping over sometimes, so a lot of hand holding was happening over the rocky parts.
We passed quite a few people coming back from the falls and when we arrived there was only us and 1 other couple there. The water here was also a bit chilly but we wernt saying no to a swim with Brett swiming right over to the base of the falls. Wearing a facemask showed a few fish below and mainly we saw black bream, and a good dinner plate sized too. After our swim the other couple left and we had our lunch with the falls all to ourselves. It was an absolutely magic spot and after an hour or 2 we started to head back. This trip took us a bit longer as we stopped for a few photos etc and by the time we got back to the car it was around 4pm. Still plenty of light left at this time of day unlike those colder cities down south.
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| Sandy Creek Falls |
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| Ready for the walk back. That's the track behind us over the rocks. |
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| The creek down stream from the falls. |
Rather than head back to camp Brett wanted to travel further south on the 4wd track that heads to the Daly River Rd but only as far as the Reynolds River crossing about 6km along. This was far enough as he was looking for a field of magnetic termite mounds that he remember driving through on one of his previous trips. About 1km from the Reynolds River the track comes out into an open plain where hundreds of these termite mounds are scattered about. In reality they aren't really magnetic but they all are quite narrow on one side and all face in the same north / south direction. The termites build them this way as it helps regulate the heat inside the mound throughout the day. The main faces of the mounds will face the morning and afternoon sun while during the hotter middle of the day, the only the narrow edge will be facing directly at the sun. Smart little critters aren't they.
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| The track through the termite mound field. |
From here it was now time to head back to camp as we were all feeling a little tired after the walking and swimming.
Wednesday - Litchfield NP
Well, after yesterday we knew there was still plenty of this park to see. Before we hit the swimming holes we chose to travel in to what is called the Lost City. This has a 10.5km track in which was fairly corrugated along a lot of it and quite narrow but once at the end you are greeted with all these amazing rocky features jutting up everywhere. There are all shapes and sizes, and little nooks and crannies to investigate and as we wandered around I could just picture the scenes from the movie picnic at hanging rock, with people just wandering off and never being seen again.
We had morning tea before we left here and then we travelled to Florence Falls which is probably the most photographed falls in the park. We could tell it was popular due to the size of the car park and the buses that were parked there including a contiki bus. After gathering all our swim gear we headed down the path then the 135 steps which take you down to the creek bed. A short walk along a path brings you to the plunge pool which had so many people it seemed a bit off putting after our solitude at Sandy Creek Falls yesterday. Anyway, Chantelle wanted to swim but after feeling the water decided a paddle in the shallow bits was more to her liking and that left Brett to swim out to the falls themselves. Some crazy guys decided it would be fun to jump of the taller of the falls into the pool below. Was entertaining to watch but no way would I be ever contemplating that.
Walked back up to the car and headed to Buleys Rockholes for lunch and another swim. Found the only free car space right next to the start of the walking track. The sign as you enter the carpark was amusing. It said "if the car park is full, then Buley's is crowded. Come back another time". Had lunch at the car then took the short walk down to the falls / rockholes and had no hesitation jumping straight in. There were quite a few people down there but due to the number of different places that you could swim it didn't seem too crowded. Buley Rockholes is a series of little water falls with swimming holes in between them all. Certainly some great little spots for the kids to play in without being too deep.
After that swim was finished we started heading back towards camp but still had Tolmer falls to check out. These falls are viewed from above on a viewing platform and no access is allowed to the bottom or the top pools due to some little bats that live there. Very spectacular and also some great views out to the west on the walk in.
One more job to do and that was to return to Wangi Falls and get some photos now that the sun would be lighting the walls around the falls up. Got there, set up camera, took lots of shots and then Brett thought "time for another swim". So back to the car he went and grabbed all the gear and was soon swimming out to the falls. Just before the bottom of one of the falls is a little spot where the water has gouged a hole in the rock which now fills with water and is quite warm. The hole is about 2m deep and could fit 4 or 5 people in it although there isn't much to hold onto once in there. Brett had his turn in the "spa" and then was out again swimming to the 2nd of the falls at Wangi.
The sun was now setting and was time to head back to camp. Chantelle made friends with some other kids so we all sat around a fire that night toasting marshmallows and chatting until late in the night.
We both agreed that Litchfield NP is a beautiful place and glad that it's no where near Sydney. If it was then it would over run with people and over regulated by NSW bureaucracy with commercialism every where.
Oh, and in the last blog update I mentioned the pool at this place. Well here are the photos and check out the engineering behind the steps to get in and out of the pool.
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| And this was our campsite. |
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