Day 144
Sunday
21 May 2017
Darwin – Litchfield National Park – Mindil Beach Sunset
Markets
We’ve been eaten alive, damn bugs!. With no air con at the
moment, we are not protected by much at night and as such the mozzies are
having a feast of us. Paul woke looking like he was covered in chicken pox.
Lets just hope they aren’t leaving any nasty surprises for us.
The alarm went off at 7am and we were happy to rise and get
on with our day. Once organised, we were in the car and heading to Litchfield
National Park, about an hour to the front entrance. From the entrance you wind
your way through the park, passing the town of Batchelor before your first
stop, the magnetic termite mounds.
We pulled into the car park and then followed the markers to
a boardwalk where you could see the very large termite mounds in the paddock.
There was another mound, isolated by a footpath that allowed you to get a
little closer and really see how big they are.
We made the decision to drive to the furthest point in the
park first and then wind our way back via the same route. We continued for
another 30min before we finally made it to Wangi Falls. There were a few people
here taking in the view. We walked down the platform to the best vantage point.
Two waterfalls cascaded over the rock face in the distance into a large lagoon
at the bottom. You couldn’t swim in the pool though as there is still a salt
water croc to be moved on.
Paul entertained himself with a dumb Aussie footballer who
couldn’t help asking stupid questions, while I took photos of the scene before
us, the mist from the falls just making it to our platform. Just before we
moved on Paul spied a water monitor lizard appearing from a hollow in a tree,
just clinging to the side and enjoying the morning sun.
We opted not to do the loop walk as it was getting warm and
were eager to move on to our next spot where we could go for a swim.
Florence Falls was very busy though we managed to snag the
last car bay. It is a bit of a walk to get to the rock pool, 165 steps down the
gorge. There is a platform before you start where you can see the water of the
falls and the pool below, we took this in and then we began our decent.
Once at the bottom we dumped our gear, clambered over the
rocks and joined the others enjoying a refreshing cool off. Bliss. I was happy
to sit on a rock partially submerged in the water and watch the kids being
egged on by their dad to climb the rock face and jump in the water. It took
them a while, but they did eventually.
Once back at the car, we grabbed our picnic and found a
place by the creek to eat. The water was crystal clear here as well and you
could see the small fish darting about. I also spied a bird of prey taking a
rest in a nearby tree.
It didn’t take long to warm up again, so we packed up our
things and moved on to our last destination, Buley Rockhole. Again the place
was packed and we had to squeeze ourselves in, before making our way to the
series of rock pools. I think this was my favourite spot. You had so many spots
to choose from, rock edges, plunge pools or under the rushing water of the
small rapids.
We chose the rushing water, though it was a bit of a
challenge to get to the spot I wanted to be in. Once there, it was like sitting
in a spa. We watched the other tourists and locals enjoying the spot as much as
us before we reluctantly climbed out and wandered down the path along the edge
of the rock holes checking out the other interesting spots.
Finished for the day, we were back in the car for 2pm and
driving back to the van, an hour and a half journey. Once back we were wishing
we were still at the pool enjoying our rock hole swim. We unloaded our gear and
then made our way to the pool, trying out the one at the front of the park.
Unlike the one in the middle, this one was deserted and we could enjoy a
refreshing cool down in peace.
Seeing we were back early and not feeling too tired, we
decided we would check out the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. We changed out of
our bathers, grabbed the camera and then drove 15min to the large grassed
parking area set out for those visiting.
The place was packed with people happy to wander and check
out what was on offer. We joined the
procession, wandering past the various stalls of clothing, jewellery,
aboriginal art and various croc products. Next we had to tackle the food
stalls, all the smells had our bellies going. I did my best to resist though
Paul was struggling.
We watched a busking duo, Emdee, a young guy on drums and an
older bloke playing 4 didgeridoos. They were incredible and highly
entertaining. It was especially funny watching some local indigenous girls
twerking away as they music played.
We made our way onto Mindil Beach where beach volleyball
games were being played and people were enjoying the balmy night. I marvelled
at the patterns made by the tiny crabs who had moulded sand into tiny balls as
they burrowed into it.
We returned to the market, Paul now needing food, so we
stopped for a quick Chinese takeaway and a tropical smoothie. We took our food
to the beach where we could watch the magnificent sunset. The Red, orange and
yellow glow was incredible. I even thought that one of the boats sailing around
off shore was the one we are booked on for tomorrow night.
Once the sun disappeared, we went back to watch more of the
busking. The young twerkng girls were given a run for their money, when grandma
got up to join them and an older aboriginal bloke also got up to show us some
of his more sultry moves. It was just all fun.
By the time it was 7pm, we made our way back towards home, I
was ready for my barramundi dinner, though Paul was now satisfied with his
Chinese. After eating and warming up the van with our cooking, it was back to
the pool for a dip before bed. We both remarked on what a great day it had
been.
Before going to bed we lathered ourselves in watered bi-carb
in an attempt to take away the itch of our bites and hope it would allow us to
sleep.
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