On our way out of the Northern Territory, we decided we needed to visit the national parks before leaving the Top End for good. We had heard great things about both Litchfield and Kakadu, although locals seemed to prefer LItchfield due to entrance and camping fees at Kakadu. We began our explorations at Litchfield and spent a night camped out in the bush off a 4WD track in its jungle wilderness. The environment was beautiful, but it was challenging to deal with both the thick humidity and the swarms of bugs that were drawn to our lights and dinner table. We had camped just a short distance from Florence Falls, and in the morning after packing up, we hiked the trail to the falls. Part of the appeal for camping at this location was that Florence Falls was safe for swimming - one of several croc-free pools in the park but one of very few in all the Northern Territory. As we rounded the corner to the falls, we were blown away by how magical it seemed. Twin waterfalls poured into a clear, deep pool with ancient-looking rock formations and tropical vegetation surrounding. Without hesitation we jumped in, and the water was blessedly cool. After checking for submerged rocks, Devin took this opportunity to leap from some rocky ledges and entertain the rest of the swimmers. After a good long swim at Florence we visited Buley Rock Holes, another swimming spot where the river had carved deep pools into the rock. Once we had had our fill, we took a 4WD track to the Lost City, a spot in Litchfield where great sandstone spires loomed overhead like crumbling ancient ruins. We truly felt like we had wandered into the Jungle Book. It was awesome adventure territory - our type of playground. Kakadu National Park (This picture for Adele) After Litchfield it was time to venture into the famous Kakadu. Upon entering the park, however, we began to understand why it has gained its reputation with the locals. The entrance fees ended up being $25 per person for a 14-Day pass, which would have been OK had we either been staying for 14 days or had an option to buy a cheaper, one-day type pass which is all we really had time for. But no. Ouch. It left a bitter taste in our mouths as we drove into the park. In addition, we discovered that many of the camping areas in the park, which on many official park maps were designated as free, had signs that asked you to pay extra fees for each person in your party per night. Either $10 for campgrounds with toilets and showers or $5 for basic bush camping. We determined that our camping fees were in our $75 that we had blown for a one day, one night stint. Particularly because the toilet at our bush camp where we spent the night was out of order due to a large, hairy monster spider that had rented out the toilet bowl. That night did not improve much either. As the sun set and the annoying black flies slowly departed, the mosquitoes came out with a vengeance. It got so bad that in the muggy, riverside heat of the evening, we had to put on pants and long sleeves and eat our dinner underneath our mosquito head gear (thanks for leaving those Adele!). Sadness. The park was redeemed, however, by the incredible bush walks we were able to take on our two days there. We were able to view some incredible Aboriginal rock art, followed by an intense long hike through a rapidly changing landscape of sandstone cliffs and gumtree forests. We had the trail all to ourselves which was fabulous. The second day, Ben got some required fishing time in and Devin and I had a walk through the wetlands. All in all some awesome adventures at Kakadu!
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Marielle & BenWe're two people in the midst of severe quarter-life crises who decided to leave good jobs in a bad economy to travel to the other side of the world because, well, why not? Archives
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