We are on holiday!

Monday 25th July

Three weeks on the road! We woke to an incredible sunrise this morning, a vivid sky! Which was extra nice because the last two mornings we have woken to very heavy mists. We were packed and gone by 10. A quick detour to Darwin River for fuel (which came with free turmeric, curry for dinner tonight!), Then on our way to Litchfield NP.

We stopped first at the Cascades for a swim and picnic lunch. We didn’t quite make it all the way to the lower falls, but found a beautiful spot in the creek for a swim and play – though we have been spoilt at Berry Springs, the water was cold here! A whole lot more fish spotting, and hopping about the rocks. It is a beautiful spot, surrounded by forest with lots interesting plants growing in the rocky falls – orchids, sundews and lots of lush green things that look like they belong in a pot inside!

After lunch it was time to walk back and find our campsite – Sandy Creek Falls. This is one we had researched a bit beforehand, because it is listed as 4WD only, and we don’t have a 4WD! We decided during the planning stage it was worth the risk, as it sounds like a beautiful spot, and hopefully the water had dropped by the time we arrived.we drove down the track to the first crossing, but unfortunately the water was still sitting over 50cm, which is beyond our capabilities, particularly carrying a trailer! We watched a steady stream of 4WDs crossing in both directions, which cemented the decision. When we had initially planned the stay here we had decided if it was too high, Andrew could ferry us across in their hire car. However the reality of half unpacking our car and trailer to bring everything we needed sounded too painful, so we decided to part ways, with Andrew and Tegan heading on to Sandy Creek Falls, and we would find something elsewhere.

The sat phone came in handy again to call parks and check bookings, but unfortunately the whole park was booked out. We decided to have a look at Wangi Falls anyway, with the idea that if we saw a super friendly looking group, they might be happy to share a site. The campground was mostly filled with caravans, and we didn’t see many people at all, so we parked in the day use area for a quick swim anyway.

I had forgotten how stunning Wangi Falls is – Bonnie almost lost her mind! We decided we should touch each waterfall, before going to find somewhere to stay. The smaller fall was easy and gentle, but the force as you approach the larger fall is remarkable, it is difficult to even get close!

We swam back and got out quickly – the benefit of the water being cold is that the kids will actually get out of the water! I was able to jump onto a parks hotspot to check the camps app, and saw there is a private campground 5km away. We drove in assuming it would probably be full, but the unpowered campground had loads of space, hooray! I was so relieved we didn’t have to drive all the way to Bachelor! The ‘Litchfield Safari Camp’ (now ‘cascades escape’) is really lovely – well grassed with lots of trees for shade, plenty of fire pits, free firewood, free washing machines (which have been $4 load everywhere else), lovely tasting filtered drinking water (we were struggling with the bore water we had filled up with!) and nice, clean amenities!

We set up, then relaxed with coffee, corn chips and guacamole (of course!), and the kids had fun running through sprinklers until the chicken curry was ready. Richie put the kids (and himself) to bed, so I had a nice quiet evening having a cup of tea by the fire ❤️.