A leisurely 1 ½ hour drive south from Darwin, or 2 ½ hour drive north from Katherine, will bring you to Litchfield National Park, one of the top destinations to visit during your stay in the Top End. Litchfield National Park is popular with both locals and tourists thanks to its pristine and idyllic swimming holes.
Many people make a day-trip to the national park from Darwin or Katherine, however we decided to camp overnight so we could spend some more time leisurely enjoying the waterholes and plunge pools at some of the waterfalls. Litchfield National Park covers an area of 1500km² and there is plenty to see! Below we are going to outline the things we did during our two days in the park. There are a few other attractions that we didn’t have time to visit, including Sandy Creek Falls (Tjaynera), Tolmer Falls, but that’s only an excuse to return some other time…
Camping
We camped with our friends (@TheAlcalloughbys) at the Florence Falls campground which offers very large unpowered camping sites with fire pits, and a large and clean toilet and shower/amenities block in the centre of the campground. No booking was required and sites were filling up in a first come, first served manner.
After having travelled through Western Australia the campground was very reasonably priced at just $6.60 per person, per night, payable at the honesty box at the entrance of the campground. The national park itself is free to enter.
Camping is the only option inside the national park but there are other accommodation options nearby in the town of Batchelor including caravan parks, hotels, and motels.
Florence Falls
Florence Falls was our favourite of the waterfalls in Litchfield National Park even though it is smaller than the others. We particularly enjoyed how there was a lot of foliage from the monsoon forest covering parts of the plunge pool that provided shade in the afternoon sun. When we walked down to the falls again in the morning we had Florence Falls and the swimming hole all to ourselves for 45 minutes or so before more people arrived. Angélica was not a fan of the small fish that nibble at your legs as you floated around in the shallower part of the plunge pool so take note of that. We took our snorkel sets and were able to see a lot of different fish swimming around, some small and some large.
There is a large 130 step staircase that leads down to the lower section of the falls from the campground so you can wake up and be cooling off in the water after just a few minutes walk.
A 25 minute drive (30km) from our camp site at Florence Falls brought us to our next destination in the park — Wangi Falls.
Wangi Falls
Water plunges 84m down a rugged red cliff face into a huge plunge pool. We swam out across the plunge pool and climbed up the rock face a little bit to jump off the rocks. It was great fun! The water was warm but still refreshing. There are various walking tracks at Wangi Falls, including a loop that will lead you to the top of the falls and then back around to the car park. There are a couple of steep sections, but nothing too difficult. Wangi Falls was by far the busiest waterhole in the National Park during our visit.
We visited Litchfield in early October and the water was flowing wonderfully at both falls even though our visit was towards the end of the “dry season”. This is due to the fact that the waterfalls in the national park are spring-fed, meaning they flow all year round.
Buley Rockhole
The Buley Rockhole is another great option for a dip to cool off on those hot Top End days. You can either walk here from Florence Falls (approx 1.7km ~30 minutes) along a path through the tropical woodlands, or you can park at the the car park just a short walk away. There are a series of cascading pools which you can swim in and some are deep enough to jump into. During our visit to Litchfield (October 2020) we found the Buley Rockhole to be less busy than the other attractions in the park and it was easy to find a secluded area to swim with some privacy away from the crowd. Make sure to take care with the slippery rocks while walking around the cascades.
Magnetic Termite Mounds
Besides all of the water-based attractions one of Litchfield National Park’s most impressive sights are the huge Magnetic Termite mounds which can stand over 2m in height! They are named Magnetic Termites, or sometimes Compass Termites, due to the fact they construct their mAounds always with its axis facing north-south.
Tips
- The dry season – from April to October – is the best time to visit.
- Take a pool noodle with you if you aren’t a strong swimmer, or if you would prefer to just float around leisurely. The fresh water isn’t as buoyant as salt water so staying afloat is a little more tiring than you might expect.
- Get up early and early and experience these locations before the big crowds arrive.
- Glass containers are not permitted within 10m of the water obviously to avoid injuries and cuts.
- All of the roads in the park we took were 2wd, sealed, and well signed.