26 Jul NT Australia: Litchfield National Park & Darwin
We had planned to stay at an accommodation near Litchfield National Park because we wanted to visit the park which was highly recommended on Tripadvisor. And nearly 6 hours of drive later, we arrived at our last caravan site, the Batchelor Holiday Park.
The thing about traveling in a caravan is that you really need to take more days off work. Traveling from one destination to another would already take up a day usually. We enjoyed the 2-day stay at the spacious ensuite-powered site before heading back to Darwin.
Batchelor Holiday Park
37 Rum Jungle Road, Batchelor, 0845, Australia
visit site
Litchfield National Park
At our first stop, we were greeted by the huge Magnetic Termite Mound and the hardworking termites at work. I’ve never seen termites that are in such vibrant orange or red before, I would have misunderstood this as red army ants or some sort instead. This termite mound is by far the largest and tallest we have seen during this trip and it’s amazing yet kinda gross? In case you’re wondering what these mounds are made of, it’s made of termite saliva, feces and clay. Erm… okayyy~
Florence falls
A group of soldiers seemingly on their break was at the park too and they were cliff diving off Florence Falls. That was quite a sight watching them dive in one by one but if you ask me… cliff diving is so dangerous. #scaredycat
Look how clear the water is at the bottom of the fall. It looks sooOo inviting but we didn’t plan to go into the water because we wanted to cover more areas.
Buley Rockhole
Just as I mentioned earlier that we had no plans to go into the water, my friends couldn’t resist the temptation at Buley Rockhole. But the vibes here were definitely much friendlier with no cliff divings, just family-friendly visitors like kids and the elderly… hehe.
Wangi falls
To be honest, Wangi Falls looked kinda underwhelming, but I can imagine it to be quite a sight during the wet season. Wangi Falls used to be open for swimming but we found out that a couple of weeks before our trip, a freshwater crocodile actually attacked a lady so they fenced it off. O.M.G… whut~
Northern Territory, Australia is known for crocodile sightings so always be alert of your surroundings when you visit places of swamp or parks. Be safe, not sorry.
Before a trip, I would usually do some research about the places we go. Things like crime rates, any significant danger zones, or the DOs and DON’Ts in case we appear to be disrespectful. The information about Northern Territory having many crocs sightings isn’t rare was what I came across while doing my research.
TIP – I learned that if a croc ever chases or attacks you, run for your “motherfather” life in a straight line or punch the snout or gouge its eye. Don’t say I never share? 😝
Planning to visit the park? Here’s a handy PDF with a map and information on the different Falls and Walks.
Litchfield National Park
Litchfield Park Road, via Batchelor, Northern Territory, 0822, Australia
visit site
George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens
Feeding crocs or croc-related activities didn’t really appeal to us so we opted to check out George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens. And it wasn’t a bad idea at all because we get to look at a variety of colourful flowers. I mean… after all, the only scenery we had for more than 2 weeks was looking at either the desert or mountains. :D It only took us about 2 hours to leisurely explore the garden.
Find out more
before
your visit
Download a copy of the map here.
(source: nt.gov.au)
200 Gardens Road,
Darwin, Northern Territory,
0820, Australia
visit site
The praying mantis is probably my unexpected trophy shot from the botanic gardens. Tried my best to get a good zoomed-in shot of it but without a macro lens, it’s kinda challenging so I suppose these 2 shots are not too bad? The stripes on the face made the mantis looked like Cyclops X-men of the insect world haha.
Mindil Beach 🏖 Sunset Market
Mindil Beach looked so well-maintained and the beautiful pristine waters can be seen even during low tide. We were too early for the flea market so there were quite a number of stalls not open for business yet. We still managed to check out some really unique stalls for e.g. the beewax food wrap. The designs on the wraps were so beautiful.
Mindil Beach Sunset Market
Mindil Beach Sunset Market, Northern Territory
visit site
Street art / food in the city
The street art in the city area was an unexpected find while we were out looking for Little Miss Korea (LMK). A Korean charcoal BBQ restaurant. Even the walls in both the Korean & Japanese restaurants we had our meals at were heavily painted with graffiti. As you can tell by now, we’re soOoo Asian that we can’t stay away from Asian food. :D
PS: Our Northern Australia trip is a SUPER backdated post that happened nearly 2 years back. My friends… they know me haha always so darn late with the post entries, their neck has already grown longer than a giraffe’s… LOL. Am I guilty for such a late post? YES! Do I still have backdated trips? YES! 😂
So stay tuned and patiently for our last trip (yr 2020) before Covid hit and we bid goodbye to travel for a long while *saddens*. This would be the most appropriate post to say, “See you later, Alligator~”. 🐊
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