Day 19: Litchfield NP

They are a casual bunch, here in the Territory. Really casual.

As you know, we are staying at the Banyan Tree Caravan Park, just outside Litchfield NP. I have no idea who owns the place, but the young guy who runs it – I never caught his name – buzzes around on his electric scooter wearing shorts, T-shirt, thongs and carrying a cold beverage. He’s probably in his early 30s.

But what’s really funny is the number of young ladies that always seem to be around the place. I have a working theory that they are all backpackers who do random, odd jobs around the place in exchange for pay, accommodation, or food, but …

… but they are all young women. And it seems that there are quite a lot of them.

I’m not sure that I have seen any other men here, other than the guy picking up leaves the day we arrived, and he acknowledged that he only does that job on weekends. His normal job is the slaughter-man at the local abattoir.

Now there is a great pick-up line for attracting women. Probably not vegetarian women though …

So there is this guy who runs the place, and a whole bunch of young ladies doing odd jobs – moving the sprinklers, cleaning the pool, washing cars, moving leaves around the place, working at the bar …

I’m not for one moment suggesting that there is any funny business going on here, but it all just seems a bit odd.

This is day 2 exploring Litchfield NP, although there is not a great deal to explore because most of the waterfalls, swimming holes, and 4WD tracks are closed, and we are not hikers or bushwalkers.

We did the usual ablutions and breakfast, packed our stuff into Elsie, and headed off. Only two things that we really wanted to see today: the Cathedral and Magnetic Anthills, and Florence Falls and plunge pool.

We stopped off at the anthills first, and what an impressive structure they are to behold. Some of them reach up to 5 metres tall and are up to 50 years old. And they are obviously still inhabited by Cathedral Ants because you could see them zipping around the place.

The Magnetic Anthills are a bit different, in that they are quite long and narrow, and are all facing north-south, to minimise the heat from the sun.

Pretty smart, those ants.

I’m not sure how (if) I am going to survive the apocalypse, but I reckon those ants stand a good chance, along with crocodiles, cane toads and cockroaches.

So why would you want to survive the apocalypse at all, is probably the bigger question.

Onwards from there, we took the turnoff a few kilometres further along the road into the NP towards Buley waterhole and Florence waterfall and plunge pool.

You will recall that we had a swim in Buley yesterday, and it was amazing. I was hoping that with today being a Monday, we would only have other retirees and tourists to contend with. Everyone else should be back at work.

There are 2 ways to get into the plunge pool – one track takes you approximately 450m but you have to climb down 135 steep stairs. Going down 135 stairs isn’t too bad, but – by definition – coming back will require climbing UP 135 stairs, and that didn’t sound like much fun at all.

I mean, you don’t get a body like this (see pictures below) by eating well and exercising regularly. And climbing 135 steep stairs sounds a bit to exercise-y to me.

The other way to get in or out from the plunge pool is to walk an “easy to moderate difficulty” path for 1.1km back to the carpark

So we had a plan – in by climbing down the stairs, and out via the longer, but easier track. Where “easier” means not having to climb up 135 stairs.

I have to tell you that the Florence waterfall and plunge pool was absolutely delightful. We were there by 10.30am and it was already pushing 30 degrees. The water was cool, but delightfully refreshing, and there is something special about swimming and splashing around in crystal clear, fresh water.

And not too many people around either, or maybe we just beat the crowds.

If I had my time over again – and we may still get the chance to visit other National Parks – I would have brought 2 things.

Firstly I would have brought a old pair of sandshoes or Volleys, because it is hard to look graceful hobbling over those sharp, ragged rocks to get into the natural plunge pool.

And secondly, I would have brought a waterproof camera. We actually have a waterproof camera at home, and I never even thought to bring it with us.

You know how penguins look really awkward on land but are graceful in the water? Well, I look awkward trying to get to the water in bare feet over the rocks, and then look awkward once I’m in the water trying to hold my phone above my head so I can take some photos.

C’est la vie.

The walk back out was through the Enchanting Forest with an amazing array of palms, trees and savannah plants.

We got back to Banyan Tree CP around lunch time to be greeted by a young lady on a ride-on mower, giving the grass a trim.

And she was wearing a bikini. Quite a small bikini.

In fact, it was hard to tell whether she was outside the bikini trying to get in, or inside the bikini trying to get out.

OK, I get it. If you’ve got the body, and the bikini, and the job to mow the lawn, and it’s a beautiful sunny day in the tropics, I can see how all of that comes together to what we observed, but I can personally think of a few reasons – actually more than just a few reasons – why wearing a skimpy bikini to mow the lawn is a bad idea.

I mean, if you did a risk assessment, it’s a REALLY bad idea.

As I said, they are a casual bunch here in the Territory.

Heck, I might even slip into my mankini and go sit by the pool to watch the sun set.

Tomorrow we hook up Percy, and head off to Darwin for a few nights.

Ciao.

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