DAY 111
4th April 2021
It’s Easter Sunday apparently. It's funny if you're travelling for a long time, dates just don't even really matter. I only knew because my mum texted me!
We visited a Northern Australia Observation Unit memorial to the Nackaroos and their Aboriginal trackers during the Japanese invasion attempt in WW2. Honestly, there’s so much I don’t know about Australian history and that we didn’t learn about in school – I didn’t even know that they had even attempted an invasion! The bush was impenetrable enough now, with enough deadly critters and things that could kill you (heat, lack of water, etc), let alone back in the 1940's! This is from the website about it “The unit's role was to provide early warning of a Japanese invasion and to form a guerilla force in the event of such an attack. The unit was dispersed in a series of small bases (including several along the Victoria River, one being at Bradshaw Station) and the men carried out horseback reconnaissance patrols and other work. The men made use of the knowledge of local Aboriginals and maintained coastwatching outposts. As the threat of invasion passed, the unit was reduced in strength and disbanded in March 1945.”
We kept driving east. There wasn’t much to see around here because all of the national park sights I had marked along the way were closed. So sad. We stopped at the only rest area near Katharine with toilets to camp. Edited some photos and had fire-cooked sausages and potatoes for dinner – so delicious.
DAY 112
5th April 2021
Went to Katharine for food. Stopped in at the hot springs, closed. We then stopped at the Nitmuluk NP but you had to walk to all of the sights. It was SO hot and humid and there were warning signs all around about heatstroke so didn’t think this was a great idea. So we drove to Litchfield NP which was the best thing we had done in the days since Broome I think. We camped in the National Park campsite WITH showers for $6.60pp. Josh went for a swim in Florence Falls too, it was so beautiful. Me, I'm trying to get over my fear of unknown things in the water...
DAY 113
6th April 2021
We both went for a swim this morning but omg I am stupidly scared of water. It took so much to get me into the water. And funnily enough, we met a guy there (the only other person there) who was from the same suburb in NSW that I live in!





We then went to several other waterfalls and swimming holes.
Buley’s Rockholes were swimming holes but they looked a bit dangerous and slippery so I just dipped my feet in. I saw a guy slip over while we were there so… nope.


We then went to the lookout for Tolmer Falls, which was fantastic.








We then drove to Wangi Falls. These were not open for swimming at the moment because of crocodiles. But they were so gorgeous. We went on a walk to the treetops. It was SO humid, I can’t even describe. But we saw a lot of bats, some gorgeous trees and a lot of golden orb spiders around. The cafe opened at 11:30 so we hung around until then and went to get bacon and egg rolls for lunch (which took AGES because there was a huge influx of people!). Honestly one of the best bacon and egg rolls I’ve had in forever!
















We drove back to the campsite and found another spot, this time back in the 4wd campsite for ease of walking to the falls, then went for another swim. There were lots more people this time so I didn’t chicken out as much. I even went to swim under the waterfall this time. It was one of the best experiences and Florence Falls/Litchfield remains one of the best places we’ve been I think!
The ‘bush’ here is an interesting mix of long grasses, fern trees, shorter palm trees, cycads and termite mounds. It’s lovely – it all feels very architectural and structured.
Such a great place to visit. Highly recommend. The camping at Litchfield was also really decent!