I am not a fan of crowds, trying to squeeze through the masses of terrorists …. I mean tourists to get a glimpse of the attraction is not my idea of fun so for this weekend trip I decided to follow a different route through Litchfield NP.
Instead of heading down to Batchelor to follow the main road into the park, I turned off earlier on the road to Berry Springs and then on to the Litchfield park road.
This directions brings you to the last of the major tourist attractions Wangi falls 1st so if you get a reasonably early start from Darwin there should not be to many people there and before the tour busses as it was for me on this trip.
When flowing Heavily after the wet season, the falls are amazing and even i the middle of the dry season as below, are still pretty good.
From here instead of following the main road to all the other touristy falls and sights, I headed south and turned on to the Reynolds River track. The track runs south through the park all the way to the Daily River road and being a 4wd track does not see anywhere as many people as the main areas.
Not far along the track is the turn off to Blyth homestead.
This side track is definitely 4wd only as there is a creek crossing that almost always has water in it. not deep or difficult but more than a car can manage.
Blyth Homestead was built by the Sargent family in 1929 abandoned in the early 1960s. You can explore the site and get an idea of the tough conditions faced by early settlers. There are also the ruins of an old tin mine here.
After exploring the site it was back on to the main Reynolds River track and south towards Sandy creek falls where we would camp for the night.
The camping area is basic but has toilets. From the camp site it is a 3.2km return walk to Sandy creek falls, while not a big as Wangi falls is still quite beautiful and every time I have been there I have had the place to myself.
I love this picture and have a big one on a wall at home.
As always a nice quiet night with only one other vehicle camped here even though it is the middle of tourist season.
In the morning after a slow start it was off to Surprise creek falls. The drive is very picturesque with plains full of huge termite mounds and a couple of almost dry creek crossings before turning off to Surprise creek just before the Reynolds river crossing.
This place is awesome!!! A short walk from the carpark to the base of the falls where the small waterfall steps down through 2 very deep waterholes in the rock. These are crystal clear and deep and great to jump into from the next level up. I spent quite a bit of time here and again had the place all to myself until just before it was time to leave.
It is worth the drive just for this spot alone and I have been back here again and again.
Just after leaving Surprise creek you come to the crossing of the Reynolds river. Depending on the time of year it can be anywhere from impassable to completely dry. On this trip the crossing only had a small amount of water in it which made it a lot easier to pick a line through and around the trees on a bank in the middle of the river.
After the crossing it is a straightforward run down to the Daily River road and then east towards Dorat road and north to Adelaide river. The Adelaide River Inn is a nice place to stop for lunch or dinner and a drink(for the non drivers) on the way home.
It is then just a 1 hour dive back to Darwin up the Stuart hwy.
This trip can be done in one day but much better to take your time over two and do more exploring.
A Love of Adventures 