litchfield national park

Today we drove out in our little air-conditioned (yay!) hire car to Litchfield National Park, an hour or so out of Darwin. When I was last there 14 years ago, it was all dirt roads, and the reward for driving on the corrugated surfaces and traipsing along the dusty paths was a series of idyllic swimming holes populated by only a handful of other dedicated folks.
Sadly (or happily, depending on your perspective), the roads are now all sealed right up to the waterholes. Wangi Falls was full of people for whom the wilderness seems a little too confronting. I witnessed one pair of blokes walk down the pebblecreted path - holding the handy stainless-steel handrail all the way - right into the cool fresh water, only to complain about the roughness of the stones on the floor of the waterhole ("Gee, you'd think they could have shipped in some sand!" - I kid you not).
Still, the entire park remains a magnificent place to go to escape the relentless tropical heat of Darwin, and Buley Rockhole has to be one of the all-time greatest swimming experiences. Here are Christina and Terry doing their very best mermaid impressions sitting in the rapids of Buley Rockhole.