Day 28: Fun in the Litchfield National Park

For this morning, we planned a trip to the sandstone rock formation called "Lost City".

This is located 10 km away from the paved road, in the middle of the jungle, and can only be reached by a (according to our tourist park owner) "horrible" 4x4 track.

Oh... But since I have read in several travel reports that it is easily accessible - even with a much worse car than we have now - we want to give it a try. The husband is already rubbing his hands in anticipation as we head towards the "Lost City" turnoff.
I found the following on the internet:

'This spectacular rock formation is located just an hour away from Darwin, in a hard-to-reach area of Litchfield National Park.
Even experienced four-wheel drivers are put to the test on the 8-10 kilometer long road to the Lost City.

Marvel at this natural wonder, which was formed over thousands of years by erosion from wind and rain, and whose walls, passages, and domes create the impression of an artificially created settlement. The extent of these rock formations is also astonishing: the complex, freestanding blocks and columns of the Lost City spread over an area the size of a village and resemble the ruins of an ancient city with a labyrinth of narrow streets. Touch the sandstone walls, estimated to be over 500 million years old.

The road to the Lost City is extremely rocky and uneven, and may be impassable during the rainy season. Only experienced off-road drivers should consider a trip to the Lost City. The journey is made on a single-lane road that passes numerous termite mounds. '

Oh...
But well, we have already mastered quite a few tracks by now, so it will work out!

The tricky part about today's track: it is 90% sandy - stopping can be dangerous. So: never stop and always go through the sand heaps with plenty of momentum. Uiuiuiui.

The first kilometer is fairly unspectacular, then the sand ruts get deeper and the car glides like on rails. The curves are particularly hairy, and towards the end there are quite a few of them. We also have to drive around fallen trees or climb steeply up huge rocks, so that suddenly we can only see the hood in front of us. What an adventure.

Hopefully no one is coming towards us here. I don't know where we would go to avoid them.
Eventually, we reach the rock formations called Lost City.

They really remind me of the ruins of a long-lost city. Here, in the middle of the jungle, the huge sandstone formations tower in front of us... amazing. They remind us a little bit of the formations on the Bardedjiilidji Walk in Kakadu NP.

We explore the formations, walk along the path that winds through the rock formations, and climb small rocks.
Exciting!

After about an hour, we walk back to the car, just as an Australian family arrives. They speed to the parking lot in their Jeep & trailer. The father jumps out of the car wearing flip-flops and greets us with a "G'day". Okay, for him these sandy tracks seem to be a walk in the park.

Right after that, another car follows - and it's NOT a 4x4 vehicle! How did they get here!?

On the way back, we actually encounter several cars. Luckily, at the spots where we have space to stop. About a kilometer before the end of the track, we come across a couple in an SUV who are apparently unsure whether they should continue without 4x4...

I would really like to know how the slightly larger "small car" that made it to the Lost City parking lot will get back from there.

Shortly after we have solid ground under the wheels again, we follow the sign to Burley Rockhole. In contrast to Kakadu NP, the distances here are really short and you can easily go from one highlight to another.

The Burley Rockhole proves to be a real paradise for swimming.
There are several connected pools of different sizes and depths, all with waterfalls. Great!

It's not very crowded yet, so we walk past all the pools and go up to the top, where there is a small waterfall and a kind of rock slide into the first pool. It's so cool!!!

A bit further down, there is a much deeper pool with a steeper waterfall. The highlight here is jumping into the pool from all sides. Currently, it's quite crowded there, so we would only find a standing space, so we watch the spectacle from a distance instead.

After having a small meal, we continue to Florence Falls around 2:30 PM.

The only catch: we have to walk down a fairly steep path. Okay, downhill is not a problem, but we also have to go back up...!? Hm, doesn't matter. Let's go down into the cool water first!

Here, a proper path has been built and stairs and a ladder have been installed in the rocky basin, so that you can swim in it without any problems. However, if you want to take a nice photo, you have to climb over the sometimes very sharp rocks through the flow of the pool. This is quite difficult and I'm terrified of putting my camera and phone into the water.

After taking a photo, I also get into the water. The swimming area is very deep, with some rocks sticking out under the water in front of the waterfalls, where all the vacationers are sitting.

Otherwise, you have to constantly swim, as there is nowhere to hold on to, which is quite exhausting for the kids. So, we only stay here for a short while and quickly start the climb back up. It's so sweaty...
When we reach the top, we realize: we HAVE to go back to Burley Rockhole again!

Said and done! And this time, there aren't many people at the deep water pool either. Rarely have we had so much fun in the water as here. The kids and their dad jump into the water from all sides, some Aussies perform true acrobatics with somersaults and dives, and kids jump into the water hole with pool noodles and goggles. We are practically in a "natural water park".

As we pack up in the late afternoon, I see a snake dart across the rocks. Ohhhh, luckily I didn't see it before!

On the way back to the tourist park, the kids sing the song "36 Degrees" loudly with the CD, matching the outside temperature. What a great end to our Australia adventure!

Tomorrow, we will take a small step back towards home.
We enjoy our last evening with a bottle of "Grey Nomad" wine on our veranda.

At the reception, we picked up our ordered barbecue supplies and tonight we're grilling sausages, vegetables, and bread and enjoying the sunset.

Australia is so beautiful!



For the statistics:
Hotel: Litchfield Tourist Park
Cost: €174 per night in a mobile home
Distance traveled: 84 km
Vehicle: 4x4 Mitsubishi Outlander
Wildlife sightings: one snake!
Weather: Sunny with a temperature of 36 degrees!
Conclusion: The one and only Burley Rockhole!