Batchelor, Northern Territory, AustraliaDrive Katherine to Batchelor making a few stops along the way.
Nice and sunny; temp 83.
Nice and sunny; temp 83.
Leilyn (Edith) Falls
At the turnoff from Stuart Hwy, there are all kinds of rocks; love the balanced ones.
Short walk along paved pathways to the Lower Falls; closed for swimming.
At the turnoff from Stuart Hwy, there are all kinds of rocks; love the balanced ones.
Short walk along paved pathways to the Lower Falls; closed for swimming.
Pine Creek -- Drove up to the Goldfield Lookout--Enterprise Mine Site.
Placards telling about the mine's history.
Pretty views with the river, mountains, and palm trees.
Placards telling about the mine's history.
Pretty views with the river, mountains, and palm trees.
Termite Mounds all along our northern territory drives, from very tiny to huge.
It was around noon by the time we arrived in the tiny town of Batchelor. Want to see Litchfield State Park and this is the nearest town.
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BATCHELOR-LITCHFIELD TOURIST PARK - 2 nights
The grounds to this cabin/campground are absolutely beautiful. Great place if you have your own camper.
We have Cabin 6 up on a hill. Thought this would be like the cabin in Nitmiluk; rustic but nice. Tall shrubs along the porch blocked any view. Not really a cabin; it's a metal shipping container. No way--one room with bed, kitchen, sliding door to bathroom with bity little sink. Not very clean. Spider webs with big spiders in bathroom corner and under sink--yuck! Decided not to stay here another night.
Went into Batchelor to get cell service and changed air flight to leave for Cairns tomorrow. Called hotel; however, Easter weekend is full. The nice girl recommended a place two blocks away. Lucky us, they had a room. Hurray!
We have Cabin 6 up on a hill. Thought this would be like the cabin in Nitmiluk; rustic but nice. Tall shrubs along the porch blocked any view. Not really a cabin; it's a metal shipping container. No way--one room with bed, kitchen, sliding door to bathroom with bity little sink. Not very clean. Spider webs with big spiders in bathroom corner and under sink--yuck! Decided not to stay here another night.
Went into Batchelor to get cell service and changed air flight to leave for Cairns tomorrow. Called hotel; however, Easter weekend is full. The nice girl recommended a place two blocks away. Lucky us, they had a room. Hurray!
Not looking forward to spending even one night here. At least the bed looks clean.
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LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK
Will spend the rest of the day seeing as much as we can of the park. Could spend tomorrow morning also, but decided not to battle the crowds of people that will be here this holiday weekend. Apparently, there is often no parking.
Magnetic Termite Mounds -- Great placards about the termites. Boardwalk to view hundreds of these peculiar mounds that are mysteriously aligned to the earth's magnetic field. Looking like a field of tombstones, they all face north and south like the needle of a compass. The termites that make them are found nowhere else on earth. Interesting place.
Florence Falls -- Spectacular double waterfall cascading into a swimming hole. Great lookout providing a panoramic view of the beautiful falls. Could hear people below swimming in the fall's pool despite the "do not swim" signs. Even this late in the afternoon, there were a lot of people everywhere in the park.
Florence Falls -- Spectacular double waterfall cascading into a swimming hole. Great lookout providing a panoramic view of the beautiful falls. Could hear people below swimming in the fall's pool despite the "do not swim" signs. Even this late in the afternoon, there were a lot of people everywhere in the park.
Buley Rocks -- The cascading series of pools along the boulder-strewn river was packed with people.
Tolmer Falls -- The Lookout has attractive views over the escarpment toward the bush lands below with a distant view of the falls cascading over two high escarpments into a plunge pool.
As we were driving back to the campground, two kangaroos jumped across the road right in front of the car.
Way too close for comfort; would sure hate to hit one of them.
"HOW ROO-D" (Randy loves his kangaroo jokes).
YEA, finally saw a wild 'roo!!
Way too close for comfort; would sure hate to hit one of them.
"HOW ROO-D" (Randy loves his kangaroo jokes).
YEA, finally saw a wild 'roo!!
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April 15: Early Morning Walk Around Campground
Seeing several wallabies right from the porch was a great way to start the day. Walked around the campground, watching them feeding in a field.
Met a man from Melbourne with a "Bay City, Michigan" t-shirt. Thought he had been there, but he just bought it at a place near Melbourne. I guess people here like to wear hats and shirts from US.
This is a beautiful campground; however, would not recommend staying in the so-called cabins.
Just down the road from the campground, is a huge Cathedral Termite Mound. Amazed at the size of these that are all over the northern territory.
Just down the road from the campground, is a huge Cathedral Termite Mound. Amazed at the size of these that are all over the northern territory.
2025-05-22