LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK

visited Nov 2016

LITCHFIELD's fabulous FLORENCE FALLS and PLUNGE POOL.

Most people know KAKADU is a "SHOULD SEE" when visiting the TOP END. But manyknowledgible folks say LITCHFIELD is as good. Lotsa locals claim LITCHFIELD is better (more on that later). So I made sure a LITCHFIELD TRIP was on my dance card.

LOCATION

LITCHFIELD NP on the left has an eastern entrance on ROUTE 30 abt 120km from DARWIN (you can also come in from the north but that route has unsealed road - sometimes closed in wet season) - for a good sealed road all the way, go down the Hwy1/STUART Hwy 92km to the Route 30 BATCHELOR/LITCHFIELD turnoff. Follow ROUTE 30 eight km to BATHCHELOR and then another 14km to the PARK ENTRANCE.

The above image is a good for the relative sizes of LITCHFIELD and KAKADU (at right). Now wonder KAKADU can offer everything LITCHFIELD has, plus a lot more.
Note NITMILUK NP to the south - almost as big as LITCHFIELD: this is the site of the fabulous KATHERINE (NITMILUK) GORGE, another of my TOP END "should sees".
(image Brookes Australia Tours)

A usefully detailed map of LITHCHFIELD can be seen ON THIS PAGE 

As a bottom budget traveler I researched best value. I took WAYOUTBACK's ONE DAY LITCHFIELD TOUR. Viator and TripAdvisor have this on their sites, although they don't name the operator.
The tour exceeded my expectations in a big way – as the least expensive of many online I wasn’t expecting a lot, but afterwards I’m finding it hard to think what the others can do better for often a hell of a lot more money.

Maybe their vehicles are more comfortable although our small aircon bus was not painful.

Ain't a Merc, ain't 4wd, but our Toyota minibus did the job well.

Some other operator's vehicles may be 4wd which allows access to dirt road venues – but I’m not aware we missed any SHOULD SEES the guide books mention.
Perhaps others' food is better – not that our luncheon was lacking in quantity/taste (although morning and afternoon tea was NOT included: we had the option to purchase same at one of the several roadhouse stops. But is this worth many extra dollar?)
I know for a fact that some of the more expensive tours include a stop on the way down at one of the JUMPING CROC places. 
These are excellent but burn time meaning that you may visit one less venue at LITCHFIELD itself – if 2 instead of 3 swimming spots is not important this may be no bad thing: me, I’m a super keen swimmer plus I find sitting in a cool pool of burbling clear water one of the better things to do more than twice on a 40C day. Besides I’d already done a JUMPING CROC CRUISE as part of my KAKADU trip. 

So I’m giving this one 5 stars for value.

It gets 5 stars for commentary/leadership too – tour leader JOEY was excellent, with interesting and often humorous information beginning in Darwin. His knowledge of flora/fauna/geology was first rate (bit of an expert on bush tucker which he had us try – the green ants were pretty good), he was no slouch on preparing dinner while we soaked in a cool pool - and for the nervous he was a careful driver.

Joey searching for green ant bush tucker

He had a thing about how great early wet season is in the TOP END. Thing is it isn’t very wet at all – my 3 weeks in the region saw rain (short sharp) on 3 days only – 80% sunshine. It rained maybe 10 nights – short, sharp again. “TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!” said Joey. He pointed out other advantages – the crowds are way down: often the big car park at FLORENCE FALLS is packed out in high season: we had no problems even on a nice Saturday when lots of Darwin residents seemed to have decided a cool pool at waterfall’s base is the place to be on a hot day.

I noticed another plus – plenty of walk in vacancies at accommodation, tours etc often with good low season discounts. And this is the time for cheap flights into DARWIN - from Sydney was less than $100 each way.
The downsides include some trips having to be rescheduled because of not enough takers on the original date (as did mine), some trips not running at all, and some venues being closed (seems more common in KAKADU).

The trip venues rate highly too – the MAGNETIC TERMITE MOUNDS, WANGI FALLS, FLORENCE FALLS, BULEY ROCKHOLE are all "should sees" according to the guide books - although I was not whelmed by the first. These plus several stops at roadhouses along the way make for an informative but not too rushed day. Note all these places are accessed by sealed road meaning the tour can run right thru wet season. As said, some of the more expensive tours may use a 4wd vehicle allowing access to some of the many 4wd dirt tracks of Litchfield – a few had interesting destination signs (viewpoints etc) although I’m not aware that any are SHOULD SEES 

TRIP ROUTE AND VENUES - we went along 30 to theTERMITE MOUNDS, then direct to WANGI FALLS, after - retracing our steps to FLORENCE FALLS and nearby BULEY ROCKHOLES and then back to DARWIN thru BATCHELOR .
BTW - R30 doesn't end just past the WANGI turn-off: it continues north, becoming unsealed in parts, and exits the park abt 20km on. It then runs north roughly 70km (still many unsealed sections) where it joins main road B24 (COX PENINSULA RD) which to the right (east) runs abt 30km across to Hhw1 only 45km south of DARWIN CBD.
Alternatively, you can turn SOUTH off 30 at its most southern point just short of WANGI and bounce abt 45km down the dirt 4wd SOUTHERN ACCESS TRACK for abt 45km joining DALY RIVER ROAD (28) - go east abt 50km (mostly sealed) to DORAT RD (23) - turn left and go abt 30km to ADELAIDE RIVER.  DARWIN CBD is 112km north via Hwy1.

btw - the distance marker near the intersection of HWY1 and 30 should read 92km - too hard to change once map is posted.


THE TRIP

0700

Pick-up in DARWIN. Took a good 30mins over maybe 8 different locations. 
Then onto Hwy1 for the trip south - JOEY was already on the PA with information about DARWIN, lifestyles of locals, major features along the way. Plenty of humour. 
Turned right onto R30 after about 70mins. Another 10 mins saw us in the town of BATCHELOR. This is the closest to the park for resort/motel type accommodation as far as I know. 
We called at a nice aircon roadhouse to purchase some morning tea.

PARK ENTRANCE

Back on 30, another 10 minutes got us to the PARK ENTRANCE where....

....we dud the obligatory group shot. It's around this point where the road starts to climb onto the low plateau which dominates northern LITCHFIELD NP. Heights and slopes are unremarkable.


MAGNETIC TERMITE MOUNDS

Another 10 minutes on 30 got us to the MAGNETIC TERMITE MOUNDS. This is one of the higher mounds and was located in the bush between the main road and the pull off parking loop....

....while on the other side of the loop was a boardwalk with an outlook on a kind of "mound city".
Note different type of mound. Check out JOEY far right middle-ground - he was expert at explaining mound construction and differences.....

....and in finding edible insects ("bush tucker") in mounds and vegetation. I have to tell you green ants aint bad at all.

Northern Territory National Parks has put a lot of effort into this spot. There is a pull-off loop to the right of the main road (if you are heading into the park) with adjacent parking spots, rest rooms, some picnic facilities plus a boardwalk and viewing platforms to help mound inspections. Instruction panels in an information shelter explain structures etc but not as well as JOEY.

I was a bit underwhelmed with this spot. I reckon the mounds are worth a quick stop – both for their mildly interesting appearance and as a good driving break heading from park-entrance to the better attractions. But I would not go out of my way to see them.

Maybe the fact I have seen termite mounds in the Aussie bush many times, including at KAKADU the week before, dampened my enthusiasm – however I have to admit that KAKADU’S mound area did not have the hundreds of structures of MAGNETIC which kinda makes it a mound “city”. And I don’t think I’ve seen 4m high mounds before. Nor the variety of structure types in the one place.

LOST CITY

Um....we didn't go to the actual LOST CITY because it is a considerable distance off the main road along a rough dirt track. So we stopped at a similar area alongside R30 a little further on from the termite mounds.

Here low granite cliffs have weathered and eroded to give a sort of ANGKOR WAT effect. Once again I was undewhelmed - I hope the real deal is better and worth the bouncy 30 min one way trip off the main road. But no worries, the above was another chance to stretch the legs, and the best was yet to come....

WANGI FALLS 
- pretty excellent place, but not the best (this came later): in fact I rate WANGI my #3 LITCHFIELD attraction.

I dunno id you can see, but the entrance to WANGI FALLS PLUNGE POOL is a set of steps, way better than at its competitor, FLORENCE FALLS. You are looking above at a really big pool - I reckon it was at least a 150m swim across to the twin falls - excellent places to sit below the torrent fer a free water massage. There was enough shallow water near the steps for our non-swimming guests to get wet.

Did I say a pretty big pool? Picture should click-expand nicely.

School excursion poses fer the happy snap.

WANGI LOGISTICS
WANGI is abt 17km further on from our stop to check out the LOST CITY-like granite cliffs - 165km from DARWIN, 82 off the STUART Hwy and 68km from BATCHELOR.

GOOGLE EARTH image showing:
-the POOL ACCESS TRACK from the car park: fairly short (abt 150m) and flat.
- the short (less than 2km) ACCESS ROAD from R30  - this is sealed, but may flood after big wet season rains. Check ahead.
- the LOOP WALK: a 1.7km/35 minutes circuitous path starting poolside and going up/behind the falls. Unfortunately when I visited it was partially closed not far past the branch to the VIEWING PLATFORM which gives a nice alternative outlook of the falls/pool.

- THE CARPARK: spacious with plenty of room when I visited despite many day-tripping Darwinians on a gorgeous weekend. However this may change in dry season. JOEY, told us Litchfield overcrowding has become a problem at high season peaks  – particularly since the Commonwealth increased the entrance fee into KAKADU to $40 (LITCHFIELD is a Northern Territory NP – entrance is free unless camping) which diverted a lot of bucks-down backpackers and Darwin resident day-trippers from KAKAUDU. Since then it is often hard to find a high season parking spot at popular LITHFIELD attractions despite the NT govt spending big on expanding carparks.
- the nearby VISITORS’ CENTRE with eats/coffee, free wifii, the usual local information and displays (including some cultural stuff on original inhabitants) plus touristy junk for sale.
- the CAMPGROUND at WANGI is fairly big, close to the pool and suitable for vans.

FORENCE FALLS
MY #2 LITCHFIELD LOCATION. I prefered it over WANGI because it was more spectacular and had more variety.

MORE SPECTACULAR

Great overview from a viewing platform on the main access track to the pool abt 150m from the carpark - before reaching the rather steep stairway.

MORE VARIETY 1

I rate the 135 step stairway to the plunge pool a plus - but I'm an exercise nut. Less fit people may be less than impressed: all is not lost - you have that great overview before reaching the stairs and some really nice rock holes up the top for a cool soak on a hot day.

The pool itself is not as big as at WANGI - an advantage for poorer swimmers who fancy a water massage under the falls. I'm a keen swimmer - I found there was still plenty of water for a good workout. There seemed more shallow water close to the entrance for non-swimmers.

A disadvantage - entry to the water was a bit difficult. Fairly narrow with tricky rocks underfoot. Seemed a bit confined even with a moderate crowd on a lovely early wet season day (lotsa day-trippers seemed to have come down from DARWIN).

MORE VARIETY 2

Up the top, virtually adjacent the car park (a bit east) were 3 or 4 nice ROCKHOLES - great for cooling down in the heat (and early wet season sure is hot!)

MORE VARIETY 3

TUCKER TIME - Joey spent the time we had at the waterfall and rock-holes setting up lunch in the picnic shelters near the car park. The usual Aussie excursion luncheon - BBQ sausages and steaks, plenty of salad, bread etc - unlimited water, Went down real well.
Now I'm cheating here inferring picnic facilities are unique to FLORENCE - all our venues had same. But the timing here was perfect to put on the nose bag.

MORE VARIETY 3

My #1 LITCHFIELD LOCATION - the BULEY ROCKHOLES are only 2km further up the creek so you can knock over 2 great venues at the one stop by taking the connecting bush track. Of course you can retrace your drive along the access road to BULEY's car park.

GETTTING TO FLORENCE

From WANGI we went back onto 30 and retraced our drive 22km to the sealed side road into FLORENCE (5km) and BULEY (3km). This makes the last 2 closer to DARWIN/BATCHELOR for the time-short. Another advantage - I've heard the access road is less likely to be cut after heavy prolonged rain. than that into WANGI.

Flornce layout. Not real clear - but there is a 4wd campground just out of image TOP RIGHT. 
I noticed NT NATIONAL PARKS have put in a new overflow car-park in adjacent the access road from R30 immediately east of image.

BULEY ROCKHOLDES - my #1 LITCHFIELD VENUE.
This place is a gem - what we have is a bunch (a half a dozen+) small/medium pools along 400m of creek - some are just deep enough for sitting, some you need to be able to tread water - but none big enough to swim distances. People who wanna do that have the great FLORENCE plunge pool only 2km down stream.
Oh yeah, a bit further downstream of the ROCKHOLES (but well short of FLORENCE) is a stretch of creek/river where we on the tour did an ADVENTURE TREK/SWIM over about 500m. Totally excellent - more later but it was this one extra which makes me rate BULEY #1 ahead of FLORENCE.

THE ADVENTURE TREK-SWIM
After checking the pools, Joey asked for participants for this extra small excursion - he stressed takers should be fit and able to swim. He seemed a bit surprised when I opted in seeing I'm a 71 yo geezer who hides behind a long-sleeved shirt and long duds most of the time - but the fact is I swim/cycle/run every day and am so fit I could take on a whole posse of pole dancers in one session without raising my pulse (okay, that's a lie - my ol' heart would be banging so hard it could fritz the sensors in my FITBIT) and I can swim further underwater than the average 25 yo can swim on the surface without a rest.

Thing that gets me is my camera is not waterproof so I can't show you shots (nor can I find any shots on the 'net of same) - we walked maybe 200m downstream on a track, then entered the water where we waded/swam another 300m - checking out local fauna/flora guided by Joey's expert information. At one stage a big WATER MONITOR (Australia's version of Indo's KOMODO DRAGON but not as big/scary) entered the stream (Joey doing a voice-over in a hushed tone like DAVID ATENBOROUGH). 
Didn't see any harmless FRESH WATER CROCS (I had my diving face mask) - it was too high for the dangerous SALT WATER CROCS (apparently they don't like heading upstream - I'm thinking FLORENCE FALLS would be an extreme barrier - actually the plunge pool below the falls is a fair bit upstream from the floodplain too).
Could a non-swimmer do this? Most of the journey in the creek was wading, but there were a few deeper sections and one spot where we had to dive under a big fallen log - I'm thinking a non-swimmer would find this very tricky.

 DETAILS - BULEY ROCKHOLE area

BACK TO DARWIN

Our one stop on the way back was at a roadhouse on the outskirts of BATCHELOR - had the usual stuff (very cold beer at a reasonable price) plus some pop-art like this old Hyundai.

80 minute's later we arrived back in DARWIN, to start the inevitable round of drop-offs. The town sure has a widely dispersed bunch of accommodation places.

BETTER THAN KAKADU?

LITCHFIIELD vs KAKADU

Is the local saying: “LITCHFIELD DO – KAKA DON’T” true? Um....tricky. Each has its pluses making both well worth visiting. But time-short people may have to select one only. Hopefully the stuff below may help:

CLOSEST TO DARWIN – LITCHFIELD’S main attractions are centered about 130km from Darwin, KAKADU’S around 250-300.

LITCHFIELD much closer. Those smaller place-markers around the KAKADU marker are some of the attractions in the park - KAKADU is a BIG region.

LOWEST ENTRY FEE – KAKADU is a federal national park: Canberra recently increased the entrance fee to $40.

LITCHFIELD is a Northern Territory national park: entrance is free unless camping.

This may be unimportant to many, but some travelers are dollars-deficient.

The fee increase has diverted a lot of bucks-down backpackers and Darwin resident day-trippers from KAKAUDU to the already popular LITCHFIELD. 

WAYOUTBACK's JOEY told us that since then it’s often hard to find a high season parking spot at popular LITCHFIELD attractions despite the NT govt spending big on expanding carparks .

CROWDS – the above suggests LITCHFIELD may be the loser here. However leader of my overnight KAKADU trip, MATT from TERRITORY EXPEDITIONS reckoned that had we visited in high season we would have found difficulty finding space at many picnic areas, swimming holes and the rest. Such is the popularity of KAKADU.

So gang, I can’t really tell you which is better in respect to being uncrowded – except to say TIME OF VISIT contributes. My tours of both were in early wet (low) season November and both parks featured relatively few people – crowding was a problem nowhere except maybe at the rather confined entry to LITCHFIELD’S otherwise excellent FLORENCE FALLS gorge pool. Hate to see it in high season.

Entrance to FLORENCE FALL's plunge pool a bit squeezy and rocks make it quite tricky underfoot - required a bit of care even with low crowds of early wet season. Could be a bit of a circus with multiple people. Nice pool though.

BTW my LITCHFIELD TOUR was on a beautiful sunny Sunday when lotsa DARWIN residents had decided soaking in the various pools and rock-holes would be very appealing in the forecast 40C. So the place was certainly not deserted, but definitely not overcrowded.

Plenty of sunshine in this shot. Tourists look different from locals to a long-time former like me. Most of these people at one of the BULEY ROCKHOLES pools seemed locals to me.

BEST FOR DAYTRIPS – closeness to Darwin, plus the fact KAKADU’S more numerous attractions are spread out over its enormous area (at least 5x the size of LITCHFIELD), ensure LITCHFIELD gets the prize. In fact I can’t imagine doing a KAKADU daytrip – too much of the time would be spent in the vehicle and venues would necessarily be rationed. I found even my 2 day tour missed things I consider KAKADU “SHOULD SEES”.

VARIETY – LITCHFIELD’S size restricts variety. The low plateau has quite a few streams spillIing off its sides at attractive waterfalls. These have carved neat swimming holes and smaller rock-holes ideal for sitting and soaking. So it’s no surprise a lot of attractions are confined to waterfalls/swimming/soaking spots. The relative lack of verticality means panoramic viewpoints are limited (maybe some of the 4wd tracks feature these but WAYOUTBACK’S small bus was 2wd). 

Like Kakadu, Litchfield has an area of extensive termite mounds but I found these more a good excuse to break the journey and would have been underwhelmed without the informative spiel from JOEY. 

There are some sections of weathered granite which has eroded to produce a landscape a bit reminiscent of ANGKOR WAT. I found the section we saw a bit underwhelming too. The best of these, LOST CITY, is up a tricky 4wd dirt side road.

Not exactly LOST CITY, but as close as our 2wd bus could get. Didn't exactly float my boat. Plus KAKADU is so big I bet it has the equivalent.

KAKADU’S sheer size means It can offer plenty of LITCHFIELD-like waterfalls, swimming holes and rock-holes, termite mounds (although the area we inspected did not have the “mound city” seen at LITCHFIELD), plus quite a bit more. There are several world class rock-art sites, wetland cruises, big river floodplains, coastal areas and some upmarket accommodation (better than tents/vans) within the park. There were also a couple of roadhouses with nice swimming pools, bar areas, snacks etc actually within the borders of KAKADU. Plus 2 dedicated aboriginal cultural centers which outgun LITCHFIELD’S limited display at the WANGI FALLS visitors center. Hell, there’s even a  town – JAIBIRU – offering typical small-town services.

As far as I know, LITCHFIELD can't do rock-art like KAKADU.

And the way the multi-coloured ARNHEM PLATEAU ESCARPMENT has eroded has produced a more tantalising feature to me than LITCHFIELD’S weathered granite.

As far as camping is concerned, both have plenty of sites but once again, KAKADU’S size means it has more.

SCENERY – LANDSCAPE. We aren’t talking YOSEMITE at either – once again the lack of verticality (um- is that a word?) means any highlands aren’t all that high, cliffs and escarpments not gob-smacking and waterfalls drops limited. But what there is is not unattractive – and I reckon KAKADU gets the gong here – I don’t think LITCHFIELD has anything to compete with the long multi-coloured, intricately eroded ARNHEM PLATEAU ESCARPMENT or the YELLOW WATER (and other) WETLANDS, river floodplains-estuaries-tidal flats. 

LITCHFIELD hasn't anything like KAKADU's YELLOW WATER CRUISE

(image KAKADU TOURISM)

And although LITCHFIELD’S waterfalls and pools are pretty good, several I visited in KAKADU were much the same - and JIM JIM  (track closed when I visited) from what I understand is far more gob-smacking.

The ARNHEM PLATEAU ESCARPMENT also gives visitors panoramic views over surrounding lowlands – an outlook not able to be matched by anything I saw in LITCHFIELD.

JIM JIM FALLS pours over the ARNHEM PLATEAU ESCARPMENT

 (image Venture North)

SWIMMING/SOAKING – LITCHFIELD  is known for such things but two waterfall swimming holes I visited in KAKADU were just as good. I didn’t see anywhere to compete with LITCHFIELD’S fabulous BULEY ROCKHOLE, but with the sheer size of KAKADU, I bet there is somewhere which is just as good. Maybe this is the thing – in KAKADU you have to go searching for certain features whereas BULEY, say, is only 2km away and on the same creek at the best (IMHO) KAKADU waterfall place, FLORENCE FALLS.

TREKKING – each has good trekking. Time constraints on my visits meant a 15 minute walk at most but earlier research suggested KAKADU has more walking tracks and may be preferable to hard core trekkers seeking really long walks.

IMPACTED BY WET SEASON – KAKADU has more unsealed side roads to out of the way places - plus several major river floodplains the main roads must traverse. These can be cut after very heavy prolonged rain.

Note tour operators seem to have plenty of alternative venues at such times times.

Don’t hold me to this, but in my planning I seemed to find a greater number of attractive sounding KAKADU tours that didn’t run AT ALL in wet season.

I think rescheduling tours that DO RUN due to lower wet season customer numbers would affect both equally.

Oops! Tourists over-rate Land Cruiser's ability to ford KAKADU'S flooded and croc infested MAGELA CREEK. Lucky the police 4wd has a snorkel (image NBC.com)

COST OF TOURS – the far fewer kms and no entry fee of a LITCHFIELD tour means prices for equal duration trips are considerably lower. Plus to see KAKADU properly you need more than one day which starts to make tours there downright expensive (at least to tight-wads like me on a skinny geezers’ pension). Shop around – there are considerable differences.

I think an excellent way of seeing more of KAKADU may be independently with car/van/4wd over more than 2 days. But this is more expensive again if you have to hire the vehicle - plus you won’t get the excellent insider’s tour guide commentary.

DO YOU NEED A 4WD? It’s surprising how 2wd cars and campers can travel rough dirt roads. But they aint too hot in water over 40cm deep. However even in dry season many side roads in both parks have deepish creek crossings, sand patches, rocky sections needing high clearance, steep grades etc requiring 4wd and are signposted as such.

But here’s the thing – there are enough SHOULD SEE attractions in both parks on or very close to sealed roads, so even 2wd buses can access. And note that some of the more expensive tours have 4wd trucks with bus cabins and smaller 4wd vehicles and so they can get into the trickier places.

Many LITCHFIELD and KAKAUDU (pictured) side roads ask for 4wd (image Parks Australia)

SUM UP – overall KAKADU’S size allows it to offer just about everything LITCHFIELD can plus a fair bit more. But for time-short or bucks-down travellers LITCHFIELD is the way to go.

Time of year may have some impact too - LITCHFIELD seems less affected by wet season.

Of course if you have the time and are not destitute, do both. I would have felt short-changed if I had missed either in my TOP END visit.

WHEN TO GO 

Many of you have little choice re holiday timing, but for those not so restricted……

…..I reckon early wet season may be the go. According to guides MATT and JOEY, weather conditions are usually great that time of year with little rain and plenty of sunshine. In my 22 November days in the TOP END it rained (short/sharp) on 3 days only and about 10 nights. Days were 80% sunshine. “TELL YOUR FRIENDS” stressed JOEY  – he said as soon as dry season officially ends in October tourist numbers plummet. They find it hard to fill the buses and have to reschedule some tours.

So that can be a disadvantage even early in the wet – you may get an email like me asking you if another day is okay for your tour. I also found some places were already closed to visitors – eg the excellent JIM JIM FALLS in KAKADU - and some of the more attractive-reading  tours not being run at all Nov thru March, particularly for KAKADU.

Of course later in the wet things can deteriorate – after periods of sustained heavy rainfall even the main routes thru both parks can be cut by flood for a day or so, more side roads are liable to be closed and swimming holes raging torrents of water. They say the falls can be pretty spectacular at such times however. Btw my research said there is usually still plenty of sunshine in the really wet months – it just rains harder and more often. However if a low pressure monsoon trough settles in it can rain hard more or less constantly for several days - this is when it floods. 

Other advantage of low season in the parks – no overcrowding. And outside  – more vacancies (often walk in) and some good discounts, particularly for mid range and better accommodation.

But is sure gets HOT and HUMID.

Plenty of sunshine in this early wet season BULEY ROCKHOLE (LITCHFIELD) pic.

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DARWIN

FROM THE BUDGET TRAVELER'S POINT OF VIEW    
(visited November 2016)

Budget accommodation doesn't have to be basic - relaxing by the pool on the free WIFI at the YHA.

Listen up, there's a heap of DARWIN travel sites will give you bulk info about attractions, trips, where to stay etc.....but this one is slightly different from most in that it attacks the above from the point of view of a bucks-down traveler. I won't say BACKPACKER because my experience is that backpackers these days tend to be a lot more cashed up than 20 years back. Although some are still doing it on the proverbial shoestring....

LOCATION - SIZE - LAYOUT
DARWIN is at the top end of the TOP END. Distance from SYDNEY - approx 3200km in a straight line: MELBOURNE abt the same:PERTH - 2700km. Interesting, JAKARTA capital of INDONESIA is closer at 2650km. No wonder so many Top Enders holiday in BALI - 1900km.

DARWIN - top end of THE TOP END. Plus other NT locations of note.

For a capital city DARWIN has a modest population - abt 150,000. But it's the fastest growing capital in the nation. Put this down to the present infrastructure boom connected with planned onshore processing of TIMOR SEAS gas plus the continuation of DARWIN's reputation as a frontier town offering new opportunities to escapists and adventurous types from down south. The latter has attracted not only southerners but people from all over - lotsa Asians and immigrants from further afield including a surprising amount of Africans. Historically the first wave of immigrants way back were Chinese and Greek - people from these backgrounds still dominate the non-Anglo Saxon/non-Aboriginal population. Darwin has a sizable Aboriginal population - not only from the original LARRAKIA people but also from further afield: jobs and better social services have drawn rural native-Australians to the city.

For its population, DARWIN is a pretty dispersed city, measuing 15+km north south (TIWI to CBD) and 20km coast to south-east inland (it's pretty hard to determine where Darwin ends in the south-east because several outlying settlements are growing out along the STUART HIGHWAY past the PALMERSTON-MOULDEN conurbation which is my limit). 
There tends to be big gaps between some suburb clusters - close to the coast these are largely filled with parks etc which along with the wide main roads gives a pretty ordered appearance. A lot of  money has been spent making the place a pretty attractive looking town. The road system is not too bad either - quite a lot of 4 laners with cross-overs etc. Much is made of the CROSS-SUBSIDY of taxes from the south of Australia to the NT - it's nice to see where our money is being spent.

A fairly dispersed place for its population.



BUDGET ACCOMMODATION
Darwin has a huge range of places to stay - from 5 star resorts down to modest motels (the average person's budget alternative) plus a bunch of backpacker joints which are less expensive again. 5 of the latter are within the CBD area - I stayed in 3 (DARWIN YHA, YOUTH SHACK and MELALEUCA) between trips out of DARWIN to other TOP END locations.
I gave the other 2 a  miss (DINGO MOON on account this small place has the same edge of the CBD general location as YHA and I favoured the latter being a member - CHILLIS because this sister hostel to MELAEUCA doesn't seem much different except guests need to share a neighbouring joint's pool).
I favoured YHA. Converted motels are often inferior to purpose built backpacker joints, but this place was most laid back, had the biggest dorms with small refrigerators and ensuites, most spacious grounds, a nice pool area and several specialist rooms like a reading room, TV room, airconned wet weather dining room with ensuite. It wasn't perfect - the kitchen was a bit pokey, as was reception and it was a 10 minute walk in the heat to the supermarkets and top entertainment area - doesn't seem long, but very trying on a 40C day.
People looking for a party atmosphere will prefer one of the other joints.

A COMPARISON - YHA, YOUTH SHACK, MELALEUCA

MOST RELAXED/LAID BACK/QUIET – YHA

MOST SPACIOUS DORMS - YHA

BEST POOL – YOUTH SHACK

BEST SUN DECK – YOUTH SHACK

BEST DINING AREA – YOUTH SHACK (although not airconed like YHA’s small overflow area)

BEST BAR AREA/PARTY  ATMOSPHERE  – YOUTH SHACK and MELALEUCA

BEST RECEPTION AREA – YOUTH SHACK most spacious. All had efficient check in staff.

CHEAPEST BOOZE – YHA (byo)

MOST TRAVELERS – MELALUECA seemed to have more short term traveling backpackers as against semi-permanent working backpackers.

BEST KITCHEN – MELALEUCLA most spacious and most storage.

BEsT PLATES/CUTLERY ETC – YHA (others ask you to hire eating kit at reception)

BEST BASIC WIFI – YOUTH SHACK. WHA not as powerful, MELALEUCA not free.

BEST AIRCON - MELALEUCLA

CLEANEST – all good but MELALUECLA by a small margin

BEST SECURITY – all good but the night guy at MELALEUCLA seemed particularly conscientious.

BEST FOR WOMEN – YHA and YOUTH SHACK have women only dorms but MELALEUCA goes one step further with  a women – only floor. On reflection, I dunno if this is a big advantage.

BEST LAUNDRY – MELALEUCA

BEST CLOTHES LINES – YHA. YOUTH SHACK HAS NONE.

BEST PARKING – YHA.

MOST SPACIOUS GROUNDS - YHA

POOL COMPARISON

YHA - old style motel pool still good

YOUTH SHACK shot from nice sundeck - spacious dining/lounge upper background. Bar below camera,

MELALEUKA - pool pokey. Good eats/bar area surrounding. My camera u/s - had to borrow this one from TravelBlog


DARWIN BEACHES
As I've said elsewhere, you don't come to DARWIN for the beaches. Not only are they pretty ordinary in appearance, but you also have the threat of crocodiles and (in wet season), deadly stingers. But for what it's worth:

BEST BEACH - CASUARINA

This 6km long stretch of sand towards the north of DARWIN's coast is about the most attractive I saw. Even has a 500m clothing-optional area mid beach. I have a lot more info on this and the town's other beaches on a special BEACHES page.

BEST FAMILY BEACH and MOST ACCESSIBLE - CITY BEACH

This man-made beach in the WHARF/WATERFRONT PRECINCT redevelopment just south of the CBD has no charge, plenty of lawns/shade/nearby refreshments. The adjacent WAVE POOL has a modest charge but the kids will love it. 


BEST SUNSET
DARWIN's coast faces west and has no shortage of good places to enjoy sunset. But my research on the best place to enjoy a not too expensive sunset beer turned up ....

DARWIN SKI CLUB

The water ski club has spacious grounds and seemed to be a favoured spot for Darwinian's to enjoy a sunset beer. Small twin pools, meals, frequent live entertainment are pluses. 
GETTING THERE– the CLUB is just over 4km from downtown which makes for a relatively short drive. There is plenty of parking. Bus 6 goes from downtown right into the adjacent museum precinct but only runs hourly. I caught a more frequent (half hourly) bus 4 which runs along the main road near the museum – jump out on EAST POINT ROAD just past the DARWIN BOWLS CLUB  (this is a little over 10 mins from downtown – the bus driver will know where to put you out) and take CONNACHER ST about 100 m behind the bus-stop. The club is about 5 mins down CONNACHER on the left. Of course if you are keen you could walk from town in about 50 minutes –although  that didn’t seem such a good idea to me in all the heat and humidity of early wet season.


BEST FREE ATTRACTIONS
Darwin has a huge range of touristy attractions. Being a backpacking cheap-skate I naturally gravitated to the FREE ones.

LAKE ALEXANDER AND EAST POINT RESERVE

LAKE ALEXANDER is a former marshy lagoon which has been deepened and cleaned up – cleared of crocs and stingers (with traps/inspections and filters against re-encroachment) and further improved by the dumping of sand to create several extensive beach areas plus plus plenty of surrounding grass/trees, picnic facilities, an extensive kids’ playground, change sheds/toilets and even one of those outdoor exercise areas with my favourite things – chin up bars.

Its kinda a peanut shape – max length north south abt 400m, width varying from around 150m each end to 70m in the middle. There’s plenty of sitting/wading depth water at the northern swimming end close to the sand and it gets to about 2m deep 150m off the beach – a sign said it is up to 8m deep in the southern watercraft zone. The water is salt – refreshed and filtered constantly from the adjacent bay.

LOCATION – LAKE ALEXANDER is in the EAST POINT RESERVE abt 6km north of downtown DARWIN. Head north along the main coastal road and turn left at the big sweeping right hand corner onto EAST POINT RD. Go another km to the RESERVE ENTRANCE GATE. No entrance fee. The lake begins less than 200m past the gate on the right. Plenty of free parking, particularly at the far end.

Without a car, the best bet is to jump on one of the fairly frequent (abt half hourly) BUS 4s and travel 15-20m to the first stop past FANNIE BAY JAIL (the driver will know where to put you off).  Walk back 200m to the sweeping corner across from the jail, walk directly ahead thru one of Darwin’s more upmarket suburbs for about 1km to the Reserve entrance. Bus 6 will get you a bit closer to the entrance gates but runs less frequently.

 Some Other East Point Reserve Venues. When you tire of sunning, splashing etc there are plenty of other venues in the Reserve to spend your time:

-      DEFENCE OF DARWIN WAR MUSEUM – a top attraction but not free. I spent hours wandering around the exhibits of this surprisingly compact place. Has very good audio-visual stuff along with a host of other things. It is towards the far end of the point – abt 2.5km from the reserve entrance (30-35 mins if you walk directly: more if you check other things along the way) and 3.3 from where the east point access road leaves the main (north south) highway. Well signposted. There is plenty of free parking at the museum.

-      OLD GUN EMPLACEMENTS etc – walk around the perimeter of EAST POINT: there are a number of WW2 historical sites with explanation boards. 

-      MONSOON RAINFOREST WALK – this begins about 1km back along the road to the highway from the WAR MUSEUM (well sign-posted). About a one hour circuit. I gained an admiration of the early explorers who had go push thru many kms of this as they approached the northern coast.

-  FANNIE BAY BEACH, the second best DARWIN BEACH I saw, wraps around the southern side of EAST POINT opposite LAKE ALEXANDER and is much more attractive than down by the SKI CLUB closer to Darwin city. Still has the possibility of stingers and crocs though.

 -  MANGROVE BOARDWALK, starting near the north car-park of LAKE ALEXANDER. Well sign-posted. Maybe 30 min return.

DARWIN WATERFRONT/WHARF PRECINCT - CITY BEACH/WAVE POOL etc

Not to be confused with the present operating wharf/waterfront area to the east, this is a redevelopment of the old waterfront/wharf area of KITCHENER BAY directly south of Darwin's CBD and compact administrative area. Good place for a dip, wander around or if you feell like spending, have a shop, drink, feed or visit the WAVE POOL. Walk from CBD in under 10minutes. Bus 14 comes down here. Fair bit of mostly paid parking.

A-CITY BEACH   B-WAVE POOL   C-CONVENTION CENTRE   D-SHOPS/FOOD/HOTELS/CONDOS   E-UNIVERSITY PROJECT   F-FOOTBRIDGE SHORTCUT TO CBD   G-CBD    J-STOKES HILL WHARF(harbour cruise boats, restaurant/bars/some smaller freighters.

Out of image bottom left - CRUISE TERMINAL and FORT HILL WHARF 

MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY
(not exactly free: admission by donation - even cheapskate me threw in a coin on account it was my #1 IN-DARWIN attraction)

There are numerous spots in Darwin where you can check out indigenous art; past history including colonial days, WW2 Japanese bombing and Cyclone Tracy; prehistoric and present fauna (not live); items of maritime interest; and the Top End’s link to SE Asia, but this place brings them all together under one roof. And some roof it is – this is a very contemporary and attractive building. The displays themselves are of a top professional and high quality nature. Gets better – most places charge highly for such things but the museum/art gallery asks for a donation only.

I have no passionate interest in any of the above fields but I found the displays fascinating and spent a good 3 hours wandering the joint. I thought the aboriginal dot and bark paintings plus wood carvings, the very comprehensive coverage of Cyclone Tracy plus the life-size reproduction and life history of a 5m croc which terrorised Darwin harbour for quite some time particularly engrossing. Delicious air conditioning

GETTING THERE - adjacent DARWIN SKI CLUB. See up-page for transport info. Plenty of free parking.

Note I didn't get to any of the well known DARWIN attractions like the MINDI BEACH/PARAP MARKETS or the BOTANIC GARDENS. My dance card was kinda full at the appropriate times.

BEST FREE PCs/WIFI + DELICIOUS AIRCON - DARWIN LIBRARY
I found the wifi at my backpackers patchy and in the case of MELALEUCA, not free.
SMITH ST MALL in the south of the CBD has free wifi, some outlets are airconned, but good luck finding a PC (old geezers like me prefer banging away a la the full QWERTY rather than that 2 fingers/thumbs nonsense on minuscule phone/tablet screens).

The Darwin Library is inside the imposing NT PARLIAMENTARY BUILDING in the compact administrative area immediately south of the CBD. (image vp9)


BEST PAID ATTRACTION
Here's the thing, trendsetters. I'm not real keen on paying fer anything - so I gave a lot of places the big miss. But one I heartily recommend......

DEFENCE OF DARWIN MILITARY MUSEUM

I’ve never been whelmed by museums and similar. Nevertheless I have no regrets opening my wallet at this place - it was my #2 DARWIN attraction. I thought it an excellent visit, spending some 3 hours checking the exhibits.  I judge it well worth the reasonable entry fee (even more reasonable if you qualify for the geezers’ discount old blokes like me get).

The museum's entrance is in a modern building containing some exhibits, the theater, other audio-visual aids (which include some great commentary from wartime residents and military people), a nice café and lovely aircon which is welcome in the early wet season (not very wet) HEAT AND HUMIDITY.

Outside over a surprisingly compact area are displays in both sheds and garden-type areas of a range of military hardware (vehicles of all types/firearms/big guns/torpedoes/anti-sub measures etc), uniforms, medals, separate NAVAL, WW1 and VIETNAM WAR displays. There’s a stack of photos and more audio-visual stuff. Sheds tend to be cooled by fan or aircon.

I thought the highlights were the small theatre’s surprisingly realistic short movie (put together with slide-photos and dubbed sound) of the first Japanese raid on Darwin (and I didn’t know this was carried out by the same carrier group which hit PEARL HARBOUR only 6 weeks before), plus the VIETNAM WAR display – largely because the guys shown in the photos were my age contemporaries.

I DIDN'T GO THERE BUT...

....CROCOSAURUS COVE would have been tempting had I not already lined up a visit to a croc jumping place (image Weekend NOTES)

Thing is, this place right in the CBD would probably be the most cost-effective way to see muggers for people not doing one of the out-of-DARWIN croc places. And as you can see, you can even swim in a pool with a live one (fer a lot extra $$$$$). Place has a variety of other outback fauna too.

TEZZA'S CUT RATE CRUISING

- MANDORAH FERRY TRIP

All the guides say do a HARBOUR CRUISE. But the prices of same were a bit out of my league. I thought SEALINK's ferry across the wide bay to MANDORAH would be a cheap substitute and give me somewhere new to look at between legs. Didn't quite turn out like that...but still a good day. I have a page HERE.

MANDORAH PIER - ferry way down there on account of low tide on an 8m tidal-variation day.

- TIWI ISLAND FERRY TRIP

Anyone who goes to DARWIN is so close to the TIWIS he/she is nuts not visiting IMHO. Once again the cost of organised tours was a bit eye-watering so I jumped on SEALINK for the 60km each-way trip. 

The TIWIS are a bit of a closed shop, which restricted my tour somewhat and made the visit a bit of a hoot. More info HERE.

The TIWI ferry handles the tidal-range problem by using front gangway onto the beach.

BEST VALUE OUT OF TOWN TOURS

Being wet season, a lot of the tours were not running. However you can still do trips to TOP END icons like KAKADU and LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARKS. Naturally elcheapo me scoured the websites for BEST VALUE. What I found was.........

#1 - WAYOUTBACK TOURS' ONE DAY LITCHFIELD TRIP

This is a winner. At less than $100 it was way cheaper than competitive day trips, but the vehicle, food, leadership/commentary and venues were first rate. Downsides - no morning or afternoon tea included: but you call in at roadhouses where you can purchase same. And some of the more expensive tours include a CROC JUMPING stop off on the way down.

WANGI FALLS - really good plunge pool and falls, but not my #1 LITCHFIELD location.

#2 - TERRITORY EXPEDITIONS' 2 DAY KAKADU TRIP

Some of the most attractive online KAKADU trips were not running in wet season. But this one tends to run all year and seemed best value of those available - largely because it includes the rather expensive KAKAUDU ENTRANCE FEEE in the price (note LITCHFIELD has no entrance fee for non-campers) and it has accommodation at a rather good campsite rather than aircon backpacker-style or better (I personally prefer camping - maybe if it had been raining I would have thought otherwise, but early wet season usually sees little rain). 

Seems heretical (is that a word?) but this trip did include an ADELAIDE R JUMPING CROC cruise on the way into KAKADU. Not even at the main location - but already the highlight of the trip.

IS LITCHFIELD BETTER THAN KAKADU?

Well better value yeah - but KAKADU is so big that it beats LITCHFIELD hands down as far as VARIETY of attractions is concerned. One thing for sure, there is no way I'd do a KAKADU one day trip - there is so much to see and distances are so great that even my 2 day trip had to miss certain things.

I'll do a page each on LITCHFIELD and KAKADU when I get the chance.

MY OTHER TOP END DESTINATIONS

KATHERINE (NIITMILUK) GORGE

You can do this great place as a tour out of DARWIN too - but the cost was way above my pension grade. So I hopped into a GREYHOUND bus and went down to KATHERINE town, found out there was no shuttle transfers to the GORGES, so hitch-hiked the 32km and camped 3 nights in the fabulous campground. The GORGES were fabulous - I'll do a page when I get the chance.

Cruising GORGE 2.

MATARANKA THERMAL POOLS

Having gone several hundred kms south of DARWIN, I searched around for another place with camping - and accessible by GREYHOUND.

The thermal pool at MATARANKA HOMESTEAD was excellent.....

....as was the nearby BITTER SPRINGS. 

GETTING AROUND DARWIN FOR BUDGET TRAVELERS
Darwin's inner area is pretty compact and so WALKING is a good option, although damn hot early wet season. But the spread-out nature of suburban areas mean that THE BUS is the go.

This is a pretty good service, although not too many buses run after abt 2000. It's cheap - with a whole bunch of fare options: I found the geezer's tap-and-go weekly worked best for me - at under 50c a trip (and some of those lasted 40 minutes). Prices/routes/timetables on the above link.
Note all buses which come into town go south down the main drag of MITCHELL ST past all my backpackers, the main entertainment zone and COLES supermart. After stopping at the CITY INTERCHANGE in the ADMINISTRATIVE ZONE end of town, they all leave by going north up CAVENAGH ST past WOOLWORTHS supermart.
Not all buses come into town - CASUARINA INTERCHANGE and PALMERSTON INTERCHANGE have a smaller number of local services. The former is a good one with the big CASUARINA SQUARE REGIONAL SHOPPING MALL adjacent the interchange. The mall has a bunch of shopping options not found in the CBD. Buses 4 and 10 will get you there from downtown.

THE BUDGET TRAVELERS GUIDE TO GETTING TO DARWIN (and away)

I waited for a dirt cheap JETSTAR special fare SYDNEY to DARWIN - got one at less than $90 each way - a bit extra because I had to take a bigger check-in-bag on account I had to pack my tent, camping mattress and pillow. Trouble is JETSTAR got into DARWIN around mid-night - I figured it would be 0130 by the time I arrived at YHA in town.

The thing I hate most about backpackers is making up a bed in a dark dorm - invariably it is a top bunk to boot. So.......

....I slept at the airport. 

Research at SLEEPING IN AIRPORTS indicated that DARWIN AIRPORT is not bad; reasonably quiet and no hassles from security. So on arrival I selected a quiet area behind a closed money change booth at the eastern end of ARRIVALS-LANDSIDE, inflated my camping mattress and took it easy until about 0530. When I woke I noticed another 3 mattresses set up nearby and 2 other people cutting the zzzs on seats in the area. Hey, tezza the trendsetter!

I packed up my gear, walked abt 1km to the main road and caught the first city bus (#5 abt 0630) into town for $1 - it dropped me 150m from YHA.

Not only did I avoid setting up in the dark/disturbing other dorm occupants but also saved a night's accommodation cost and the relatively expensive shuttle into town (the city buses don't run late). Saving money always warms my heart! And I gotta say my camping mattress/pillow combo is not uncomfortable.

LEAVING DARWIN - I did the reverse bus trip. Had to wait around the airport a fair time because the last #5 leaves DARWIN CBD at 1805. No problem - spent the money saved not taking a later shuttle on beer at the airport bar.



TOP END WEATHER IN THE EARLY WET SEASON
I visited in the last 3 weeks of NOVEMBER. Dry season tends to end some time in OCTOBER. I had GREAT WEATHER - 80% sunshine, rained on 3 days (short sharp showers) and on about 10 nights. Apparently this is normal for early wet season according to locals I spoke to. My KAKADU and LITCHFIELD trip guides said tell all my friends! They say as soon as DRY SEASON officially ends in October tourist numbers drop away and they have trouble filling some tours - often having to reschedule them: this was the case for my LITCHFIELD trip. 
Besides the usual good weather, OTHER ADVANTAGES of early dry season are:
- domestic airfares into DARWIN are heavily discounted.
- so are some many accommodation places (but not backpackers) and some tours. Walk in vacancies are common - often booked out dry season.
- fewer crowds at popular venues. According to our guides it is often hard to find a parking spot at popular LITCHFIELD and KAKADU spots in high season and plunge pools etc are packed. We had no problems.

DISADVANTAGES include:
- some tours and locations shut down (they seem to run on the calendar, not conditions).
- as mentioned: your tour may be rescheduled.
- not as big a variety of tours into popular spots - this seemed particularly so for KAKADU.
- it sure gets HOT. Early wet season tends to be the hottest time of year (not much cloud, sun close-overhead) - I had several 40C days and most others at 35C+ which coupled with the humidity made it feel like 40.

Note at the time of writing (late December) the full wet season has kicked in. Locals told me a typical full wet season day still sees plenty of sunshine, but it rains MORE OFTEN and HEAVIER. However if a MONSOON TROUGH moves in, the TOP END can experience days of  PROLONGED TORRENTIAL RAIN. Roads and locations close due to flooding. Prolonged heavy rain seems to have be the case for 3 or 4 days recently. 
One good thing - with more cloud about it doesn't seemed to have been as hot (low 30s). Although humidity is even higher (can you tell I have been lurking on the BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY website?)

Plenty of sunshine in this shot of the stairway** into LITCHFIELD's FLORENCE FALLS fabulous plunge pool....

....ditto this one of WAGAIT BEACH near MANDORAH

**for those averse to stairways - a fabulous viewpoint is at top of stairs. Also some nice smaller sitting pools in the top area. See the LITCHFIELD PAGE when it's up.


PLACES MENTIONED ON THIS PAGE

DARWIN

OUT OF DARWIN.
The other markers around the KAKADU place marker are some park locations - gives an idea of size of KAKADU. I forgot the ADELAIDE R JUMPING CROCS - abt 25% of the way between DARWIN and KAKADU place markers.

If you see mistakes or have extra information, please post it below. But if you have questions, please ask it on THE FORUM access via THE INDEX. I check THE FORUM most days whereas I seldom revisit individual location pages like this one.