Litchfield National Park

A Day tour to Litchfield

Yes, I admit, I am a tourist at times. Specifically when it includes me getting on a tour that includes Lunch as did the tour with Pinnacles Tour Group to Litchfield National Park.

Why Litchfield not Kakadu?

I have spoken to many an Aussie and Kakadu is where tourists go and Litchfield is where locals go. By definition I am a tourist and by going there I just proved this rule wrong, but I think you get the idea. So, why a Pinnacles tour? We did research on the different tours available and Pinnacles day tour was 11 hours of tour goodness plus morning tea and lunch was included and the final price came to $104 per person with the concession card discount. Other tours were charging $130 for the same thing or less. Easy choice. What did this tour include?

The Adelaide River Queen

There commercials look like its from the 1980's and includes a laughable jingle, but the hour long croc jumping river boat ride was great fun.

How to make a Crocodile jump in 3 steps.

Step 1. Hang a piece of pork on the end of a line.
Step 2. Dangle line over water.
Step 3. Crocodiles jump up to eat it. Pretty simple concept, eh?

I don't know whether this is considered cruel to animals, but it is definitely considered entertainment to humans. We saw about 20 saltwater crocodiles, or Salties as they call them. The waters in Northern Territory of Australia house over 7,000 salties. In other words, this is not a good place to go wake boarding.

I also think it's funny how lame this crocodiles arms look when he jumps out of the water.

Litchfield Termite Mounds

I started seeing these when I was arriving on the Ghan and I wanted to know more. Litchfield has several that you can get right up close to. I even learned interesting facts about them. For example, did you know that most of the material these are made of is termite poo?

That's quite the log, eh? Termite mounds are very impressive, as they can get to 7 meters in height. Some are bigger than my previous studio apartment. Kind of like a termite mansion. Or, to coin a phrase, a Termansion.

In some places the termite mounds are so common they look like tombstones across the open field. Particularly the magnetic termites. Originally people thought the termites had a sense for direction and only faced their mounds north. Later it was discovered that they do this to further control the temperature. Notice there isn't much shade, just the afternoon sun to beat down on the hill. By having a mound with 2 flat sides, it limits the amount of surface area that gets hit by the sun during the hottest times of the day.

Don't go chasing waterfalls.... try swimming in them instead

After the inclusive lunch, we headed to three different waterfalls, including Florence Falls and Gangi Falls for a brief Swim. This is one of those times when you stop and think to yourself "how did I get here?" It's a pretty spectacular place and no question why the locals make the trip to Litchfield.

Was it worth it? Yes. After going on the Rocks Tour in Alice Springs I was searching for a tour that wasn't geared at the budget conscience backpacker, but I wanted it for the same price. Pinnacles offered exactly that. Ask and you shall receive. Not only was the tour guide informative, she had a genuine passion for this area of the country. We all work very hard for our money and deserve to get good value when we spend it, which is why it's important to choose a good tour company.