The Top End of Northern Terriory

Hi everyone! This last month has been one of the best without a doubt. Just a heads up...this post has a lot of content and still doesn't tell the whole story. It's a sample of why the Top End is my favorite part of Australia. GoPro video is being worked on and I'll post that ASAP. For now, enjoy!

I will forever equate the top end of Australia with the massive crocs that inhabit the area. "For every one that you see, there are about 4 to 5 that you don't. Don't get in the water if it's not safe." Our entire time in the top end had a theme of either Salties or Freshies throughout and where you could and couldn't swim.

After a month spent in Newell Beach, we were back on the move. This time we were flying to Darwin in order to explore the famous national parks in the Top End. We were looking forward to this area since we arrived in Australia and it didn't dissapoint at all. In fact, it blew away all of our very high expectations. It was ridiculously hotttttttttttttttttt but the beauty of the parks more than made up for it.

We spent the first two nights in the city of Darwin where we spent most of our time planning out the coming week. We booked our car rental, got our food supplies, and mapped out our stops. Very exciting stuff! Oh, and we walked around the city; it felt good to be back in civilization where we could get a good meal, a nice pint to cool down with and coffee. 

On our last night, we hit up the Mindil Markets for some street food and to catch a sunset...because that's what you do when you're in Darwin on a Sunday.

After a rough night in a hostel (we are too old for that shit) filled with people partying we hit the road! Not even crap sleep could bring us down. We are off to hike in the bush, jump in some waterholes and camp under the stars. Our first stop was before entering a national park was the Jumping Crocs Tour! Now, normally Anelle and I don't go for tours but as we aren't that familiar with feeding the largest reptile on earth AND aren't familiar with the waters; we agreed that it would be best to leave it to the professionals. Some fun facts about the salties in the Top End:

- Northern Territory salt water crocodiles (salties) are the largest reptiles on earth
- Can grow up to 7 metres
- The Mary River in the Northern Territory can average as many as 20 crocs per kilometer

As soon as we got on the pontoon boat and without leaving the dock, a croc just over 5 metres popped up and started swimming towards us. Nothing like seeing your first real life dinosaur in the wild. 

That was honestly some of the best money we have spent. It's unbelievable how big these salties are and how powerful they are; GoPro footage coming soon! 

​After being scared and amazed with the Jumping Crocs Tour, we sped off towards Kakadu National Park. I don't know where to start but this national park blew us away. It has one of the best swimming holes in the world, locations from Crocodile Dundee, and heaps of wildlife. I'm talking dingos, black cockatoos, salties, freshies, and water monitors. Loved it!

After visiting a few sites around the park and one great sunset the first day, we decided we definitely needed a dip. What better place than Gunlom Falls; probably the most iconic waterhole in all of Australia!

Gunlom Falls is a short 1k trek up a steep hill. Usually we would kill a short trek like that but the temps were near 36C with somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% humidity. We had to make a few stops along the way and drank ice cold water but the four pools at the top and view were more than worth it.

Because of the possibility of salties in the bottom pool, it is advised that you DO NOT swim in it....we did not! We made the trek up to the safe pools where we could enjoy the view. 

We could have spent hours on hours in that waterhole enjoying the view. Gunlom Falls was simply amazing and at the moment I thought that it would be the highlight of everything we were just getting ready to see and experience...I was wrong. 

After a couple of nights in Kakadu, we made our way to Katherine to check out the Katherine Gorge in Nitlmiluk National Park. It was a bit of a long drive but we were happy to check into one of the best caravan parks yet. We hit the grocery store in Katherine, set up the tent, hit the pool, had a hardy dinner and got ready for an early morning. 

Like I said earlier, we aren't into tours so we passed the boat tour and just rented a double kayak for the day. I reckon it's the best way to see the gorges. We weren't allowed to swim in the first gorge because of the possibility of salties in the water. The second and third gorge, we were free to swim in because there were only freshies in there (for the most part, they keep to themselves). It was beautiful and swimming in the 3rd gorge was our favorite part. We had the end of it all to ourselves and simply played in the water and took some fun pictures diving in from a rock.

We had so much fun floating around in the canoe, looking for freshies and swimming was the best part. The water was incredibly fresh and clean. The best part is there wasn't anyone around to bother us. It was like we had a gorge all to ourselves. 

We returned to our tent exhausted and with sore hands. It didn't matter though because we were so happy with everything that we did. The next morning we had a big brekkie and said goodbye to the great caravan park in Katherine. We had one last stop in Nitmiluk; Edith Falls.

By the time we got to Edith Falls, it was F*&^*&^ HOT! It was only 11am but I was sweating with the aircon on full blast. Luckily it was a short trek to the fall but man it was tough. When we turned a corner and saw it, we stood in awe and rubbed our eyes like it was a mirage. We couldn't believe it. 

Just another easy to get to waterhole in the Top End. This spot was so much fun. We swam under the falls, sat in the falls and jumped in both waterholes in the area. It was simply great. That concluded our time in Nitmiluk National Park and gave us even more reason to love the Top End.

Our next and final stop was Litchfield National Park where we would spend 3 days jumping in heaps of swimming holes. But before we could get into all that, we spent a night at a sketchy caravan park where we were the only guests. It was the type of stuff that scary movies are written about.

After a bit of a scary night being alone in the caravan park and with who knows what crawling under our tent, and the bats keeping us up at night, we left first thing in the morning for Litchfield.

On day one we stopped to check out the termite mounds, then spent the rest of the day at Buley Falls, Florence Falls and Wangi Falls. 

We came, we took some photos and then jetted off towards water! Buley Rockhole was a series of cascading falls with just about six pools that were deep enough to jump into. We spent a couple of hours walking and jumping through the falls until we felt like moving on to the next stop. The cool thing about these falls, are that they are so easy to get too. Park and in less than 5 minutes walking you find yourself standing in front of some jaw dropping falls surrounded by green.

We were like kids when we saw this place. So many little waterholes with mini waterfalls and holes deep enough to dive into. This might have been my favorite spot but then I change my mind when I look at other pictures. It's so hard to pick one because each stop was incredible. The next stop was no exception; Florence Falls is probably the most famous waterhole in Litchfield.

Our last stop on day one in Litchfield was Wangi Falls. The first two locations were croc safe. Wangi Falls was just a bit different. It's safe but not entirely croc free. Before entering the water at Wangi Falls, there was a sign that made people aware of a freshie that was in the water and was acting a bit aggressive towards people. The sign said that we were entering at our own risk and that if we did decide to swim, to stay away from the left where he was spotted frequently hanging out. There were plenty of people swimming there so I figured it would be fine. Anelle was a bit nervous but she battled through and swam out to the falls with me; albeit a little paranoid about what was in the water.

It was a long hard day of swimming and enjoying Litchfield's beautiful and refreshing waterholes. It's tough stuff but we were up to the task. After laying out and resting on a patch of grass, we headed towards a pretty nice caravan park within Litchfield. We set up the tent, made dinner and after we simply laid in our tent and looked up at the milkey way with a couple of shooting stars. The perfect ending to an adventurous day of exploring.

Litchfield is pretty small once you get in and it was even more convenient that we camped in the national park. The other positive came when we met a great aussie family during dinner. They were having dinner at the same time and we just had a great chat with them. The next day in the morning during brekkie, they saw us on our way out and offered to give a room to stay in their house in Darwin...it was GREAT! more on that later. Day 2 was a lot tamer than day 1. We went for a morning swim in the Cascade Falls, which was conveniantely only 10k from our campsite. After that, we went back to Buley Rockhole for one last dip before making our way out of Litchfield. 

After a nice morning swim, we went back for an arvo dip in Buley Rockhole; absolutely love that spot. We spent about an hour relaxing there before heading out of Litchfield and towards Berry Spring Nature Park. This was a hot spring that spilled into a river that was open for people to swim in. Because of it's natural beauty, it reminded me a lot of the natural parks in Cancun. Berry Springs is just outside of Darwin city so why not hit it on the way? 

The spot was pretty nice but unfortunately, the locals that were there made it a bit uncomfortable and for the first time we felt a bit unwelcome. It was filled with heaps of bogans and drunks so we did not stick around for very long. After cleaning up, I called the aussie family that we met at the campsite the night before. They welcomed us into their house, made dinner for us, and gave us a room to crash in for the night. They were legends! During dinner we found out that they have traveled all over the globe and were simply looking out for another couple doing the same thing. We exchanged contact information and maybe one day, we will see them again when they bring their two daughters to Disneyland. 

That pretty much wraps up our time in the Top End. The next morning we caught a flight to Perth in Western Australia. It really is hard to pick a favorite spot and if I were to be asked which places to visit I would be hard pressed to leave any of them out. If you have the time, all of these falls are must-see. Each one captured our heart in a different way and had something about it that made it different and amazing. Gunlom has the view, Edith has the depth and falls, Buley has the numbers and fun, Wangi had a freshie and on and on. Looking back, I can confidently say that the Top End of Norther Territory is my favorite area of Australia that we have visited. It's an adventurers playground.