First stop along the way was Pine Creek which is an old diamond and gold mining town set back off the highway. Drove up to the lookout over the old open cut mine which is now a dam and had a look out as you do in these places. Very picturesque.
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| Yep, it's a hole in the ground... |
I had been looking forward to Adelaide River as it has the Commonwealth War Cemetery which commemorates the Australian Servicemen and Women (as well as some of the non-combatants) who lost their lives in World War Two defending the Timor Sea area and Northern Australia. It is a beautiful, tranquil and solemn place and it was quite emotional standing amid the graves.
From Adelaide River it was on to Litchfield, but a sign on the side of the highway offered an alternative scenic route that was only 10ks longer, so we hung a left and threw caution to the winds.
Advertising it as the scenic route was a bit of poetic license, but it was windy, narrow and bumpy. We think that the chief engineer for the Tablelands Hwy might have cut his teeth on this one first, just so he could get all the bumps right!It did take us to Robin Falls though, which was a very pretty little set of falls about 600 meters of rock hopping past the car park at the end of the road. Some very nice camp sites along the George Creek here too. It would be nice to spend a few days here if it wasn't so far from home :-)
So far so good, but it couldn't last. As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter, and we got tireder and tireder. When we got to Litchfield NP, we had to choose a place to camp. One option, Wangi Falls, was supposed to be very popular due to the falls and plunge pool right next to the campground, and another was Sandy Creek, which is reached 9k 4WD track. Because I was feeling pretty ratty, and as we had been stuck behind a Winge-abago for ages, when the turn off to Sandy Creek came up I took it. Mistake No 1. It was long, it was hard, and there was a retreat. By the time we got to the campground, both of us just wanted a swim to cool off, but to our horror, the falls and pool were a 1.7k up hill trek away. Add the swarms of ravenous sand flies, and we decided that Wangi Creek might have been the better option. Mistake No 2. Pushed things a little too hard in our anxiousness to get there while there were still some vacant sites, I hit a bump in the track a little too hard and the seal on a bottle of apple cider which was packed cap down in the back of the truck let go. Suffice to say, the Patrol is now all apples... You have probably guessed already that when we got to Wangi, there were no vacant sites, so it was a 52k, very hot drive back to Litchfield Tourist Park just outside Batchelor. Set up in record time - which had it's own dramas - and hit the pool. I swear there was steam rising from the water as I dove in. Found out that Wangi Falls campground was full at 1:30 in the afternoon, so we had no hope at all.
So, here we were, all cooled off and ready for a pleasant evening after the afternoons strife, but fate was not finished with us just yet - the fuse on the camper fridge had blown, and do you think I could find the fuse box? An hour of opening and closing every orifice (on the camper), crawling underneath, and unscrewing every electrical fitting I could, the white flag of surrender was flown. Luckily we had a 240v lead for the WAECO in the truck so I was able to run the camper fridge off the inverter instead of 12v via the blown fuse. At least the food would be OK. The booze was safe in the truck fridge, so it wasn't all bad news ;-)
Rang Aussie Swag in the morning. Had to use a pay phone - jeez those things are expensive - come on Telstra lift your game on mobile coverage out here! Turns out the fuses were virtually staring me in the face all the time, but behind some unlabled covers which you have to gently prise off. All good now, but have to buy some more spare fuses when we get to Darwin.
Once all this was settled, we headed bravely back into the National Park. Great place to visit. Went for a swim at Florence Falls.
Had a gander at Tabletop Swamp
and Tolmer Falls.
Then ventured back to Wangi for another swim and some lunch at around 2:30PM.
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