August 18, 2012

August 18, 2012

We got up early this morning to finish our tour of Litchfield National Park. Our first stop was the Cascades, a series of small waterfalls in the jungle. Nice but nothing really special. Our next stop is Tolmer Falls. It is a tall waterfall in a narrow canyon with a large plunge pool. Beautiful except the morning sun is in the wrong direction for a good photo; plus no swimming is allowed because it is a sacred spot for the Aborigines. Our third stop is Florence Falls. Like Wangi, it is a twin falls, only smaller and more secluded. I think the plunge pools in Northern Australia are nice because they are deepened during the heavy monsoon downpours. I never expected to have any desire to swim in them; but I can see why Australians rave about their swimming holes. They are very cool. I can’t leave Litchfield without swimming once more. Florence is deep and cold so I don’t venture very far from shore. I wish I had something to help me float.

We did the Litchfield waterfall circuit pretty quick this morning because we luckily have a ranger talk we can join at 10:30am. This one is only offered twice a week. It is at the Magnetic Termite Mound stop. The interpretative ranger gives us the lowdown on termites. Australia clearly has a termite infestation because their mounds are everywhere. Termites have a unique ability to digest complex carbohydrates. We don’t like the ones that eat wood because that might bring our house down. Apparently most of the trees here in the outback are hollow because of wood termites. Now I know why didgeridoos are so common. It is the termites!

Most termites in Australia are actually grass eaters. Since Australia has few grazing animals the termites fill that ecological niche. They build termite mounds to store their food between growing seasons and for protection against fire and flood. Most of the ones we have seen are Cathedral mounds, essentially circular shaped. The mounds in the flood plain in front of us are flat, making it look like a cemetery. Mysteriously they are also all aligned north to south. Scientists are not sure why; they first thought it had to do with the earth’s magnetism but now believe it may be for temperature regulation.

From Litchfield we drove the rest of the way along the Stuart Highway back to the coastal town of Darwin. We parked downtown by the Visitor Center. We didn’t find anything that interested us much so we walked the waterfront stopping at shops and placards along the way. We ended up learning a little history. Australia had its own Day of Infamy. With our Navy in shambles after Pearl Harbor, Japan went on to capture many Southeast Asian ports like Singapore and Manila. In February of 1942, the Japanese bombed Darwin devastating the city. The US lost a destroyer in the raid too. Darwin went on to be a strategic air base for the allies and was bombed repeatedly during WWII.

We also learn that the Stuart Highway we drove through central Australia was the path of the initial telegraph line across the continent linking Adelaide on the south with Darwin on the north. When completed it allowed direct telegraph communication with London in 1872?! I thought this was a misprint but when I later researched the topic, I learned the British were the pioneers in laying submarine telegraph wire across every ocean. They used it to monopolize global trade within their far-flung world empire.

We spent the night at a campground in Darwin and had another delicious meal on the Barbie. This time I grilled chicken shish kabobs. We strolled the campground after dinner. I am amazed at the collection of RVs here. There are no two alike for some reason and many have been modified to survive 4WD roads.