Wednesday 9 May 2012

LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK, NT, AUSTRALIA

Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1500 km2, is near the township of Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Each year the park attracts over 260,000 visitors. Proclaimed a national park in 1986, it is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, a Territory pioneer, who explored areas of the Northern Territory from Escape Cliffs on the Timor Sea to the Daly River in 1864.

Florence Falls is a double-plunge waterfall leading to a popular swimming hole. A short distance away is the Buley Rockhole, where visitors will find a long series of cascading plunge pools, perfect for bathing in. A number of other spectacular falls can also be visited, including Wangi Falls, Tolmer Falls and Tjaetaba Falls.

Litchfield National Park offers a wide range of walking tracks, but it is strongly recommended that overnight walks are registered with the Overnight Walker Registration Scheme. Walkers must camp in designated campgrounds and do their utmost not to damage the flora and fauna of the Park.

Magnetic Termite Mounds are built by termites and are amazing architectural feats complete with arches, tunnels, chimneys, insulation and nursery chambers. The mounds are aligned north to south to minimise the exposure to the heat of the sun. You will experience seeing numerous Termite mounds are found all over  the Northern Territory, but Litchfield National Park and especially the formal viewing boardwalk and platform is a perfect place to see these imposing structures.

This post is part of Kim's Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of Susan's Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of Nature Footsteps Waters meme.










13 comments:

  1. I've seen ant hills like that, not real mind you, at Animal Kingdom (disney) and your shots are wonderful!
    Sandy

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  2. Hi Nick, I've always been fascinated with waterfalls and sometimes take long distance travels to visit big ones. Those falls and cascades are so lovely, it looks like lots of tourists visit. That last photo are ants and not termites, are you supposed to show us the termites that build those structures?

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  3. Hi Andrea, my zoological knowledge is sadly lacking in the matter of Termitoidae vs Hymenoptera and all I did in the last photo above was point my camera at the holes in the mounds, which were crawling with insects. these ants may be sub-leasing the termite mounds? :-)

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  4. What a beautiful location and your photographs are perfection... I'm glad to have come across this post! Larry

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  5. Ants are really amazing creatures!

    I really enjoy your water fall shots; all of them. Is the water very cold?

    http://www.1sthappyfamily.com/2012/05/outdoor-bath.html

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  6. Excellent series of a unique nature!

    What a great continent to live in.

    Thanks for sharing

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  7. Bet those nasty ants can bite!!! LOL

    Love the waterfalls and the cascading water over the rocks...looks all so therapeutic.

    OUTDOOR SEASIDE SCULPTURES is my link for today.

    Hope your Wednesday will be a glorious one, all day long!!

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  8. gorgeous waterfalls! the rock formations, especially the termite mounds are quite interesting. good thing this a park...not a good place to build structures.

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  9. i showed the ant photo to my brother--yes, they're ants, not termites. and this kind of ant has very painful bites--you may need to go to the ER.

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  10. Oh fabulous shots! I've been in Litchfield park, and those mounds are HUGE!

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  11. What a gorgeous park this must be! The termite mounds reminds me of Africa.

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  12. That is so beautiful!! Thanks for linking
    Water World Wedneseday

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