Newcastle Ramblers Bushwalking Club

Newsletter Contributions to Editor:

PO Box 719, Charlestown; NSW 2290 July 2015

Revised Contact Procedures.

The Ramblers Committee has endorsed a number of recommendations made by a small group, led by Bob , aimed at improving the Club’s Risk Management Procedures.

The improvements only relate to multi-day activities and remote area walks where mobile phone coverage is poor. They do not apply to twilight walks, day walks or other activities that are conducted within mobile range.

The focus of the changes is to better equip the Activity Leader and the Committee to deal with a possible emergency.

The key changes are as follows:

1. Leaders of multi-day and remote area activities are strongly encouraged to carry a Personal Location Beacon (PLB). The Club has two PLB’s for loan and will get more if necessary. 2. Leaders who have their own PLB are asked to include the Club’s PLB Officer(s) in their Emergency Contact list when they register their PLB with AMSA. 3. A “back-up” PLB Officer (Col ) has been appointed, in case there is an emergency where AMSA is unable to contact John . 4. The importance of appointing a capable “Trip Contact Person” (TCP) to be reinforced with all Leaders. The TCP is the vital communication link. The TCP should know who is going on the walk, where they are going, expected start and finish times, equipment taken and whether anyone has First Aid training. The TCP is the person the Committee will contact if there is a problem. 5. Before the activity commences, the Leader needs to email the Committee and the PLB officers and let them know who the TCP is and the TCP’s contact details.

Also, the Forms that we use for Walks have been revised:

a. The Walks Intention Form. This is the form you fill out at meetings to advise you want to go on an activity. Leaders also use this form when you call them to register your interest in going

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on a walk. It contains the participants’ names , contact phone numbers and car rego numbers. This form is unchanged. It is recommended that Leaders take it with them on the walk, as it contains the up to date phone contacts of all the participants.

a. The Sign-on/ Risk Waiver Form. This form now includes the contact numbers of the Committee and PLB Officers, the name and contact number of each participant’s Emergency Contact Person and the name and contact number of the TCP. Having this information allows the leader, at his/her discretion, to call a participant’s Emergency Contact and advise them of the situation in the event that there is a problem or something unexpected has arisen. The Leader is still required to call a member of the Committee. The requirement to list each participant’s car rego. number has been dropped (this information is available on the Walks Intention Form), but there is a space to record the rego number of cars actually used; eg. For a car- shuffle. The Leader should take this form with them on the walk.

b. The Risk Assessment/Incident Report Form This form has been re-formatted to make more room for reporting of any incidents, accidents or near misses, and to assist with ensuring all reported incidents are followed up and discussed by the Committee.

Message in a Bottle! A note from Col

In April 2014, David led a 7 day walk in the Snowy. See the “Pilot Wilderness” article in July 2014 Newsletter.

Col writes “When we were dropped off at the camp ground to start the walk, near the junction of the Snowy and Pinch Rivers, I picked up a small piece of wood someone had whittled into the shape of a surf board, which I then carried in my pocket for the next few days.

Part of this walk was to reach the source of the Murray River and the cairn above this point which marks the start of the Black Allan Line (the straight section of the Vic/NSW border).

When we reached this cairn on the third day, I decided to use the piece of wood as a memento of the Ramblers

Col’s message visit and wrote a small July-2015 Page 2 inscription and placed it on the cairn, wedged between the stones, hoping someone would notice it in the future.” In February this year we were pleasantly surprised to receive an email with the above photo attached from Marty Felber, who was visiting the cairn for the second time. See his email below.

From: Marty XXXX Subject: Guess what I found at the Victoria/NSW borderline!!!! Date: 26 February 2015 20:21:00 AEDT To: "[email protected]" Cc: "[email protected]"

Hi there! I was surprised to see this here! Last time was at this spot was about 18 years ago….it was much clearer then and of course the “original” rocks there (well I think it’s actually been rebuilt since it was ORIGINALLY built)…A long effort to find it as the whole lot has changed.

I was lucky to run into a couple who had a map showing the cairn location. I remember following the fire trail track up till it bends (there’s small rock cairn there)…follow the brumby trail to the river…then follow brumby trail uphill to Forest Hill…but the hill top is so big that there’s plenty of places to hide it! It was only by chance there was pink ribbons in a line that I thought that it would lead me to the cairn….and it did!! I have locked and copied the co-ordinates into my GPS!!! Good to see a “message in a bottle” at the cairn! Marty.

Activities Reports In This Issue

1. The Katoomba Music Festival. Page 3 2. Kanangra Car Camp Page 4 3. Mt. Manning and the GNR Page 6 4. Tomalpin Page 7 5. Rocky Crossing on the Williams Page 8 6.Yaccaba Head Page 9 7.Newnes and the Wonderful Wolgan Page1 0 8.Ebor –Two Styx Page 12 9. Around Darwin and Litchfield NP. Page 14

1.The 20th Anniversary Katoomba Music Festival -12 to15 March 2015

Our Club has been travelling to Katoomba for the past 10 years to enjoy a combination of great walks and great music at the Katoomba Music Festival, initiated by Sandy and followed on by Bird. For its 20th Anniversary fourteen Ramblers were there, some arriving Thursday evening for a Friday morning

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Bob part way down the Furber steps. Plenty of water at Govert's Leap. walk and others the next day for the music on Friday night and the weekend.

Friday dawned misty and drizzling – Tony and Bob were unfazed and headed down the Furber Steps, past to the Federal Pass and then to the Landslide for morning tea. They returned the easy way, up the Scenic Railway after exploring the labyrinth of boardwalks amongst the historic mining relics and rainforest. Others headed off to Leura to check out the shopping. That evening eight of us dined at the lovely Italian Family Restaurant ‘Papadinos’ at the top end of Katoomba.

On Saturday morning four Ramblers and Federica, a lovely visitor from Italy, walked from the Blackheath Visitors Centre to Evans Lookout in superb mountain weather. After a quick visit to the refurbished Hydro Majestic we were back three hours later in time to enjoy Dan Sultan and the afternoon session of the music.

The weekend of music was, of course, wonderful with the big name acts of John Butler, Dan Sultan, and Buffy Saint-Marie being hard to beat. Leah Flanagan from Darwin was also a highlight.

Sunday saw us drifting away at various times to return home after another great weekend in the mountains.

Report by Bob

rd th 2. Kanangra Car Camp – 3 – 10 May

Eight Ramblers made their own way to the Boyd River camp ground on a wet and dreary Sunday. The rain finally stopped just on bed-time after standing around the campfire in our rain-coats. A solitary young fellow was camping near us and was invited to share our campfire company and later join us on our walks. Monday was an introductory walk onto the majestic and very exposed Kanangra Walls for those few who had never ventured out there

July-2015 Page 4 before. With little visibility due to a very dense mist until lunch-time the grandeur of the sheer cliffs and distant Mount Cloudmaker were totally hidden. The afternoon finally revealed it all. The rain had gone replaced by a clear sky and a powerful and icy Southwester. Helene joined us later that day.

I had planned a longer 12km off-track walk for Tuesday, out to the Black Banksia Falls. These are situated on the vast Boyd plateau that is a relatively flat, grassy and tree studded region. With low hills and many creeks and swamps that with all the previous rain, sometimes became obstacles to our forward progress. We made the falls by lunch and my 12km total was already looking a shade shy. Later a nasty and extremely chilling waist deep creek crossing proved too perilous to attempt, committing us to a much longer and arduous detour. With over 20kms now covered, the young visitor later revealed his many blisters, inflicted when trying to keep up with this older group of seasoned walkers. A few leeches had been busy but the notorious Kanangra tiger snakes kept away. Wet feet were a common complaint.

Many of the walks I had planned out to the more interesting features on the map proved too hard due to the dense scrub that grew on the edge of the escarpment. This kept us up on the easier plateau that was more promising to walk through. Most of us were a little weary the next day so a more gentle 8km stroll over the boulder strewn Kanangra Range was undertaken. Later, during the afternoon the keener amongst us attempted to visit a nearby property that had been resumed by the National Park. Once again flowing water was our downfall. Much firewood was gathered and the fire kept blazing as the day only achieved an 11 degree maximum along with a nasty chill factor thrown in. Two adventurous Swiss travellers joined us for one night around the fire.

Another attempt to gain the old farm was carried out by turning the head of the troublesome creek the next day. We soon located the open paddocks where a huge mob of kangaroo and wallaby were rudely disturbed. The NP use this old farm for an emergency heli-pad and storage area, where we discovered the over-night $7 camping fee equipment now lying unused in the grass. With much luck we managed to traverse the creek by using a tricky fallen tree crossing. This saved a long back-track to our camp. That afternoon we explored along the range to the south after some members had to be coerced away from the warming fire. During the walk we surprised a wombat that obviously felt surrounded and charged at incredible speed towards one of our group. Luckily Doug, with great agility managed to jump up as the lumbering beast went straight between his legs.

On Friday the weather settled somewhat but many had already planned to move on. Angela and Peter had left the day before to continue their holiday and others were going to visit Glen Davis on the way home. A couple found the lure of a hot shower just too much and were going straight home. I still had a day to spend before visiting family in Sydney. We wished our young camping companion Chris farewell and all went our own ways. I was going to spend a night out at Mount Hay near Leura, one of the Blue Mountain’s best kept secrets. I spent a solitary and cold night with the myriad lights of distant Sydney as company.

It was an excellent week with good company and Kanangra kept up its usual extreme weather conditions. I thank Peter and Lindsay for the extra transport duties along with invaluable firewood collecting with their chain saws. Richard and Angela thankfully kept my navigation on-track with their GPS gadgets. Doug as always entertained us with his trivia

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questions at night. The crew - Angela and Peter, Lyne and Lindsay, Helene, Royce, Richard, Doug and me.

Report by Tony 3. Mt Manning Aboriginal Site and the Great North Road - 5 May 2015

It was a two hour run from Newcastle to the Mogo Creek Camp Area for the start to an interesting twelve kilometre (5 hour) walk to find the Mt Manning Aboriginal Site and return via a section of the Great North Road and the convict built Circuit Flat Bridge.

There were ten of us on this fairly easy walk in warm autumn weather. Most in the group had not seen the red ochre animal figures that adorn the walls of adjoining east facing rock overhangs. A small box houses a log book which was placed there in 2002 and records the many visits of the Ramblers over the years, including Joan Robinson’s last walk there in July 2007. Caroline,Amanda,Paula,Arthur and Dale in the major overhang. Perched on the overhang above the cave for morning tea we contemplated the age of the art and marveled that it had remained undamaged and was still much the same as it had been for hundreds of years since it was painted. Below in the creek line we could hear the sound of Bell Birds and the strong flow of water following recent heavy rains.

We backtracked to the Great North Road and followed it south to the Circuit Flat Bridge for lunch. Nearby on the edge of the road we found the engraving ‘Collier out for a Dip’ – maybe the handy work of a convict, who knows.

The bushland in the area had been subjected to a recent control burn which had cleared the undergrowth and provided good visibility for us to find a series of

Some say it is anthropomorphic( ie man- like), others a glider possum. convict quarries on a ridge

July-2015 Page 6 above. The quarries followed an outcrop around and as such were well positioned for stone blocks to be cut and easily dragged to the bridge construction site below.

We returned to the cars by 3.00pm, leaving plenty of time to find a coffee at Kulnura on the way back to Newcastle.

Report by Bob

th 4. 10 May (Sunday) – Tomalpin daywalk

A merry band of 17 people set off from Kurri Kurri Macdonalds. There was an aggregation of cars before setting off and it was not long before half the party were lost (500m)!

Quickly re-united, we headed for Werakata National Park and Tomalpin.

This large flat-topped hill to the south of Kurri is off Hebburn Road and near Hunter Valley Feeds (once an old colliery). Parking the cars in a safe area, though the many signs saying archery in progress did have us worried, we headed east along a really rutted road. We took a sharp tack to the north at the end of the Valley Feeds boundary and proceeded along the fence line, now impeded somewhat by many fallen trees. The old chimney and slag heaps from the colliery were easily visible. A track to the right now took us to the base of Tomalpin and the steep and badly eroded bike/walking track to the top.

Once at the top there is a subtle overgrown track to the left that goes to the trig station and on to a lookout to the north and north- east. The top is relatively flat and the area shows vestigial signs of the damage caused by the 2003 fires. The group walked past the trig, with a brief pause, before reaching the lookout. There were spectacular views to Kearsley in the west and Kurri to the north. The wind was very strong and a more suitable location for lunch was sought. Heading east a sandstone ridge allowed for a sheltered place to relax and consume lunch. It was difficult to consider moving on, yet after an hour with lunch finished, the group headed east to complete the circuit of Tomalpin. From the east most corner it was a case of some cross country walking, because we could, back to the access track before heading back to the cars and the starting point at Macdonalds. Tomalpin would have to be one of the bushwalking treasures situated so close to Newcastle as it is.

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5.Rocky Crossing on the Williams River Barrington Tops National Park -16 April 2015

What a difference a few days can make! Four days later the Hunter was hit by a Category 2 Eastern storm cell, the Williams River was in flood, and Dungog was awash.

The Williams River has been a favourite location for the Ramblers since the Club’s inception with members of earlier years descending from its source or liloing and cascading lengths from various starting points. On this occasion thirteen members in warm autumn conditions were content to walk steeply from Lagoon Pinch through mature Eucalypts to the littoral rainforest of the river, and emerge at the beautiful Rocky Crossing for morning tea. We followed the river track downstream to stop at vantage points along the way to enjoy Col at Rocky Crossing on the Williams River. the river scenery and to take lunch at the ‘Pool of Reflections’. At ‘Lion Rock’ we were able to discern the outline of a lioness’s head after much looking and discussion - we were just about to give up and there it was.

This river walk is one of the best day walks in our region and only a two hour drive from Newcastle through the lush grazing lands of the Williams Valley. There were several ‘For Sale’ signs along the way as the land reserved for the now abandoned Tillegra Dam project is being released to the market.

The walk is about 12 km in length and took us about four hours at a leisurely pace to make sure we did not miss anything, like the variety of emerging fungi, flowering orchids, and overhead epiphytes. BTW – there were Rob emerges from behind a clump of 'Elephant's Ears' hardly any leeches. Report by Bob

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6.Yaccabba Day walk.– 14 June.

Participants – Col, Bruce, Aileen, Robert, Lisbeth, Lynne, Mary, Bev, Chris, Carolyn, Sue, Steve, Ian, Helen & Rosemary. On a glorious winter’s morning 14 Ramblers met at Nelson Bay wharf for the 8.30am ferry trip to Hawks Nest where we met Rosemary. From the wharf we ventured south along the river for a while before veering SE to Jimmy’s Beach. We followed the sandy shoreline for about 2km before rock hopping a few hundred metres more across the boulders just inside Port Stephens heads. After a short photo opportunity stop we crossed the narrow spit through lovely paperbark forest to the ocean side for a scenic morning tea break. Next was a brisk climb to the 218m summit of Yacaaba for lunch enjoying the spectacular panorama of Port Stephens and its beautiful offshore islands. From the inner light around Shoal Bay to Tomaree @ 156m then to Point Stephens and its historic lighthouse, Boondelbah Is., Little Is., Cabbage Tree Is., and Broughton Islands with the long stretch of Hawks Nest beach to the north past the Little Gibber & the Big Gibber headlands toward Sugarloaf Point at Seal Rocks on the NE horizon. Happy Ramblers! With a deadline of the 2.30pm ferry back to Nelson Bay we had to push on, heading back down then 2.5km along the ocean beach to the Hawks Nest surf club. We then made our way through the streets to the Singing Bridge (which wasn’t), and to Tea Gardens which we reached with ample time to partake in the delights of the local ice cream parlour. We then enjoyed a peaceful ride back down the Myall River and across to Nelson Bay on the lovely and historic ferry. A wonderful day out with old friends and new topped off with some dolphin watching along the Looking back towards Tea Gardens way.A favourite walk of 12km that deserves to be an annual event. Report by Col

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7.Newnes and the Wonderful Wolgan – 19 to 21 May 2015

A walk from Newnes down the Wolgan River has been on my list for many years. Finally, after a five hour drive from Newcastle I was on my way with Lois and Rosemary to discover some truly wonderful history, scenery and wildlife. We had stopped at the ‘Ugly Mug’ in Richmond to break the journey.

Leaving Newnes at about mid day we paused for lunch on the river bank along the way before reaching a lovely camp site above Rocky Creek four hours later. There were many other wonderful camp sites all along the river.

Lois crosses the scenic Wolgan River and Rosemary crosses Rocky Creek, just downstream of our camp site

At every turn of the well formed NPWS service trail, we could hear the sounds of a multitude of Bell Birds, Whip Birds, and Lyrebirds whilst Native Pigeons fluttered noisily from our path. We could look up through the stands of tall trees and were overpowered by the majesty of 300 metre high sheer cliff faces. The section of the walk we most enjoyed was about a kilometers short of Rocky Creek where the track climbs away from the river and passes through shaded forest and huge mossy boulders.

It gets pretty dark early in the shadow of the high surrounding walls and we had scarcely finished preparing dinner when the rain set in and we retired for the night.

Wednesday morning dawned clear for us to enjoy pleasant mild autumn weather as we progressed further downstream in the hope we might reach the Annie Rowan Creek junction for lunch. The service trail finishes a short distance beyond the next sandy ford which crosses the Wolgan River where there are very nice camp sites (MR544 238) on both sides of the river. For those intent on visiting the ‘Totem Pole’ this would be a good camping option and well worth the extra five kilometer walk from Rocky Creek. We were going well at that stage as we enjoyed morning tea and we thought that we could reach Annie Rowan Creek as planned. Being misled by an incorrect NPA mud map and with the lack of any navigation on our part we ended up for lunch perched on a high rocky knoll overlooking the river, and still about 2km from our destination. We were, never the less, quite content with our off track efforts which had led us close to spectacular cliff faces and across rough boulder fields. Our

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return walk after lunch descended closer to the river level and whilst we could not see any sign of a track it is probably the best and fastest route to take towards Annie Rowan Creek. We were back in camp before 4.00pm which gave us more time to clean up and enjoy the location. Our return to Newnes on Thursday morning was equally spectacular and after checking out a fifteen metre high perfectly constructed brick retaining wall and other interesting industrial ruins we were relaxing on the An example of the outstanding cliff lines at our morning veranda of the Newnes Hotel licking ice tea stop on Wednesday creams just after midday. Along the way we had interrupted a male lyrebird in full regalia courting a rather disinterested female companion. The display lasted a minute or so before it decided to give the chick a miss and move on. It was a lucky and most unexpected surprise – such displays can occur between May and August.

Tom, the owner of the Hotel, filled us in on some of the local history. The Commonwealth Oil Corporation, at very great expense, commenced construction of the oil shale works in 1906 with the retorts finally charged in 1911. A 50km railway line from Newnes Junction down the escarpments was constructed in 1906/1907 and Newnes by then had become a substantial mining town. The works suffered many industrial,

technical, and corporate failures and Bob has a play on Luchetti's old farm tractor after several stops and starts finally closed in 1932. By 1938 all works and much of the plant had been relocated to Glen Davis.

Along the way we passed evidence of the earlier farming endeavours of the Luchetti family, and we also learned that it had been possible well into the 1980s to drive beyond Annie Rowan Creek to within a few kilometres of the Wolgan/Capertree River junction. Major floods have since destroyed any road beyond the current end of the road.

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On the way back to Newcastle we stopped in at the Ellie Cats Café at Bell for a late lunch and then at the Pines Orchard at Bilpin for a delicious slice of apple pie and cream. We were back in Newcastle for 6.30pm after a great couple of days.

I would love to return in August when the riverside Wattle would be in full flower.

Report by Bob 8.Two Styx – Ebor – 4th-9th June.

It has become traditional for the club to spend every second June long weekend at Bundanoon, in the Southern highlands. However the YMCA was closed for renovations this year, so Angela and Peter organised a trip to Ebor, in the New England highlands.

Ebor is surrounded by National Parks: the New England National Park, Guy Fawkes River National Park and Cathedral Rock National Park; Oxley Wild Rivers NP and so is an abundance of opportunities for bushwalking.

The property, “Two Styx” was ideal for our weekend. It is situated on the border of the New England NP, a couple of kilometres from Point Look-out. The little Styx River runs through the property with bush walks from the front door.

There is a large cottage plus two cabins. Clean and well equipped with wood-burners for heating, well appointed kitchens and several bathrooms. A few ramblers had campervans and 4 Pauline, Anna, Stephen and Kim braved the cold in their tents.

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Wright's Lookout

32 Ramblers came for the weekend.

A great role up! Some fished, some walked and some biked. Others photographed, knitted and there was a lot of chatting.

On Friday, most participated in various short walks in the nearby Point Look-out area of the New England NP with its breathtaking cliff-lines and plunging ravines; truly spectacular scenery.

Point Look-out at almost 1560m, is the highest point in northern NSW and sits on the rim of an escarpment formed through the erosion of the ancient Ebor Volcano. From the Eagle’s Nest track, we could see all the way to the coast, and walked through remnant Gondwanaland rainforest, saw A chilly morning at Two Styx huge Antarctic beech trees covered in moss and dotted with beech orchids. Other walks included the Lyrebird Walk, Wrights Lookout (a rocky plateau covered with quite unusual ferns) and the Cascades Walk.

On Saturday, 22 Ramblers drove to Cathedral Rock NP and walked the spectacular Cathedral Rock track (10.4km).We split into two groups, one starting the walk from the northern end (Native Dog car-park), the other starting from the southern end (Barokee car- park) and we swapped car keys at the half way point.

This is an easy walk on a well maintained track through dry eucalypt forest, banksia forests and sub-alpine wetlands. However the walk’s most spectacular feature is the enormous granite tors that are piled up like giant marbles.

These tors were originally formed some 270 million years ago, then weathering into the rounded form seen today. Both our groups climbed to the top of the Woolpack Rocks, and

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managed to find a haven from the cold wind. Despite the fog, we saw glimpses of the plateau to the west.

Climbing Cathedral Rock was a more difficult proposition because the rocks were wet and slippery, so only a few made it to the top, to be rewarded by nothing but thick fog. No doubt the view would have been fantastic on a clear

Granite tors along the Cathedral Rocks Track day.

Back at Two Styx, Peter had not been idle, and there to greet us was a large outside campfire. Although it was a cold night, there was very little wind, and an enjoyable night was had by all around the fire.

On Sunday, a few carloads of Ramblers drove through a private property on the eastern side of Ebor and climbed to Major’s Point Trig on the New England NP escarpment. Six of us then ventured on an off track bush bash along the escarpment ridge through spectacular moss covered Antarctic beach forest to Darkies Point, where we had lunch and enjoyed spectacular views of the cliffs and ravines. Our initial plan had been to walk all the way to Point Lookout, but we decided there was a risk that we wouldn’t make it before dark, so we retraced our steps. Maybe next time!

Monday was a “do your own thing” day. About a dozen met for lunch at the Rainforest Centre at Dorrigo after which we did a 3 hour rainforest walk. Then back to Two Styx for the final night.

Many thanks to Angela and Peter for organising a most enjoyable and relaxing few days. Thanks also to Russell Murchie, the very accommodating owner of Two Styx! 9. Around Darwin and Litchfield NP – 19 to 21 June 2015

Bob, Lois, Robert, Alan and Rosemary arrived in Darwin on Friday a couple of days ahead of the rest of the Jatbula Ramblers to spend a day in the beautiful situated 130km south of Darwin.

We were away early on Saturday morning in a small hire car to arrive at the town of Bachelor for a coffee and a stroll around the National Tidy Town winner of 1999.

It was established in 1912 to support demonstration farming in the Top End and was carefully laid out as a garden town retaining much of its original tree cover. It was an important town during the war years and in the early 1950s the discovery and mining of uranium at nearby Rum Jungle supported the town until the early 1970s.

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It has a population of about 500 and is a gateway to the very popular Litchfield National Park.

Our first stop in the National Park was at the magnetic termite mounds then onto where we descended through a rich example of monsoon rainforest to the base of the falls for a swim in its secluded water hole. We walked upstream past the falls for 4 km through open savannah woodland to more swimming holes and morning tea at Buley Rockhole.

The ‘magnetic’ Termite mounds are oriented

North-south to minimise heat from the sun.

John T and Mel M had spent five days earlier in the week walking the Table Top Track, starting and finishing at Florence Falls. Each evening they would reach another beautiful water hole to camp.

As we had planned to lunch at we stopped briefly on the way for a short walk to check out Tolmar Falls and views west across the flood plain.

The open savannah woodland is host to the beautiful

Turkey bush (Calytrix exstipulata)

At Wangi after lunch we completed a 4 km circular walk climbing through rainforest with a bat colony to the top of the falls.

Our return to Darwin included a couple more stops at interesting locations involved in the WW2 defenses of , Manton Dam – the water supply for Darwin during the war, and the shaded Berry Springs Nature Park.

Alan is testing the water temperature in the pool below Florence Falls.

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The highlights for us whilst in Darwin included an Indian/Asian meal at the Hanuman Restaurant (rated #6 by Tripadvisor and recommended by the lady at the Banyan View Lodge), the Botanic Gardens and its café for breakfast.

Report by Bob

Wangi Falls is a very popular tourist destination with its shaded surrounds and huge swimming water hole. A circular walk proceeds through monsoon rainforest to reach above the falls.

Table Top Swamp fills with water each wet season and is a haven for birds. Robert, Alan, Lois, and Rosemary shade beneath Pandanus on Green Ant Creek.

The Museum has a great exhibition of restored sea craft relevant to sea faring north of Australia. Most of us picked up an exotic Asian meal at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets and walked over the fore dunes to take in a sunset.

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