Darwin again (for Mar. 10)

Today was a very leisurely day with little travel and lots of swimming. We first stopped at a roadside interpretive centre for termite mounds. One type is called “magnetic” because the termites shape it like an aircraft wing and orient it north/south. Because of this, one side faces the sun in the morning, one side face it in the afternoon, but, in the middle of the day the leading edge shades the rest. In this way they maintain a relatively constant temperature. There was also a huge cathedral mound, 5 metres tall and estimated to be about 50 years old.



Next stop, Wangi Falls. We couldn’t swim here because it is possible for crocs to reach here in “the wet,” but it is a popular swimming spot in” the dry.” We did a very nice walk across the top and down the other side through monsoon forest (like rain forest) at the bottom and savanna at the top. As we climbed up, there was also a clear definition of monsoon forest on our left and savanna to our right where it was less influenced by the falls and creek.








Our next stop was at Tollmer Falls. We couldn’t swim there because of a roosting area for some protected bats, but it was a pretty view.








Next stop, Florence Falls, where we did a walk along the creek before taking a long swim in a very pretty rockhole. This place wasn’t as secluded as Moline Falls, but was every bit as pretty. And, once again, the water temperature was just right. Apparently this is a very busy spot during “the dry” with people from Darwin because you have to get up to these mountain polls to be safe from crocs.


From there we hiked up to a lookout over the falls.












Then it was just a short drive to Buley Rockholes, a series of small falls into small pools that lies above Florence Falls. We hung out there relaxing with lots of other people until it was time to head home. Also keeping us company was a 4-5 foot Michell’s Water Monitor, a harmless insect eater which is about half body and half tail.





We got back to the hotel about 5:30 in time to take a picture of the harbour from our balcony.