Break 2 Day 9 - Edith Falls & Termite Walls

We left Katherine behind and our final destination for the night was Litchfield Safari Park. First off though we stopped for a hike into Edith Falls which is up the highway, but still part of Katherine Gorge Park. We did the hike in, but did not plan on swimming even though you could. Again we did the longer hike, and then headed for Litchfield.

Thinking we had a fairly short drive ahead, I took a 'scenic route' detour heading north. Although it was a pretty drive, I had to keep my eyes on the road as it twisted and turned every which way with the Beast camper swaying as we went. We did manage to get ourselves in the middle of a controlled (we think) burn off of the bush though. In the Northern Territory, they are very diligent about their fire management. They burn every area of the bush once a season if possible. They do small patches at a time using natural barriers to control the spread. It is quite a complex skill to know when and where to light the fires - taking temperature, winds, ground conditions, landscape and more into consideration. But by doing controlled burns they allow new growth to flourish (which provides great feed for the wildlife) and avoid deadly forest fires which would wipe out the animal life and destroy property.

It was a long drive into the park as it turned out - the place we were staying was in the deepest depths of the park. En route we stopped to check out the termite mounds. WOW were they big (this one was not unique - there were also other bigger ones around). There are two types of termites here. The cathedral termite mounds were huge as you can see in the photo. The other mounds were interesting and more unique. The magnetic termite mounds were much smaller and looked like tombstones – thin and rectangular. And they are all oriented north / south so as to avoid the sun as much as possible. This is part of the temperature control mechanism they use. The cathedral termites migrate in and out of the folds of their mounds as the heat of the day changes. Up here it's all about heat management - or rather cool management!

Then off to our campsite! There were several wallabies around, and Mike and I went for a walk where we spotted several more. Beyond that, our evening entertainment was to sit back and listen to another Bill Bryson book on CD – much like the old days of radio listening I suspect. Very entertaining and we all enjoy.

And just for the record - this was a photo from one of our campsites a few days earlier. We awoke to emus roaming around the grounds. Just like squirrels at home with kids running around chasing them and everything!