Litchfield National Park

August 16, 2017  •  Leave a Comment

Following Kakadu National Park and Nitmiluk National Park, we visited Litchfield National Park.

https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/litchfield-national-park

The famous Magnetic Termites (Amitermis meridionalis) have wedge-shaped towers which are placed that the long side faces the shade and only the narrow side is exposed to the sun to reduce the temperature in the mound—aligning in the north-south axis to balance the temperature. These termites are found nowhere else on earth. Scientists discovered that the blind worker termites really build the mounds based on the magnetic field by exposing them to artificial magnets that change the direction—the workers dutifully repaired the mound to align it again with the north-south axis. The mounds are often 5 metres high, in comparison the termites are only 5 mm long.

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Then, we drove to the Florence Waterfalls and took a nice walk along the creek. The kids enjoyed swimming the the Rock Pool and I made it up the 170 stairs ahead of time and let the drone fly.

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We then stopped quickly at Wangi Falls that spill over the Tabletop Plateau into a large pool. The pool is closed when the water levels are high as strong current and the increase risks of crocodiles make it too dangerous to swim.

IMG_9146IMG_9146 We were able to see some Rainbow Bee-Eaters which fly way to fast and erratic to take nice pictures of these colourful birds.

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We also saw some kits and many large spiders. In the evening, we drove back to Darwin. 
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More pictures here.


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This is a photographic diary of our adventures in Australia with emphasis on Sydney and its surroundings.
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