<span class="highlight">Litchfield</span> NP & Katherine Area
Submitted: Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:28
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Crusader
Hi,
I am planning up to the NT in June/July and would like to visit both the
Katherine Gorge and
Litchfield NP area. Everything is fine except .... I am concerened about how busy it may be and getting campsites in these areas if we don't arrive until later in the day. I rang NP at
Batchelor and they said exactly that .... get in by lunchtime and you should be ok. Which begs the question ...."what if it's not OK " .
My plan was to actually book into a caravan park at
Katherine (though I would prefer to
camp at Edith Falls or
Katherine Gorge) to overcome any issues there and then move onto Mt Bundy (booking again ). This would allow me an early start to the day in
Litchfield NP and then hopefully all will be OK.
I know it's a "how long is a piece of string" kind of question but from experience and perhaps local /recent knowledge can anyone advise if the sites get so full there is no more room. Also any advice on the whole idea would be appreciated.
Cheers and thanks in advance.
Reply By: Member - DAZA (QLD) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:55
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:55
G/Day Crusader
We are heading up there in late May early June, and didn't want to have a time table either, I was thinking we might book a day in advance if it was ok, it will be interesting to read the replies.
Cheers
AnswerID:
413244
Reply By: Kumunara (NT) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:55
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:55
Crusader
There are plenty of good caravan parks in
Katherine you can book into.
Katherine gets over 300,000 visitors per year and June/July is the peak time. Booking is a good idea.
Plenty of facilities in
Katherine. Woolworths, etc.
Tjilpi
AnswerID:
413245
Reply By: Rangiephil - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:59
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 08:59
My experience last year was that the Bewley Rockholes site fills up quickly and so does Wangi , mainly with Motorhomes and rentals.
IMHO both are dust bowls and quite unpleasant. I found by driving another 10 minutes from Wangi there is a private ground which to me is beautiful. it was run by the manager of the Wangi kiosk. Large flat grassed campsites and adequate but not flash amenities. The non power sites were the best.
Mine had the added pleasure of a Bush Stone Curlew nesting near my site.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID:
413248
Follow Up By: Crusader - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 09:48
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 09:48
Phillip,
Is this the
Litchfield Safai Park ? I've just found that online and it looks ok.
Cheers
FollowupID:
683354
Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 09:03
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 09:03
We were at
Batchelor last year in late My/June and had no trouble by booking a few days ahead.
We stayed at the van park in
Batchelor and at Shady Lane in
Katherine
You could spend two days in Litcfield NP no trouble.
There are several NP
camp spots there but usually busy
There was plenty of room in the van park.
AnswerID:
413249
Reply By: Member - lyndon NT - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 16:29
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 16:29
Don't
camp at Buley, as stated it is an unshaded uneven dust bowl! The
rock holes themselves are very nice though, get there early, as in 6 am if you would like to experience any sort of solitude. As the day progresses it becomes more like a Zoo. Pay
Walker Creek a visit, in our experience it doesn’t get to busy. Do the 4x4 drive from
Litchfield to the Daly, if open (
Reynolds river track), one of the best things about the park and not too busy.
Sandy Creek falls is one of the better camping
places in the Park and
well worth a visit.
Enjoy your trip up here.
Cheers Lyndon
AnswerID:
413291
Follow Up By: Member - lyndon NT - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 16:40
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 16:40
Opp’s, also meant to say Low Level C/P is one of the better one’s in
Katherine and is out of town far enough to avoid trouble, you will need to book.At that time of year they also put on cheap meals if you want some time off from cooking. Depending on your level of fitness there are some great walks around
the Gorge, we also find that it you can gets you away from the crowds, sad indictment on society that most are too lazy or unfit to walk anymore than a km or two. The Rangers can give you a map and some advise on the different walks. Leaving just as first light is breaking will give you good
views of changing colours of the country and avoid some of the heat.
FollowupID:
683391
Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 17:32
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 17:32
If you want to be nearest to the gorges in
KAtherine
Shady Lane is the one to be Much smaller than Low level , much closer and much nicer
AnswerID:
413294
Reply By: Motherhen - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 20:05
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 20:05
Hi Crusader
We stayed at the CP out in
the Gorge at
Katherine which is a big park with plenty of room. We had no trouble getting in as they have a large area for big rigs. When we got to Edith Falls, the only one site really suitable for our needs was vacant - we got there at lunch time.
At
Litchfield we stayed at the safari park and found it much nicer than the crowded park
camp grounds, plenty of room, powered sites available, hot showers etc. Only 4 kms from
Wangi Falls. As we didn't want a powered site, we found a nice quiet
bush camp on the edge of the
camp ground. We went to the Wangi
campground first but no way could we fit in and it was very crowded.
We never book, but if somewhere is likely to be booked out, we
bush camp not too far away and get there in the morning or at least by lunch time.
Motherhen
AnswerID:
413314
Reply By: Crusader - Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 20:56
Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 at 20:56
Thanks very much everyone,
Your replies are appreciated. I think we'll head for the Safari
Camp and make our way from there. I'm quite looking forward to the trip albeit still a few months away. Just local trips and long weekends for now.
Cheers
Crusader.
AnswerID:
413322