Wangi Falls

Visited: very late dry season

Recommendation: At the heart of the famous Litchfield National Park, these falls are stunning, even when the water everywhere around is low or gone. The pool and creek here means that there are lots of animals to be found - and you can swim if you need to cool down. 

Visiting the falls so late in the dry season meant that it was obviously very hot but also that the human visitors stayed in the pool to cool off. Only strange people carrying camera gear would venture onto the trails that loop around the falls. 

Starting at the pool itself, there is a lot going on. Forest Kingfisher were zipping about looking for food, a Channel-billed Cuckoo flew lazily from one side of the basin to the other and there were huge amounts of large spiders weaving webs between the palms and pandanus. A pair of Brahminy Kite circled over me but stubbornly would not come any closer. A Mertens' Water Monitor slunk away as soon as it saw the camera. It seemed that everything was sluggish in the heat.

The rainforest section was mercifully short (it was humid and hot as hell) but I left disappointed. I could hear a Rainbow Pitta and the Arafura Shrikethrush calling but all I could see was the flash of brown as the latter flew past my face. 

Once you exit, it is more open and the climb begins. It seemed like a long way but eventually you reach a platform and lookout. From here I caught glimpses of the Torresian Imperial-Pigeon. Cuckoo, mistletoebird and oriole were calling but I was very hot by now and cared quite a lot less.  

At the top of the climb is the source of the waterfall - the Wangi Creek. With little shade now, I was unimpressed with the view, even if it was obviously spectacular. Fantail and honeyeaters sang as they flew past me and the Great Bowerbird growled as usual. It felt an awful lot more the 1.6km at this point and I was only halfway round!