Philosofiction

Steve Bein, writer & philosopher

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Litchfield National Park and Not the Other One

October 15, 2022  /  Steve Bein

Litchfield National Park is just up the road from Nitmiluk, and here again the highlight was the animal encounters. Litchfield is most famous for its waterfalls and beautiful swimming holes, but the guidebooks leave out what for me was the real showstopper. I did next to no research for this whole adventure, so I hadn’t even imagined I would run into these guys. Flying foxes!

You don’t see them at first. You hear lots of fussing high in the trees, but you can’t spot any birds. Then, here and there you spot these odd black pyramid-shaped things hanging down from the higher branches. They look like giant seed pods, maybe, or some weird Australasian fruit you’ve never heard of. Then one of them unfolds its wings and starts grooming.

Sadly I didn’t take either of these photos. I didn’t get single shot good enough to share with you. I’m just not carrying the right equipment for it. Those little guys are backlit, high up, with plenty of foliage in the way. I managed to capture some video, and once I get home I’ll have to find a way to share it. But I do have some pics for you of the Litchfield that the guidebooks all tell you about. (Which ain’t too shabby, foxes or no.)

I stopped through a fourth park in the NT, Charles Darwin National Park. It’s right in Darwin, and it’s supposed to house a wonderful range of exotic flora and fauna. However, it might as well have had a sign on the front door reading STEVE BEIN, DO NOT COME HERE. Three times before parking the car, I passed signs warning me against biting insects.

Keep in mind, at this point I've just spent a week in swamps and wetlands, enveloped in flies, with no signage posted about flying, biting things. Also, this is a little known fact among human beings, but I am the most popular restaurant on Mosquito Yelp. One drop of Bein B-negative and they call all their friends. So thanks but no thanks; you can keep your Darwin National Park.