Manton River 29 July 2006

Left Wangi Falls after two lovely nights of listening to the falls roaring down the cliffs. These are very substantial falls so it’ sounds like loud machinery. We had another very warm day (around 30deg) to enjoy the rest of the park. Luckily they involve more falls! The highlights were Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls. Buley Rockhole was a series of water cascades tumbling down a medium slope - all close together looking like the most remarkable fountain you could dream up. The edges were laced with beautiful monsoon vegetation. A few kilometres away was Florence Falls. We climbed down a very steep gorge on wooden steps to the base of the falls. We swam under the waterfall and it felt like being in a hailstorm! These falls were rather crowded and not as nice as Wangi, although the vision was still very spectacular. Another joy was the alternate route out that followed the creek with wonderful monsoon plants edging the creek that again sang its way over rocks. In the wet this would be flooded and present a very different view. (Another trip!)
Free camped on a big picnic area near the road with two other vehicles and had a surprisingly quiet night. Traffic was very quiet at night considering we were only 70 km from Darwin.