We are welcomed into the Northern Territory - first mission is to find these lost cities

The Northern Territory is marked by vast unmarked and uninhabited spaces, long dusty roads and as we learned, beautiful sunsets.  But as we slowly moved north, sometimes very slowly, we were on the hunt for lost cities.  We knew about them, we had read about them and we were getting closer.  But bad roads and beautiful places slowed us down until we finally found what we were looking for.

Our beautiful and peaceful camp on the banks of the Robinson River

The drive north from the Queensland border crossed vast stretches of land managed by various Aboriginal groups.  We passed through the scruffy Aboriginal community of Doomadgee where we picked up fuel and camped further north on the banks of the Robinson River, a tranquil spot with only the noisy birds and a couple of rogue cows to keep us company.  We moved further north along the only track, through endless Aussie
scrub, sometimes battling the poor road conditions and slowing down for the wide (but usually dry) river crossings.  Eventually we came to the Aboriginal community of Borroloola where we grabbed what meagre fresh vegies and meat was available before moving on.

We had a refreshing swim at Tawallah Pools on the Lorella Springs station after spending a night there

We entered Limmen National Park, only gazetted last year but covering an incredible span of land that reached all the way to the coast.  We stayed a night at a one million acre cattle station called Lorella Springs which was just outside the park.  This giant station had been turned into something like a wilderness park where visitors could explore the country, camp where they liked, fish, swim, whatever took them.  We swam in the warm springs near the station and the next day had another swim at the remote Tawallah Pools, a beautiful clear emerald green water pool set amongst ancient red rocks and paperbark gums.

First glimpses of the Southern Lost City in Limmen National Park - an amazing place

But where are those lost cities and why out here in the middle of nowhere?  Without too much trouble we found the first one, what is called the Southern Lost City, down a narrow side track.  Through a quirk of geology and the evolution of this amazing land shapes and structures of sandstone towers have been formed, making the appearance of skyscrapers in a large city.

We walked for a couple of hours amongst these giants

We were able to walk amongst them, staring up at the amazing monoliths crammed together in tight formation, various shapes and sizes, some over 20 metres high.  This was a surreal experience, sharing this amazing place with only the birds and the breeze, climbing over crumbled towers, squeezing between close neighbours, taking countless photos.  These amazing geologic structures really caught our fancy and we had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon climbing amongst them.

The park ranger gets his mail delivered by plane once a week - and has quite a mail box

After camping under the bright full moon, the next day we were determined to find the far more inaccessible Western Lost City but it wasn’t easy.  First stop was the Park’s ranger station where we had to get permission to enter and a key to open the magic gate.  From there it was a 28 km moderately difficult four wheel drive track through creeks and heavy bushland, over rocks, past waterholes and across old grazing paddocks, the Cruiser picking up untold scratches along the way, until we arrived at this secret spot.

We were able to climb up and around some of the different formations - great fun

This is Julie's favourite

The mighty Cruiser is dwarfed by this massive pillar with a huge arch at its base

We drove and walked amongst these giants, similar to yesterday’s city but also different in some of their formations and groupings, in absolute awe of the experience.  At one point we were able to back the Cruiser up almost under a huge arch of one and frequently we could climb up on collapsed towers to get better views.

Amazing views after climbing up to the top of these pinnacles

This is the poster the Cruiser wants hung up in the garage when we get home

Near the end of the track we walked up a small crevasse between rows of these monsters, scrambled up some small rocky cliffs our mothers’ wouldn’t have approved of, and eventually made our way to the top of these massive sandstone structures, getting a unique perspective from above them.  It was a thrilling (and somewhat dicey) experience and quite a highlight.

Some of the climbing on the formations was a bit dicey so Julie led the way

Even Homer Simpson had his own tower

Our time in Limmen National Park was fantastic, topped up with a beautiful night camping on the cliff banks of the huge Towns River, watching the sun set and the birds dive for their dinner.  This was our highest ranking camping spot so far and really made us appreciate the beauty all around us.  We then spent a great night in Elsey National Park near the small (pop 500) of Mataranka where we swam in the hot thermal pools  and had our first showers in almost a week.  But tomorrow we head further north and enter Arnhem Land, the Aboriginal land occupying vast spaces of the northern most Northern Territory.  We can’t wait.

The stunning Towns River at dawn from our camp