After our beautiful visit to the gorge, we made our way to the western side of Nitmiluk National Park to Leliyn/Edith Falls. We set out early from Katherine to make sure we arrived early enough to secure a campsite. The Northern Territory have great camping facilities in their national parks, but it is on a first come, first served basis, so in the height of the dry season you are competing for sites. Luckily for us we were coming out of the peak season and into the shoulder season, so we were able to secure a ripper of a campsite. It had been a while since the kids had so much green grass on which to play, so if was lovely to see them building tent cities and playing so nicely together.

This was also when we first bought out ‘Finska’ and had our first family games afternoon. It was a little fractious if I’m honest, however there were some valuable teaching moments!!

After settling in, it was time to hit the falls. At Edith Falls you can access both the lower plunge pool and the upper pool. We decided we would swim in the lower pool first and explore the upper pool the next day. Having now visited a few waterfalls (as you will see in the coming posts there is a recurrent theme) it has become a bit of a custom for Tom and the kids to swim out to the falls. This was first instituted at Edith Falls. The kids have become so much more confident in their swimming and have loved exploring all the waterholes and pools.

The next day we headed out to explore the upper pool. It is starting to heat up and by mid morning it is in the mid 30’s. Not the best time to be heading out on a walk but we are just not very good at getting going some mornings!!

Anyway, as we have done on a few occasions now and I am sure we will do again, we underestimate how strenuous a walk this is. While the older kids bound up effortlessly, it takes a lot of coxing to get Tobias up to the top pool. We eventually get there and we are all glad we have made the effort, including Tobias who is keen to jump into the water. It really is a beautiful part of the world!!