O
ur best laid plans went
AWOL just 50km inside
Limmen National Park
when wheel bearings
shattered by too many
unrelenting NT tracks sent us limping
back to Borroloola on the back of a
tow-truck.
After pulling an all-nighter in
the McArthur River Caravan Park,
we set off again for round two with
tougher bearings and lighter wallets,
determined to shake out the fishing
rods, stoke a campfire and lose
ourselves in one of the most isolated
wilderness areas in Australia’s far north.
Etched with deep, emerald rivers and
lily-covered lagoons, Limmen protects
great swathes of woodlands and
towering sandstone spires. Basic bush
camping and corrugated access roads
help deter all but the most passionate
anglers and solitude-seekers, who
arrive in well-stocked, offroad rigs
for lengthy stays in the NT’s remote
northeastern corner.
What lures them to this big patch
of green is the unrivalled fishing on
lurid green waterways where the crocs
remind you just who rules the food
chain in the Top End. There’s uber-
scenic waterfront camping and just
after the wet season when roads open
and lagoons retract, the birdlife is
simply dazzling. Throw in some wild
strolls through the Lost City’s dramatic
towering rock pillars and you’ve got a
whole lot of reasons to pack up and hit
the dirt.THE SOUTHERN LOST CITY
Rising suddenly on the park’s southern
fringe, the Southern Lost City’s
dramatic cluster of sculpted domes
and bulging buttresses turns golden
with the rising sun, luring campers into
their hiking shoes at dawn.
Treading a meandering, easy path,
we disappear into slender chasms,
squeeze past tumbledown boulders
and gently climb to a grand viewpoint
over the Arnhem Land Plateau to watch
this multi-hued sandstone wilderness
shine.
From this ridgeline littered with the
bright pink blooms of turkey bushes we
gaze wistfully over the O’Keefe Valley to
the distant and far-less-visited Western
Lost City. On three visits to Limmen
we’ve tried to access this remote spot,
only to find the roads flooded or
washed out and the entry gate locked.This undiscovered Lost City is what
will undoubtedly lure me back to
Limmen a fourth time, so don’t miss it
if you arrive to find dry roads! Phone
the Nathan Ranger Station or pull into
the visitor centre for the code needed
to unlock the access gate (it’s written
on the whiteboard). Set out early on the
rugged 28km-long 4WD track and allow
90 minutes for the drive in and plenty
of time to discover the Indigenous rock
art and enjoy excellent walking trails.
The expansive campground at the
Southern Lost City is a rather hot spot
with little daytime shade, but at dusk,
you can stroll across the spinifex flats
and climb the trail through sandstone
pillars to watch short-eared rock-
wallabies emerge from their daytime
lairs.
Campsites with picnic tables,
fireplaces and wheelchair-accessible62 tradeaboat.com.au