Northern Territory For Everyone: Limmen National Park

Limmen National Park

Tucked away in a seldom-visited corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria west of Borroloola, Limmen National Park is a must-do stop on the trans-continental Savannah Way that crosses the top half of Australia between Cairns and Broome. It's a remote and rugged place steeped in culture and history, with spectacular weathered sandstone formations, and intervening alluvial valleys, numerous rivers and wetlands.

Limmen National Park is located approximately 475km southeast of Katherine and 182km northwest of Borroloola. The park can be accessed from Katherine by leaving the Stuart Highway about 10km south of Mataranka and following the dirt road east past Roper Bar. From Borroloola follow the Carpentaria Highway for 32km before heading north along the gravel road for another 150km. Make sure you have enough fuel and food for your stay within the Park. There are no services for 338km between Roper Bar and Cape Crawford, although limited fuel and supplies are available at Limmen Bight Fishing Camp.

Remote camping is permitted in several places along the rivers, with pit toilets at Butterfly Springs, Limmen Crossing and Towns River. No showers. Fuel and some supplies are available from the nearby Limmen Bight Fishing Camp.

The rivers and coastal waters of the Gulf provide magnificent fishing for anglers. All six of the main rivers in the National Park - the Limmen Bight, Nathan, Cox, Towns, Hodgson and Rover Rivers, are open for both fishing and exploration. The park includes catchment areas for these rivers, extending to the offshore reefs of the Gulf. The many lagoons close to the main road are a bird watchers delight, but most people come for the fishing, especially the elusive barramundi. With the Roper, Towns and Limmen Bight Rivers flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria to the east, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy fishing. Boat ramps and basic camp grounds are provided at Towns River, Tomato Island and the privately-run Limmen Bight Fishing Camp outside the park, but you will need to be self sufficient with food and water.

You can also camp at Butterfly Springs, a beautiful swimming hole surrounded by paperbacks and exquisite fern-leaved grevillea ablaze with dainty orange flowers during the dry season that attract hundreds of birds to the oasis. It's also home to thousands of common crow butterflies that cover the sandstone wall to the right of the pool and arise en masse when you approach. Butterfly Springs is the only place in the park considered safe for swimming, although not suitable towards the end of the dry season as the pool becomes stagnant. Do not swim in any of the rivers or creeks in the park as they are inhabited by estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles. Another good camping area, but without any facilities, is beside the Lomarieum lagoon beside St Vidgeon ruins.

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St Vidgeon Homestead Ruins portray a story of hardship in the outback. St Vidgeon station ruins are the most recent of three built since 1888. The first was destroyed by floods, the second by white ants and fire and this one, built in 1960, by a cyclone. There is free camping here but no facilities. Below the homestead ruins is this beautiful lagoon fed by the flood waters of the Roper River. This large water-lily covered lagoon is a haven for birdlife. From here to Roper River Bar the road follows the South bank of the Roper River and has many camping and fishing spots along its length.

Below: St Vidgeon Homestead Ruins

Lost Cities

Limmen National Park also features its famous ‘lost cities’ – large sandstone spires and rounded dome formations resulting from erosion of the sandstone escarpment. There are two lost cities within the park. The Southern Lost City, the more accessible of the two, is 35km south of the Nathan River Ranger Station. It's a three-kilometre track in from the main road with a two-kilometre easy walking trail among the rock formations. The track winds its way through clumps of prickly Spinifex and it is prime snake habitat, so wear long pants.

You will need a key from the Ranger Station to unlock the gate at the start of the 28km track. It begins just north-west of the Nathan River Ranger Station and ends at a 300-metre walk and short climb to views over the O'Keefe Valley. Call and organise the key prior to your visit, as the Ranger Station is not always attended. At 1.4 billion years in the making, these rocks are some of the oldest in the world. They consist of 95 per cent silica and are held together by an outer crust made mainly of iron, giving them their unique red colour, especially at sunset. Contact the Rangers at Nathan River on (08) 8975 9940 to organise a key to access the Western Lost City.