This morning we backtracked a short distance to Bowling Green Bay National Park to attempt a challenging 17km Alligator Falls walking track. It was estimated to take approximately 6 hours, but of course we wanted to do it in less. Start the watch. Our first 2km was an epic fail. We somehow managed to lose the trail, and cross 2 creeks in the process. One hour had passed before we finally found the trail again (we really didn’t want to turn back). At this rate, it would take us over 8 hours to complete and we wouldn’t be back before dark, so we had to pick up the pace. There were numerous creek crossings along the way
and initially we were removing our shoes and socks to cross but in a time saving effort we eventually just left them on. Before reaching the falls, we encountered a wild horse, a few spiders and plenty of mosquitoes. The last 30 minutes before reaching the falls we came across a challenging rock scramble, although it wasn’t as challenging as Mount Warning. It was impossible to resist climbing past the “end of track” and “warning” signs to get closer to the waterfall, especially since it looked like a giant waterslide.
On the return trip, we managed well but with 2km to go we could really feel it in our heavy, wet and soggy shoes/feet. After the walk, we immediately sat down to rest, took off our shoes and didn’t move for about 20 minutes. We set up our campsite, and we’re the only ones in the park because the gates close at 6:30pm. It was a really nice evening relaxing under the stars, complete with baby wallabies hopping about.
On the return trip, we managed well but with 2km to go we could really feel it in our heavy, wet and soggy shoes/feet. After the walk, we immediately sat down to rest, took off our shoes and didn’t move for about 20 minutes. We set up our campsite, and we’re the only ones in the park because the gates close at 6:30pm. It was a really nice evening relaxing under the stars, complete with baby wallabies hopping about.
