Litchfield National Park in the Wet Season

Visiting Litchfield National Park in the wet season is an unrelentingly humid affair. Luckily, the temperature was slightly less due to the monsoon but this was offset by the frequent rain which turned many of the walking tracks into muddy affairs. Nevertheless, it was a privilege to have Litchfield basically to ourselves and to see the waterfalls at their powerful best, swollen with wet season rains.

The reward from hiking the Greenant Creek Walk

Litchfield National Park

Upper Cascades – Litchfield National Park

Upper Cascades – Litchfield National Park

Upper Cascades – Litchfield National Park

Wangi Falls

Tolmer Falls

 

Parap and Nightcliff Markets in Darwin

Markets galore! It’s the wet season in Darwin yet there are still a number of awesome markets to visit in Darwin. Yes, you will be drenched in sweat when you finish visiting them but hopefully you will also have a big smile on your face!

This weekend, I visited 3 markets. Parap Markets operate on Saturday morning while Nightcliff and Rapid Creek Markets run on a Sunday morning. My favourite markets for value and Asian fresh produce is definitely Rapid Creek Markets. Nightciff Markets has a lot of stalls selling homemade gifts and plants. A great choice when looking for an interesting one-of-a-kind gift. Parap markets has a good mix of fresh produce, cooked food and gifts. Plus it has the advantage of being the closest to the Darwin CBD.

This week’s market haul included some rambutans and mangoes, a sweet basil plant, freshly made paw paw salad (medium spicy!), a huge local pineapple, kangkung (river spinach), a range of glutinous rice Asian sweets, bananas and my unidentified vegetable of the week, a luffa! A luffa or loofah is a vegetable from the same family as the cucumber. When young, it can eaten as a vegetable and when the fruit is old, it becomes dried out and fibrous and can be used as a scrubbing sponge.

Here are some pictures from Parap and Nightcliff markets!

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Parap Markets – Fruit smoothie stall

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Parap markets – Stubby holder to keep your wine cool!

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Parap markets – range of Asian sweets.

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Parap markets – Coffee stall

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Parap Markets – Chicken Laksa

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Parap Markets – Cambodian rice balls, Asian sweets

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Nightcliff Markets – Plants for sale

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Nightcliff markets – Fresh produce for sale

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Nightcliff Markets – Stall selling souvenirs and salt!

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Nightcliff Markets – Fruit for sale

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Nightcliff markets – Fruit for smoothies

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Nightcliff market – Dresses for sale.