Surprise Creek Falls; the best of Litchfield
Having been to Litchfield National Park a few years back, I wasn’t expecting anything better, or different when we visited recently, but there was one place we’d missed, and it was a huge surprise for us. Yes, the pun is intended, and this is Surprise Creek Falls at the bottom of the Reynolds Track, and its absolutely incredible.
Where is Surprise Creek Falls?
This is the most southern attraction in Litchfield National Park, just off the Reynolds 4WD track. It’s only a short drive off the track, and is easily accessible to any 4WD that has made it this far.
A lot of people do Surprise Creek Falls on their way into Litchfield from the south (on the Reynolds), or on the way out. Alternatively you can day trip in and out from either end, depending on how you’re travelling.
Do you need a 4WD?
Yes, without a doubt. The Reynolds Track isn’t for AWD or 2WD vehicles, and you’ll wind up in a world of pain if you try. We saw some pretty standard vehicles coming through, but you absolutely need 4WD and a bit of clearance.
How long and hard is the walk?
Most of the walks in Litchfield National Park are quite short and easy, and this is no exception. It’s literally 5 minutes from the car park to the bottom of the falls, on a sandy or small rocky track, with a couple of little bridges and pools of water to skirt around.
Once you get to the big rock, you can either go over the top and down the other side (which is steeper, but not sandy), or you can skirt around the side, which can get very sandy and slippery, and if you slip, you’ll hurt yourself and end up in the main water pool.
Where can you swim?
There’s quite a bit of choice for swimming here. You can jump in the bottom pool, which is easy to get in, quite large and nice and clear. Alternatively, you can climb up one of the rocks, and get into the second pool, which is deep, much smaller and perfect for jumping off the rocks in different spots.
You can go up one more pool again, and its much the same as the one below; deep, beautiful and harder to get to. The waterfall comes in here, and if you want, you can climb up further again, which takes you to a series of small rock pools and creeks that flow into the falls below.
It’s truly an awesome place to swim with the water being really warm (I guess from the rocks), and with so much choice, its perfect for every type of swimmer and adventurer.
Can you day trip here?
Yes, you can, from either side. You could duck in from the southern entrance of the Reynolds Track and back out again, or come from the north. We took about 7 hours to drive from the Litchfield Bush Camp (near Wangi Falls) down the Reynolds Track, to the Blythe Homestead, Sandy Creek (and doing the walk), and then driving down to Surprise Creek, before heading back again. It’s a reasonable day, but easily doable.
Camping at Surprise Creek Falls
If you have a setup that suits this, you can camp at Surprise Creek Falls in the national park campground. This needs prior booking and there is not even a drop of reception anywhere nearby, so book early and know that you’ve got a spot when you arrive!
The camp site is fairly standard, with nothing exceptional, but its got everything you need, and would be a choice of ours to stay at, just for the easy access to a beautiful waterhole.
Put it on the bucket list
If you’ve done Litchfield but missed this, you’ve left the best to last. This one absolutely deserves to be on your bucket list, and I’d probably rate it as the best that Litchfield has to offer.
