Southern Lost City - Roper Bar

It took 1 hour to drive just 29km on the deeply corrugated road back to Savannah Way, where conditions improved slightly. In another 30 minutes approx  we reached Limnen National Park and the rock formation known as the Southern Lost City. Here the sandstone has been eroded to form tall columns. After a cuppa and sandwich we set off on the short circuit walk to explore the "city".

It wasn't all about the rocks though. In one cool shady area swarms of these butterflies gathered.

This tree caught my eye with it's deeply grooved bark, a bit like cork.

This pink flowering "Turkey bush" is one of my favourites from the Top End, growing almost everywhere we've been so far.

This curious plant appears to have flowers on the tips of its leaves.

There was a lookout towards the "Western Lost City", which we had seen from the air on our chopper flight, but is more difficult to reach by road.

Luckily we didn't get too lost in the Lost City, and found our way back to the carpark to continue our journey. 

After several more creek crossings, all with crocodile warning signs, any bridge, even one lane is a welcome improvement. 

Some other tourists had recommended Roper Bar as a quiet campsite, so we pushed on, arriving just before sunset. Basic, but clean and quiet. 

The next morning we had a look around the ruins of the historic police station and the river crossing,  which is a popular fishing spot. A stone cairn and plaque commemorates Ludwig Leichhardt's crossing at that point in 1845.