About Tjaynera Falls (Sandy Creek Falls)
Tjaynera Falls (Sandy Creek Falls) is one of Litchfield National Park’s more elusive waterfalls primarily because it involved driving a pretty scary 4wd road to reach.
That makes it a little off the beaten path compared to the park’s other main waterfalls like Florence Falls, Tolmer Falls, and Wangi Falls.
As you can see from the photo above, this is indeed an impressive waterfall worth the trouble to get to, especially when you consider that it’s one of Litchfield’s bigger waterfalls.
I haven’t seen any legitimate height figures concerning this waterfall, but from trying to extrapolate the heights of people who swam up to the falls, I estimate that this waterfall probably is in the neighborhood of 40m tall.
Why Is Tjaynera Falls Tricky To Access?
We’ve actually been aware of this waterfall ever since our first trip to the Northern Territory in June 2006, but unfortunately the road to get to the Sandy Creek Trailhead was closed.
This reflected the conflicting requirements so common in other Top End waterfalls where on the one hand you want more water so the waterfall will put on a show.
However, on the flip side, too much water means access closure due to flooding and saltwater crocodiles.
It wasn’t until 16 years later that we finally had a chance to try again, and that was when we experienced a rather scary and murky creek crossing on the Reynolds River 4wd Road (see directions below).
Indeed, this firsthand taste of why the road was closed on our first trip definitely was one of those moments where we took a “leap of faith” with our 4wd rental vehicle, so to speak.
Fortunately, there were depth indicators on this creek crossing (which I think is Tolmer Creek) to help put some numbers to the crossing, especially since we couldn’t see the bottom of the water!
This crossing was on the order of about 90m long so a high clearance vehicle is definitely necessary.
Moreover, the 4wd (or at least 4-wheel lock capability) is necessary to keep the wheels moving in case a pair of them get stuck in mud or on a slippery rock.
Only once we got past the scary crossing did we continue driving the narrow 4wd road passing by the Blythe Homestead (which we didn’t do) and eventually reaching the Sandy Creek (Tjaynera) car park and campground.
From there, we then did a pretty straightforward 1.7km walk (3.4km return) on a combination of rocky terrain through monsoonal rainforest before following a sandy surface alongside the aptly-named Sandy Creek.
From the car park at the Sandy Creek Falls, we went on a pretty straightforward track that skirted a monsoonal rainforest supported by Sandy Creek while clinging to an escarpment ledge within a small canyon.
This scenery lasted for the better part of the first half of the hike, but then the scenery started to widen a bit as the surface got sandier alongside the banks of Sandy Creek.
The track passed through what appeared to be a burned area that might have been treated with prescribed burns during our June 2022 visit.
Shortly after the sandy stretch, the track passed through another well-vegetated area where we crossed a side creek (unbridged) and then continued along the northern banks of Sandy Creek for the final stretch to the falls.
In that final stretch of about 300m or so, the track eventually descended to the plunge pool fronting Tjaynera Falls.
Right at the end of the track, there were flat rocks to make it easier to wade into the water before committing to the swim.
This area was wild enough that there were some pretty sizable fish in the plunge pool, and one other visitor there even spotted a (monitor?) lizard.
Overall, this 3.4km return hike took us a little over an hour (closer to 75 minutes) though we also spent another 45 minutes just chilling out and enjoying the plunge pool before Tjaynera Falls.
Timing A Visit For Tjaynera Falls (Sandy Creek Falls)
As for witnessing Tjaynera Falls, we showed up in the late morning when the falls was still mostly in shadow with the harsh sun cutting across its top.
It didn’t make for the greatest lighting, but I’d imagine since this was a west-facing waterfall, then afternoon would be when the falls would be bathed in sunlight and the surrounding rocks and cliffs could glow more orange.
As for the seasonality of Tjaynera Falls, we already touched on the fact that Wet Season access (when the falls would have the most volume) would not be feasible due to the Reynolds River Road’s crossing of Tolmer Creek being too deep and unsafe.
However, if you wait too long into the Dry Season, then Sandy Creek may not have very good flow.
I believe it may go dry or at least trickle deep into the Dry Season (think August or later).
So to make the best of both worlds, you’ll want to pursue Tjaynera Falls shortly after the road is open for the season (which could be as early as late May though we managed to be successful in mid-June 2022).
Of course, under these circumstances, you’ll definitely want a high clearance vehicle that can clear at least 0.2m of water depth on Tolmer Creek (which would be about half-way up a 4wd wheel.
Authorities
Tjaynera Falls or Sandy Creek Falls resides in Litchfield National Park near Batchelor in the Northern Territory. It is administered by the Northern Territory Government. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
To access the car park for the trail to Tjaynera Falls or Sandy Creek Falls, we had to drive on the Reynolds River Road, which is closed during the Wet Season due to flooding and saltwater crocodiles.
The turnoff for the Reynolds River Road was about 59km west of Batchelor or about 3km west of the Tolmer Falls car park turnoff or a little over 1km west of the Greenant Creek turnoff.
Once on the Reynolds River Road, we then had to drive 7km on the 4wd track before driving the final 1.6km distance to the Sandy Creek Trailhead and Campsite.
It’s worth noting that the scary 90m crossing of Tolmer Creek occurs barely 750m from the start of the north side turnoff of the Reynolds River Road.
For geographical context, Batchelor was 97km (over an hour drive) south of Darwin, 145km (about 90 minutes drive) northwest of Pine Creek, and about 237km (2.5 hours drive) northwest of Katherine.
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Right to left sweep of the large plunge pool before the waterfall and then zoomed in panning along its drop
Sweep from the swimming hole entrance of the falls with the context and zoom-in of the falls
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