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COVID-19: Dry Season Safety Guide to Visit Litchfield National Park

Photo by @roving_australia

 

 Even after relaxing the social gap due to the COVID-19, visitors are expected to come and enjoy Litchfield National Park and its surroundings this season.

  Enjoying the outdoors (safely) is possible!

What’s the best way to enjoy a beautiful dry season trip while minimizing your risk of getting sick on your visit to Litchfield National Park?

Sunshine, warmer temperatures, and the gradual reopening of trails, and restaurants are luring many of us outside to Litchfield after weeks of stay-at-home orders aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19.

It could be easy enough to convince ourselves that nice weather means we don’t need to be concerned with catching a respiratory illness, but when it comes to the coronavirus, that’s not the case. The reality is that there are health and hygiene measures that we must take when visiting Litchfield.

Even on a beautiful summer day, everyone should continue to take all the precautions recommended by the World Health Organization and local authorities. In this article, we summarise the most important measures.

Face Masks, Sunscreen, and Vitamin D

At the risk of sounding like a broken record wearing a hat is a must when making your dry season getaway this 2020.

Do I Need to Wear a Mask or Practice Social Distancing?

Regulations around face coverings may vary from place to place. Before going outside to any location, check and see if the park is open, and if they have new rules around face coverings.

Try to visit the park during off-peak hours so you’ll encounter fewer people, and practice social distancing even when you’re outside, that’s easier when it’s less crowded.

Is Sunscreen on My Face Necessary if I’m Wearing a Face Mask?

You should still apply sunscreen to the area underneath a mask to avoid getting a sunburn, according to Joel Gelfand, MD, a dermatologist, and professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

“This is because masks may shift on the skin, and it can be difficult to make sure you have covered areas of your face that are not covered by the mask as it shifts during normal wear” he says.

We recommend that you bring your personal water resource to stay hydrated, healthy snacks for the road, and a natural source of sugar to maintain energy!

Maintaining distance from other groups of travellers, sanitizing your hands when touching objects of public use, and not touching your face frequently are also tasks that we must keep in mind when carrying out our walks.

Outdoor activities permissible in Litchfield

Litchfield tourist

With no cases of coronavirus recorded for more than three weeks, Territorians can now fish, camp, and play sports without contact. There are a variety of parks and reserves that you can visit in Litchfield National Park.

Access to the park from Scenic Flights is closed. However, you can access from Batchelor and Cox Peninsula. You can also enjoy swimming at Buley Rockhole, or visit and camp at Florence Falls.

Other outdoor activities permissible in the NT are: bootcamps, non-contact sports, pools or water parks, camping, boating, sailing, fishing, and outdoor gatherings. Also sports including golf and tennis where distancing can be maintained.

Please note

  • – Australia’s borders are closed. Only Australian citizens, residents and immediate family members can travel to Australia.
  • – You should check this page when you plan your trip to the Darwin region and before you leave for any national park or reserve.

 

Face masks, lots of water, healthy food, and hand sanitizer seem to be part of our new lifestyle. Don’t forget them on your next trip to Litchy?

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