More On Mataranka

What a lovely spot!  What fellow travellers have mentioned about Mataranka has been true and we certainly made the most of our time there.

The biggest attraction for most people is the Mataranka Thermal Pool.  The water comes from a nearby spring at a rate of 30.5 million litres a day and flow into the nearby Waterhouse River.  Over the years, the owners have constructed crocodile proof gates, ladders, partial walls and a 'swim-out' in the pool area.  A lot of people just come in as day visitors, have a quick dip and then off again.  We went for a swim (just a short stroll from where we were parked) three of the four evenings (a lot quieter) that we were there - the water was warm and very relaxing.  It was great not to have to share it with too many other people.

Mataranka Pool

Bottom End of Mataranka Pool

Wednesday 17 August - After yesterday's big cruise on the Roper River we decided to give Li'l Pussy a rest and do some local touristy stuff.  First off, we visited the other Thermal Pool in the area - Bitter Springs.  Just very different from Mataranka as you can get into the water in one section and float down the Little Roper River for about 500metres.  And if you are up to it, you wander back up the path and float down again.  Whilst we were in Katherine, we decided to buy some noodles (flotation devices) just for this purpose.

Part of Bitter Spring Waterway

The Deckie Floating Down The River

After our swim, we checked out the local Art Gallery in town (far too expensive and nothing that I liked), a couple of other places and then headed back to camp.  For our afternoon exercise, we got the pushies out and cycled back down to Stevie's Hole for some more swimming.  Took the floaties with us and rode the rapids down the river a few times.  We certainly slept well that night!!!

The Captain Riding The Rapids

Thursday 18 August - After a slow start to the day (exhausted from the day before), we put Li'l Pussy back into the river but this time at "4 Mile".  Unfortunately, we couldn't go very far upstream or downstream as we kept coming across 'tree jams' where the trees had either died and fallen in or were just growing across the surface of the water.  The really exciting part of the trip was when we pulled into a nice part of the river for lunch and discovered some crocodile tracks right next to the boat.  Well, we figured that if we thought it was an easy part of the river to use, so did the crocodile.  Fortunately, the crocodiles are freshies and not saltwater ones.

Crocodile Tracks Next To Li'l Pussy

Today (Friday), we were back on the road again and headed south.  Stopped off at the "famous" Daly Waters Pub for lunch and then headed for a little place on the Stuart Highway called Elliott for our overnight stopover.  Surprisingly, this little place has some of the best Telstra coverage we have had for a while as well as really good television coverage.  This goes down very well with The Captain as he can watch the footy tonight!

Daly Waters Pub

Another Nice Lunch Spot

Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be heading for Tennant Creek to see what's happening down there and then onto Alice Springs.