Day 19: Daly Waters Pub to Mataranka Homestead Resort




Before departure this morning, we had a few 4 legged visitors, a couple of donkeys also joined them. They were much more interested in inspecting the outdoor kitchens of the pop top vans.


 It is a very short drive today, only 173 km, and not a lot to see along the way. There were some very rough patches on the road where flood damage has not yet been repaired. Speed reductions down to 40 km/hr were needed to negotiate them.



This area is famous for its thermal springs, located in Elsey National Park. There were two options of campgrounds close to the thermal springs, Mataranka Homestead Resort which is a short walk from the Mataranka Thermal Pool, and Bitter Springs, North of town. We chose the former, as from reports it was in better shape after the severe flooding earlier this year.

It is a big park with a large pub, restaurant/beer garden, and many caravan and camping sites. You cant book, so we just turned up at reception, paid for 2 days and were given a rough map and the opportunity to occupy any available site.


Mararanka homestead Resort 


Choosing a site was not quite as easily as expected, as the map was rough, and made the mistake of following the van in front of us, who was on the same mission. Sadly, he opted for the off road route, obviously unaware there were made roads.


We eventually found a good spot and set up

A few of our basic provisions are getting low, so we then drove into Mataranka town, about 5 km away to ghet some bread etc. We will do a big shop when we get to Katherine in a few days. There is not a lot happening in Mataranka, the BP roadhouse turned out to have a small convenience store.

We tried a locally made curry pie for lunch, the bakery was also part of the BP Roadhouse.

Back at our van, we decided to stretch our legs and go for a walk, first down to the Thermal Pool.


An elevated pathway takes you to the pool, the signposts request you do not stray from the pathway unless you would like an encounter with some freshwater crocodiles.


The thermal pool looks very inviting, we will be back later for a dip.

The source for the pool is the Rainbow Spring, where you are not allowed to swim, but a platform above it allows you to see the crystal clear water feeding the pool.


Rainbow Spring

A further walk to Stevies Hole, another swimming spot, starts here and supposedly 1.2 km. It is 30 C, but we can handle a 2.4 km round trip, so off we go. I now believe that NT distance signs in tourist areas are actually old mileage signs, and simply changed miles to km. It was a very long 2.4 km.

We reached there only to find a sign saying the area was closed for swimming.



The Roper River was running quite fast at this point


Once back at the van, we sat in air conditioned comfort for an hour or so, before going back down to the thermal pool for a soaking to see how good the warm, mineralised water is for old aching joints. In any case it was very pleasant and we will have to give it another go tomorrow before we can make a judgement.



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