Last stop in the NT....Mataranka

How long can you spend in a thermal pool?  If its anything like Bitter Springs in Mataranka,then as long as you can stand feeling shrivelled up like a prune!  We couldn't get enough of Bitter Springs.  We went back every day we were there, even packing up camp early on our last day so we could have one last swim before moving on.

We liked how natural The Bitter Springs Thermal Pool was.  They call it a pool but its more like a creek which stretches about 120m long and varies from 1m to around 4m wide in different sections.  Its crystal clear waters are fringed by tall reeds, water Lilly's and tropical pandanus palms, home to a variety of beautiful birds.

But its what we found under the water that surprised us all.  Bitter Springs is also home to huge schools of tiny fish of various sizes. Take your goggles or better still snorkel gear so you can jump in at one end and float down with the current viewing all the marine life along the way.  We quite literally were swimming through these schools of fish that the kids could scoop up in their hands.  Hannah, who spends most of her time underwater, loved swimming in under the beds of waterlilies and was rewarded by spotting a freshwater turtle! 

The water isnt too hot, its just like a luke warm bath. There are stairs at the entry point, and a couple of exits along the way, or you can just go with the flow all the way to the end, hop out and walk back along the path through the paperbark forest to the start.

We loved our stay at the Territory Manor caravan park in the tiny township of Mataranka. The location was great as it was only a 5 minute drive down the road to get to Bitter Springs. We met up with our friends again and had a great dinner at the campsites restaurant.  The kids were kept busy cane toad busting.  It was an organised event with the caravan park owners supplying rubber gloves, collection bags, and a certificate at the end.  We hardly saw our kids two nights in a row.  They called themselves the "Cane Toad Exterminators" and got right into it.  

  The girls chose to scoop them up with a net, while Ben on the other hand was happy to grab them by the back legs!

The first night they caught a total of 63 then smashed their own record bringing in a staggering 325 the next night!

Mataranka is close to the Roper River which is in the Elsey National Park.  We took the fishing lines and headed down to the river.  It ended up being a fun morning catching lots of fish even though they were a bit small to take home.

          A stubborn donkey on the way into the national park.

           Ben and Tilly releasing one of the fish                      Ben looking his relaxed self

The Territory Manor Campsite has its own billabong stocked with Barrumundi.  They put on a bit of a show each morning and afternoon, with an informative talk about the Barrumundi, and then a chance to feed them at the end of a line.  All the kids loved getting the Barra' to come to the surface and see their lightening fast strike, and see if they could get them to make their trademark "Boof" sound.

Mataranka is more well known for the Mataranka springs (Rainbow Springs)  I remember going there  on my year 10 school trip, and I'm sure it looked different then.  Now it has a lot of concrete around it taking away the natural beauty.  A colony of bats took up residence a number of years ago too and destroyed some of the tropical bushland surrounding it.  Its quite small, nice and warm and the water is a beautiful turquoise colour.  Its nice for a look and a quick dip but we much preferred Bitter Springs.

Next we are teaming up with our friends the Keigs to cross into Queensland along the Savannah Way.