Day 55 – Bitter Springs/Mataranka (Sun June 17^th)

This morning we walked the 500 meters to Bitter Springs, which is a lovely 34 degree tropical spring fed thermal pool. We all hopped in and Ahhh – it was heaven!

We took our noodles that we hired from the caravan park and used them to float along with the current down to the other end of the stream.  It’s so warm, quiet and relaxing floating down amongst the palms looking up at the sky. The water is a deep blue, and is crystal clear, it’s amazing!

The ride downstream is about 100 meters, at the end is a ladder or steps to get out. It’s very chilly once out of the water, as it’s been so warm, so it’s a quick walk back through the bush, to jump in and do it all again.  Slipping back into the water it feels hotter than it did the first time.

There wasn’t a lot of people here which made the whole experience even better. We eventually dragged ourselves out of the pools, and looking like very relaxed prunes we walked back to camp for lunch.

After lunch we drove out to Mataranka Homestead for a look, which is where the well known Mataranka Thermal Pools are. Also here on display is the replica of the original Elsey Homestead that was used in the 1982 film ‘We of the Never Never’.  They play the film in the bar each day around lunch time for people to enjoy whilst eating lunch or having a drink.

The thermal pool is a short walk from the resort along a board walk through the paperbark and palm forest.  The pool has been concreted, and has steps and rails for easy access. It’s nice, but for us, we prefer the more natural setting of Bitter Springs. We opted not to go for a swim as there were way too many people for our liking.

We followed the board walk around to the beautiful Rainbow Spring, which is what feeds the main thermal pool and later the Roper River at an alarming rate of 30.5 millionL/day!  No swimming is allowed in this little pool, even though it looks so inviting.

Rainbow Spring

Heading back towards Mataranka we turned left and drove out to 12 Mile Yards for a look at the Jalmurark Campground which is situated along the Roper River. Bitter Springs, Mataranka Thermal Pools and 12 Mile Yards are all part of The Elsey National Park. Camping at Jalmurark looks good, with solar-hot showers, fire pits and a boat ramp to access the Roper River. Rates for a family are $15/night.

There are swimming pontoons, which are opened once the area has been surveyed for crocodiles under the NT Crocodile Management Scheme.  There are quite a few different bush walks from here as well, one goes to a waterfall, which sounds nice.

Driving back through Mataranka we stopped to get a picture in front of the huge Termite Mound, which we thought was real!  It wasn’t until a few days later when I read about it in a tourist magazine, that I found out it wasn’t real.