Mataranka

A lot of sheep and cattle stations in the outback have access to water via rivers, creeks and springs. A lot of special places probably never get seen by more than a hand full of owners, station hands or invited guests. which makes Mataranka Homestead pretty special. Part of Elsey Station founded in 1879, the thermal springs were first open to travellers way back in 1946. Today, the original homestead has been incorporated into a pavilion style bar and eatery. Accommodation options for campers, vanners and RV’s are now also available. We lobbed in just after lunch and found ourselves a shady spot at the edge of what was a runway. We were determined to cook outdoors that night as a pork roast had overstayed it’s welcome in our freezer. We carried half a 44 about 100 metres to our van site and I set to preparing the fire while our resident Master Chef got the camp oven packed with goodies. We sat outside in our deck chairs, sweating like pigs, but we were going to enjoy this no matter what.

The website recommended evening swims in the thermal springs, which were only a couple hundred metres away. So armed with a torch we headed off into the gloom Tamika was all excited till we got to the sign about crocodiles. Her mood turned as dark as the night sky. Now I knew that the springs were fenced off from the river and well protected, but in that instant decided to keep that to myself. The pace slowed considerably and then stopped. “C’mon, I’m sure you’ll be perfectly safe. ” I said with just a hint of uncertainty. Four more steps then…..”Nup, not doin’ it”. And with a pirouette worthy of a ballerina, she was off…. so fast, I was dragged along in the vortex behind her. It wasn’t till the lights of the bar hit us that the paced slowed to an breathless stroll. She squeezed my hand. “I’ll be fine in the daytime” she said with a nervous glance over her shoulder.

And it was worth it. The springs are entirely natural but have been bordered like an in-ground swimming pool. The river is not in view, so it was quickly ‘out of sight, out of mind’ for Tamika. The tropical surrounds added to the experience, although it was clear that the just ended wet season had left a lot of clearing up to do. We stayed for an hour and left Mataranka refreshed.

Katherine was our next destination. It had been a nervous couple of days. We had a tyre to replace and this was the first town in the last 4 days where you could even buy one. Once we saw that new tyre go on, we felt we were once again on a level playing field with the travel gods. Still needed to kill a couple of days before our house sit at Humpty Doo, so we bumped Litchfield Park up the NT To Do list as it was on the way, more or less. An opportunity to explore one of the great tourist attractions the NT has on offer. We were not disappointed.