Blogs from Mataranka, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 2

After a great night catching up with Andi's cousin in Alice Springs we headed for Tennant Creek, stopping at the Devils Marbles for a quick game. After a night in Tennant Creek we make our way to Mataranka, of coarse via the Daly Waters Pub. Andi not keen to hang up her bra in the front bar as its new, so we settle for a beer instead. As soon as we hit Mataranka we head straight to the thermal springs for a swim. The spring is warm but its even warmer outside (32 C).... read more

Completed minor repairs whilst in Mt Isa,hadn't realized it was a lunar eclipse over the w/e so missed it, no mention at the camp site or the local shops, so that's why the camp sites were so busy. We had been to Mt Isa before so didn't feel the need to do any sight seeing, so we just stocked up and chilled out. Left on Sunday morning heading for Daly Waters and the famous pub, needing us to travel some distance and stay at 2 roadhouses fairly unattractive places but they serve a purpose.The journey was uneventful and monotonous at times, but we did see lots of birds of prey mainly feasting on road kill but many flying high and riding the thermals,also seen were a variety of other birds,kangaroos and emu's. Arrived Daly Waters pub ... read more

Geo: -14.925, 133.072Wednesday saw us pass over the Tropic of Capricorn line heading for Tennant Creek. In the middle of nowhere, we passed a mango and grape farm selling ice cream!! At Tennant Creek we had a look around the Lake Mary Anne Dam (beautiful spot) and checked out the Bill Allen lookout where you could see for miles. We decided to stay a night in the caravan park. We called into Daly Waters on our way to Mataranka and found the pub a charming place to spend some time. The weather is getting hotter the further north we go. We were glad to get to Mataranka on Thursday spending a few hours with our noodles just floating in the Bitter Springs thermal pool. The crystal clear water is about 34 degrees. The termite mounds are ... read more

10th November 2012, Enjoyed a well earned sleep in this morning since it was a lot cooler. After a leisurely breakfast, we met two fantastic ladies at the Daly Waters campsite. They too have been travelling around Australia and have been for the past 2 years. I thoroughly enjoyed swapping travel experiences with them. Departed Daly Waters and headed towards Mataranka, a town 420 km south east of Darwin. Stopped in Mataranka town centre for the famous Mataranka pies (They were Yum!!). Mataranka Homestead is built around the hot springs or thermal pools as they call it. We arrived at Mataranka Homestead and headed straight for the hot springs. There were hundreds of bats literally just hanging from the palm trees. The odour they expelled was definitely an "original" scent if you know what I mean. ... read more

Mataranka 24th July 2012 We left Kakadu at about 8am and headed for Katherine. We did a big grocery shop, had lunch and drove on to Mataranka. We had a swim in the hot springs and also saw the replica “We of the never never” homestead, made for the 1981 movie based on the book by Jeannie Gunn. We camped in Elsey National Park campgrounds, a bargain for us at $15, the family rate. There are solar showers and flushing toilets, quite a nice spot. Marion and Richard head back towards Perth tomorrow so Mum made damper on the campfire. Richard and Marion kindly gave Mum & Dad and Mike and I a bottle of port. The boys were very excited to see their first cane toad. Alex remembered a lot of the identifying ... read more