Mataranka

It's hard to believe a week has passed since I last updated!  As predicted we spent the next few days enjoying the thermal pool.  We also met some very nice people and had some memorable nights with them, and at the pub enjoying the entertainment.

We went to the sunday market where I got a cheapie wristwatch, and we bought some dried mango to munch on.  Yummm.

A local park had a barramundi feeding that we went to, after which we had the most delicious wild local barramundi lunch in their outdoor cafe.  Sounds a bit wrong, huh? But oh so delicious, and far better than the farmed barrmundi we usually see in Victoria.  Below is one of the barramundi that we saw getting fed.

The Roper River was a short drive from our campsite so we went to have a look.  As it's a home for freshwater crocodiles and the occasional saltie, our visit was brief.  Supposedly excellent fishing, but we never really got around to it
.

We also had a look around the town, though there really wasn't much of it.  A post office, a small (expensive) supermarket, petrol station, and a couple of other buildings.  They did have one attraction that they boasted about though, the world's largest man-made termite mound.  I kid you not.  Not only that, it's a "talking" termite mound!  Although we passed it several times going to the shops I can't really tell you what a termite mound who talks would sound like as we decided it wasn't on our "must do" list.

Besides, who needs a man-made termite mound when the place is absolutely covered in natural ones?  This photo was taken in Mataranka, but we saw them on the sides of the road in the thousands all the way from Tennant Creek to Mataranka and beyond.  After this pic was taken we saw some hideously huge ones, but I thought I'd spare you the image.

One interesting thing, they are called "magnetic" termite mounds because the thin pointed side always faces North/South to minimize the amount of heat on them during the day.  Nature's compass - blech.

As we had coffee on our last Mataranka morning, we had a visit from this friendly wallaby. 

Mataranka Oasis

The best part of today was our visit to one of Mataranka's natural thermal pools. And, that may just be the best part of tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that too!  This pool is in the national park and just a five minute stroll from our campsite.

The thermal pool is at a constant temperature of  34 degrees (94 Farenheit).  Amazingly,  30.5 million liters of warm crystal clear spring water flow through the pool daily.

The water is so clear that it's easy to forget that you're in an all-natural pool rather than a swimming pool.  Except of course when you step on a rock or a log as I have in the photo below. :)

We had a good long soak, and felt so good that we're thinking of extending our stay here for a couple of days. Why spend one day soaking in a thermal pool when you can spend three?

We returned to our camper for a drink or two and along came this fellow looking for some dinner. He happily ate out of Mike's hand.

We are off to have ours.

Pass The Sunscreen! ... And The Birdseed?

We've finally made it above the storm front, and now find ourselves in sunny Mataranka where it's a balmy 31 degrees (approx 88 Fahrenheit) during the day and cool overnight.  Needless to say, it's a welcome shock to the system.

We're staying at a homestead which backs onto the national park and is a short walk from one of the beautiful (we're told) natural hot springs where millions of liters of crystal clear 34 degree (94 Fahrenheit) water flow through daily.  I can't wait to check it out and have a nice long soak.  There are are a few of these hot springs around, as well as the river and barramundi just waiting to be caught, plus whatever the town has to offer, so I imagine we'll have plenty to keep us entertained for a few days.

The park itself seems nice enough so far.  It's bush style camping with shaded (and powered) sites, barbecues, a kiosk with shop and canoe hire, and a bar with food and nightly entertainment.  We only arrived yesterday afternoon, so after setting up we didn't have time to see much other than about half a dozen peacocks wandering through our site.  Judging by the state of the amenities block, I don't think I'd be keen on staying in one of their cabins, but if you've got your own accommodation it so far seems like a really nice spot.

Speaking of peacocks, as I was writing this a visitor turned up at the camper door.  I didn't have my camera ready but did the best I could with my phone.  More later.