Week 5: (Part 3) Mataranka
Yesterday we left Butterfly Spring in Limmen National Park and made our way off the dirt roads back on to the black top near Mataranka. We were happy to make it back to sealed roads after over 1200kms on the dirt.
We finally made Mataranka where we planned to have a couple of days rest in the thermal springs and then continue north to Katherine. While we were in Mataranka we spent a lot of time in the Mataranka Thermal Pool which was only 100m walk from our caravan. It has crystal clear water which comes out of the ground at 34 degrees and at the rate of 30.5 million litres per day! It is an amazing place to swim and relax and was surprisingly not too busy.
We also headed up to Bitter Springs which is a more natural thermal spring as it doesn’t have the formed sides in the pool. Bitter Springs is only around a 10 minute drive from Mataranka Thermal Pool. It is not just a pool but a section of the creek that you can swim in. You start at the top end and slowly meander your way down to the other end. The current slowly carries you down. It was much more busy at Bitter Springs and we would highly recommend taking your pool noodle or tube to float in.
