Mataranka

Mataranka is in a remote part of the Northern Territory known as The Never Never (after the book “We of the Never Never” by Jeanne Gunn.) It's most famous however, for its hot springs.

There are two hot springs open for swimming in the area -  Mataranka Thermal pool which is a swimming pool, with stone sides and a white sandy bottom. The other is Bitter Springs: a natural flowing creek with submerged logs,  vegetation along the sides,  fish and turtles,  and turquoise blue water. Both are 34 degrees celsius.

We elected to stay at the Bitter Springs caravan park and were extremely impressed with the natural beauty.  Our site was tucked into the rainforest,  so very private but just a short walk to amenities. We had wallabies hopping through our camp morning and evening,  an almost unbelievable amount of bird life,  and were visited every night by fruit bats,  who would squabble noisily for the best position in the tree.

We alternated each day between visiting Bitter Springs (parent's favourite) and Mataranka thermal pool (kid's choice).  A couple of days we even did both on the same day!

Swimming at Bitter Springs involves hopping into the spring at the top area,  preferably with a flotation device (we had pool noodles) and floating downstream in the current,  hopping out at the exit point,  walking back up the path to the beginning and going down again.

Initially there was some anxiety about avoiding logs and wondering exactly what was below the surface but relaxing in the warm water worked it's charm,  and soon we were all floating like pros.

Luka was keen to try out his snorkelling gear and was thrilled to discover the beauty and magic below the surface.  He was lucky enough to see quite a few large turtles.

The thermal pool at Mataranka was originally built by visiting soldiers in World War 2 and has a far more man-made feel.  The children definitely preferred it,  as they could both see,  and stand on the bottom.

Their swimming improved immensely in the five days we stayed

It was a wonderful relaxing time where the kids were bike riding and swimming,  and we all enjoyed the differences between the desert we had recently left and the tropical rainforest. The high temperature and humidity made the swimming even more welcome,  with temperatures averaging 38 degrees celsius during the day and 26 degrees over night.