It’s been a while since I’ve had enough signal to post but here goes.
After Daly Waters I headed on to Mataranka. When my friend, Kirsty, and I travelled through there about 7 years ago, it was a cute and thriving little town. We’d stopped at a very quirky little cafe which I remembered with fondness. So, I was really looking forward to my coffee and cake on the way there.
Sadly, Mataranka has gone the way of a lot of country towns and is obviously struggling. All the little shops, and the cute cafe, have shut. There’s a new service station in town, the old service station and the pub. Such a shame!
However, I drove out to the Bitter Springs camp ground which is a wonderful camp, plenty of trees and scrub, right on an offshoot of the Roper River and 10 minutes walk to the thermal springs.
The swim was great, however, swimming in a warm bath when the outside temperature is 32° is not really refreshing.
A lot of people go there with pool noodles and float to the end of the stream then walk back to the top and float on down again.
I noticed a few people with goggles and snorkels and wondered what the heck they’d be looking at when the water is so crystal clear that you can see without that. However, under the reeds at the sides, apparently, are lots of tortoises. I’ll be bringing my goggles next time I’m here.
This sign made me chuckle. I only hope the crocs can read it too and stick to their designated areas!
And who should be camped two sites up from me? You guessed it, my mate Al.