Same time , another day , awake with the birds after another great nights sleep - much warmer last night - pulled the quilt up about 3am - a lot warmer than down south !!!!
Washing hung out , we headed to Mataranka Homestead to check out the thermal pool , and go for a walk down the river before it heated up too much . There has been a wind blowing all day , so kept the temperature down .
A recreation of Elsey Homestead was relocated here after the film We of the Never Never was finished filming .
The thermal pool , is just that , a pool area that has been backed up by a little waterfall / wall , and you just relax in the warmth - 32 degrees !! , and there were plenty of people who had been in , and were still in enjoying the warmth .
The walk took us through many palm trees as we got closer to the creek , and you could see this area also floods , with lots of debris suspended high up in the branches of other trees . We continued on to the lookout at the end of the track and found a freshwater crocodile laying in a shallow area just to the left - it was a good size as well - 3m long - good size for a freshie .
Wandering down the track , 1.2 klms down to another waterhole , you cant help but notice the palm fringed Waterhouse Creek . There is the largest population of Livingstonia Palms here . The water is an emerald green colour , and clear - the only detraction is the amount of green algae that grows in it - due more to the temperature of the water .
We looked at the waterhole and headed back to the ute , so we could go further down into the national park - there were several other areas open for day use - fishing , picnicking and a campground - we headed to the campground first .
We parked near the boat ramp entrance and wandered down to the Roper River , where two rangers were getting the croc trap ready to put in place - there is a saltwater croc that needs to be relocated - that puts a big stopper on going swimming or going for a paddle in the kayak .
Watercourse Creek joins the Little Roper River , to create the Roper River . Driving down to the next day use area , I walked down to where there is a set of rapids / a large rock shelf that separates the sections of the river . On the opposite side was some dark red rock - sandstone that is the same type that is found in Kakadu & Katherine and other areas of NT . On this side was a lot of limestone .
Water comes to the surface around Mataranka , as it is a low point , in the form of springs - water is heated to the same temperature as the ground , not by being heated by a thermal source below the ground .
Back in the next day use area , we took lunch down to the river and sat & enjoyed lunch in the flooding area - it looked like it was drought stricken , but beside the emerald green waters and the lush forest on the other side .
Off into town again to check out some internet access - it stopped working , so they got rid of it ??
Anyway , we bought a couple of things and headed out to Bitter Springs - another natural spring fed section of the Little Roper River - just past where we are staying at Territory Manor Caravan Park , where you can float around in the creek at 32 degrees !!!
It was great, you jump in one end and float about 100m down the river , before getting out , walking back up the track and do it all again . You can hire pool noodles to float down with , but we have our life jackets for the kayak , so we used them to great effect - people even commented - “ why didn’t we think of that ? “
We repeated the float , walk about 3 times , before being very pruned & wrinkled and getting out - the wind chill was a bit of a worry , but okay once we got back to the towels .
Back to the RV for a beer & salsa after a good day .
Todays map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kpxsnafdb7h0&usp=sharing
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