Katherine was a nice place to be for a couple of days , to dodge some of the heat beside and in the pool , but it was time to move on again .
The roads have gotten a bit quieter , not so many vans on the road , most have made their way back home . The parks have also emptied out , and there is plenty of room now . We are staying at Territory Manor CP and there are only 6 or 7 vans/tents/camper trailers , we had our choice of sites - which is usually more tedious because you have too many to choose from !! Anyway , we picked one and set up , then had lunch before heading to the pool for the afternoon .
16/9/16
Today we decided to head down to Bitter Springs - ( 3klms away ) to rekindle our memories from last year . It's part of the Roper River and set amongst tall palm trees and pandanus , the water is very clear and coming from springs , it's warm , not overly hot , but quite relaxing . There are several photos from under the water today that will show how clear & clean it is !!
This one's half in and half out of the water .
This one shows some grass - no it's aquatic grass on the bottom of the river !!
You float down the river for about 150m and get out at a set of steps , cross this bridge and walk back to the start and do it all again !!
Yes , here you go , it is us - just in case you forgot , our kayaking pfd's come in really handy to float down the spring !!
After 3 trips down the spring , we had pruned enough , so headed back to the ute . Before that we were just drying out when we heard a noise , it kept getting louder and louder , then it arrived - it was a shower of rain and made plenty of noise as it worked it's way through the palm fronds and pandanus leaves/spikes on it's way towards us - you could hear it before actually seeing it .
Back to the ute and head off to the park again , stopping at a causeway just near the springs - Little Roper River - it's down on water , but still made for a nice photo .
Lunch was next on the agenda , before we sat down outside in the shade . It didn't take too long before we started to heat up again , so it was off to Mataranka to check out the hot springs there - we can compare the springs . Will it be Bitter Springs or Mataranka that will come out on top ????
Well here are some photos from the constructed pools that the spring flows into before going into the Waterhouse River . The water seems to be flowing in quickly , and also out over a gate that can be removed when they need to empty the pool .
This one is half in and out of the water , for a different view !!
The area around the pools is also surrounded by palms & pandanus , and there are chequer plate aluminium benches attached to the walls below the waterline so you can sit and enjoy .
Patterns caused by the ripples of the water looked good on the pool's natural floor .The water again crystal clear .
Well here it is - the verdict - you can float down Mataranka's pool from the deep pool to the shallow pool , there's plenty of seating , 3 sets of steps to enter and exit the water , and about 30 to 40m long . People probably feel a little more comfortable here , as they can see the bottom .
Bitter Springs is a natural setting and does have the odd branch & tree stump , there's also the aquatic moss & weed , flowering water lillies , and does have vegetation growing in the spring . You can float for 150m before getting out at the last steps . There are 4 sets of steps - 2 to get in and also 2 to exit from - one is half way down the spring , so those that feel the need can get out there and walk further to get back .
Both springs are crystal clear and are similar temperatures - we enjoyed both !! But we do enjoy floating down the spring with the current carrying us along - it seems to be more relaxing than just sitting around on the edge of the pool . You'll just have to come and check for yourselves - we highly recommend it !!!!!
We have had some bird life around as well , not sure what the 1st one is , the 2nd is a northern lorikeet and the 3rd & 4th Rainbow Bee Eaters .
And with that bombshell , we headed back for cheese , bickies and a beer , day done !!
A map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uJsidqxgG3sgnqp0Klk6gQyaBpk&usp=sharing
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