Bitter Springs & Mataranka NT

About Mataranka

There are two good reasons for exploring Mataranka: it is a place where you can swim in hot springs all year round and, for those old enough to remember, it is the location of the Australian classic novel We of the Never-Never. The book’s title is remarkably apt. This is Gulf Savannah country – country which was so perfectly described by the playwright Sumner Locke Elliott as “this lonely strip of barren and seemingly endless sandy waste of ant-hills and stunted trees – thick, hot red sand in the winter time and a sea of mud during the dreaded ‘Wet””.

The town, spread along the Stuart Highway, is nothing more than a stopover for those people driving up and down the highway. It comprises a roadhouse, police station, petrol station, cafe, restaurant, pub and general store (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

Bitter Springs Caravan Park

We moved on to Bitter Springs Campground, 3 km from Mataranka (maplink) and used this as our base to explore the area. Nice spot with a short walk to the hot water springs. The campground was pretty basic but we had shade plus power & water.

The Hot Springs at Bitter Springs

There are 2 hot water springs in the area, which are quite different to each other, Bitter Hot Springs and Mataranka Hot Springs (see next post). They are both part of Elsey National Park.

We enjoyed Bitter Springs more as it is really natural like swimming in a warm creek with small fish and turtles. Pretty neat just floating along with your “noodle” for support. So, you get in one end and float for a fair while; then come to a spot where you have to get out, walk back to the start and begin again.

Bitter Hot Springs
Bitter Hot Springs
Swimming with all sorts of critters Merrisa loved her noodle
Baby saratoga fish
Water is perfectly clear
Grassy bottom
The return path

Mataranka Hot Springs

We decided to also try out the Mataranka Hot Springs, which can be found at the Mataranka Homestead Campground (maplink). Like the Bitter Springs swim, it’s free to enter. This hot spring is a bit more “constructed” where they have built walls to create more of a long pool for the hot spring water to flow through. Not as nice as Bitter Springs but there are no hidden tree stumps under the water or swimming through whatever may be in the water.

A young boy (about 8) comes along and as he steps into the water he says to his little sister “look out for the fresh water crocodile”. So I say to him; “there are 2 down the far end”. He absolutely packed himself, eyes popping out of his head, hands over mouth etc. Then I told him I was kidding and you could see the fear melt away. It was pretty funny; his mum and dad both cracked up laughing.

You MUST have a noodle
Very clear water
Beautiful location
Only thing under the water were a few rocks and a sand bottom
Mataranka Hot Springs selfie
Plenty of shade
More of a pool than a spring
Swim's over

Mataranka Homestead to see the “Whip Guy”

We headed back to the Mataranka Homestead (maplink) for dinner and a show. There is a young local Mataranka bloke by the name of Nathan Griggs who is currently the holder of 3 Guinness Book of Records titles for using a whip.

Fastest one handed crack of a single whip
Fastest both handed crack of 2 whips
Longest whip in the world to be cracked at just over 100 metres long.

It was a fantastic night seeing something totally different. This guy is brilliant. After the show he sells whips to the crowd which he has made. The young boy behind us at our campground bought one and had mastered it within a day. His mum had a go and nearly cut her ear off (quite funny).

Mataranka Police Station – 50 year anniversary

Something very unexpected. We had a visit at our campsite from the local constabulary and had a bit of “what have we done” but they were handing out invitations to the local Police Station’s 50th Anniversary.

So we decided to go along for a look-see, free coffee and cake etc. It was quite interesting with lots of old photos and equipment (like a museum) but the best part of looking through the Arrest Register books and hearing some of the locals saying “Hey fella look here, it’s Uncle Jimmy. He got arrested 5 times in one week. What a naughty black fella”

We also got some free entertainment from a small bird who fell in love with our car’s side mirror; check out the video below.