Thursday 12 July 2012

We of the Never Never - Mataranka

Today we woke after a wonderful nights sleep in our Cabin No 1 at the end of park away from everyone, with the most comfortable beds and all the silence we slept like babies. 


This is where the story We of the Never Never was written featuring the Elsey Station in 1890.

We drove to look at the Botanic Walk a 1.5 return loop in Elsey National Park, which turned out to be a bat watching walk, the Little Red Flying Fox live in trees on this walk in the 10,000's. The branches of the palms droop down and it is not until they start to fly that you realise how many bats are on each frond and hence how weighted down they are.







We then decided to walk to the Mataranka Falls a 8.5km return walk in 34o. It was a hard walk along a river with very sandy ground which really gave the legs a work out. We are just loving the heat, however it proved to make the walk a little more challenging. Breakfast in swimmers is so much nicer than in jackets as well as parka and scarves.

These amazing flowers were growing on trees that almost looked dead with no leaves etc.







After the walk we needed a swim so we headed to the Mataranka Thermal Pool to refresh ourselves. A natural spring that was concreted for the troops in WWII so it has a more man made feel to them than the Bitter Springs of yesterday.




We then returned to Bitter Springs for a float along our natural spring river, it really is the nicest place I have ever been for a swim and with the water at 34o it is just so relaxing. Hopefully the two swims will ease the muscles before tomorrow.

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