Just a quick 110km stint down the Highway from Katherine had us at the Bitter Springs in Elsey National Park by mid morning - and what a sensational little spot this is. We'd previously been to the main Mataranka Thermal Pool many years ago - which was lovely then (and still is) - but Bitter Springs just felt a bit more "natural".
At 13,800 hectares, the Elsey National Park was made famous by Jeanie Gunn's popular novel "We of the Never Never", and the area around the park (and around Mataranka) was a focal point for early European settlement in the Northern Territory. Bushwalking, fishing - and obviously swimming - are the main activities in the park, and there are a number of campsites including at Mataranka Homestead, or further downstream at the Jalmurark Campground.
The crystal clear waters that bubble to the surface at 34 degrees Celsius from the springs and waterholes throughout the park produce some 30.5 million litres per day, forming part of the headwaters of the mighty Roper River.
There is a fairly strong current in the Bitter Springs pool itself, and it was just beautiful floating down through the reeds with the waterway fringed with paperbarks and pandanus. We stayed around the pools for a good couple of hours and enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading further down the road toward Daly Waters.
Daly Waters - Territory Day
It is fair to say that Territory Day (July 1) had been a highly anticipated event for our family. Representing the only day of the year anywhere in Australia that firecrackers can still be legally purchased and lit, it held a place as somewhat of a Mecca for a 12 year old boy (not to mention his father). So, with the omni-present risk of fire, we decided it best not to sleep under canvas, and instead opted for a cabin at the famous Daly Waters Pub, just another 170km down the road from Bitter Springs.
Daly Waters itself is a cracker of a pub - and whilst it has perhaps become a little bit commercialised in the 27 years since I had been here last, it still holds plenty of charm. Hundreds of bras hang from the ceiling - left by passing tourists (and perhaps a few locals) in a tradition that started in the 80's and has kept up until the present day, with plenty of other eclectic souvenirs adorning the walls. Built in 1930, it feels like the beautiful bougainvillea that covers the verandah has been here since inception - not a bad spot for a feed and a beer - while a stage and beer garden out the back appear to be a relatively new addition.
But make no mistake - with the grey nomads plying the Stuart Highway between the Red Centre and Top End in the winter months, this is one hell of a busy place....and the publican has capitalised deluxe. The caravan park was chockers, the well priced meals were organised in a very efficient shift like system, and with a band playing classics from the 50's and 60's in the beer garden the French backpacker barmaids were prizing the moth-eaten pineapples out of some of the least used wallets on the Stuart Highway....(although I suspect a few glasses of Moselle were still being consumed back in their Jaycos).
We had a great meal - and just the right volume of beer to make Territory Day hilarious. So, after checking with the relevant authorities (a couple of bearded blokes drinking Black Rats in the Daly Waters Rural Fire Brigade Truck) who said "yeah mate - it's Territory Day - anything goes" - we set a (very basic) plan in motion. $160 of fireworks, a lighter....and enough open space to avoid a bushfire.
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