Day 209 – 26 February 2010: ‘Crystal Blue’ Thermal Springs

It rained all night and all our tents are soaking. We don’t bother with breakfast opting to get into the dry of the bus, although by now this is only a relative dryness, as we have traipsed in quite of a lot of wetness and mud.

Colonel Rabbi Steve drives us to Mataranka Thermal Pool, which is surrounded by Mataranka palm trees. The information boards advertise this as being crystal clear blue, but due to the rain that is not quite how we find it. However, there is a neighbouring bar where we can get a snack to make up for the lack of breakfast, although we have to put up with the bar’s pet wallaby begging for scraps.

Afterwards, we drive further along to visit the ‘historic’ Daily Waters pub. Growing up in the US, I remember thinking it was odd that antiques were defined as being over a hundred years old if they were European, but only had to be fifty years old if they were American. Australia is much the same, the ‘historic’ moniker stemming from the fact that it was originally built in 1930. I haven’t lived in a house that was newer than that for twenty years. Despite this, if this is the original construction then it is a wonder it is still standing, especially considering the propensity for flooding in the area, as it is a typically corrugated iron construction right out of the old Castlemaine XXXX beer ads. There is a even a flood marker at head height telling us that the water reached there in 19 something or other.

We have lunch at the pub and I order a Barramundi burger, Barramundi being the fish of choice in the NT. It’s no surprise then that it has a very meaty texture, like monk fish but with more flavour.

Our last stop of the day is at an abandoned aircraft hanger, which was the first key air link to the NT, and which was in use as an air base in WWII. There are scraps of rusting communications machinery and plane parts scattered around it, so it would be fun for a kid to come here and pretend to be an air traffic controller who has just made a plane crash, though it is not a stop on the tourist radar.

We camp at another road stop. It’s still raining.

The 'Crystal Blue' Mataranka Thermal Pool

and this is how we were supposed to find it....

 

is this a bread maker?