Most people who write a travel blog do so regularly, keeping an accurate record of their travels. Which is what I intended to do. but it didn’t happen that way, so now I’m playing catch-up.
Maybe this section should be called “Hurried Catch-up Number One’
Here’s a lightning fast photo record of some of my travels.
Mataranka
Mataranka is an oasis in the middle of nowhere. These thermal springs are crystal clear and offer a welcome break after long hours on the road. I stayed here for several days with Bev and Leone, who are also travelling from Canberra, and Sue, a Roller from Melbourne who I’d previously met at a Kangaroo Valley get together. (We picked Sue up at a toilet block along the way – we’re beginning to meet Rollers at all sorts of places. All heading to the camp at Exmouth by different routes and travelling at different paces. I’ve jumped in and out of Leone and Bev’s tag-a-long several times now.)
Mataranka’s Rainbow Spring feeds the thermal pool. 30.5 million litres of water per day flows through the pool and into the Roper River. The water comes from huge natural reservoirs 30 to 100 metres under the ground. The deeper the water, the warmer it gets. Water at Mataranka is approximately 34 degrees celsius.
Five minutes away are Bitter Springs, another thermal pool.
Mataranka Homestead Caravan Park has a bar and entertainment area. On show was young Nathan “Whippy” Griggs and his mastery of the whip. He currently holds the world record for the number of cracks in one minute – 614 cracks! Among other records he also holds the Guinness World record for the longest whip made and cracked. This whip is just over 100 metres long.
As I lost my phone soon after this show, I’m going to share some footage from the internet so you have an idea of what we saw.
Katherine and beyond…
At Katherine I again went off on my own. I stayed out of town at Katherine Gorge. There are several gorges which you can cruise, kayak or walk.
The landscape is ever-changing.
Timber Creek
The more I travel Australia, the more I realise how little I know about my own country. After staying at the caravan park at Timber Creek (it had a special deal – stay up to 3 nights free. Here I saw my first (fresh water) crocodile in the creek behind the park, and also met up with about twenty other Rollers) I headed off again. I ventured up a track to find a lookout and stumbled on another story of the second world war I knew nothing about, that is the story of the Nackeroos.
After the attacks on Darwin, the Nackeroos were a force of bush commandos tasked with keeping watch over Australia’s north for signs of invading forces.
The country in this area is very tough, and full credit has been given to the aboriginal people who were employed to support the troops with reconnaissance and with bush survival skills, including finding bush tucker.
This Is How I Roll 
That’s really cool Michelle, my Pop was one of the Nackeroos! He never talked about it though. We found out some info when the book Curtin’s Cowboys was being published. Thanks! Enjoy your travels. Julie
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