Bitter Springs sweet as!

This morning we took a drive to Bitter Springs thermal pools to check it out and possibly have a swim. We parked the car in the car park and went for a walk along the path where we heard lots of voices laughing, talking, squealing etc just like you get at a swimming pool. The language we heard I believe was Italian and it seemed that all the Campervans that looked alike in the car park may have belonged to this large group. Several were having a lovely swim in a beautiful pool type area and others were near the platform provided for getting into the water. The water looked clear and inviting with reeds and a flotilla of algae growing along the edges and some plants, algae etc on the bottom in some places also. We were surprised how clear the water looked; you could see right to the bottom and it was obviously fairly deep. We continued on our walk and came across a bridge with a ladder down from it and a sign saying it was not for getting in but for getting out of the water but it looked tricky to use either way. A lady told me later that it was very hard to climb out on but I think they needed it because the current was quite strong so the chance of being swept downstream is quite high so at least you can get out somewhere and walk back. There was another place to get in around further that we decided might be a quieter spot to get into the water so once we had walked around and watched others looking relaxed and happy in the pool and spent some time reading the information boards and looking at the picturesque scenery and interesting birds and butterflies flitting about we went back to the car, got our togs and towels and went to the (very smelly pit) toilets to change.
We went back to our chosen entry point and Fin got in first and I took a few photos then I got in and he got out and took some pics (No, I do the BLOG so no pics of me swimming!), then we both enjoyed the water for a while. It was warmish but not like a spa and when you got out the cool breeze made you feel cold despite the temperature being about 30 degrees at that stage. Some people brought those beach shoes to protect their feet and a mask and snorkel to let them see what’s going on under the water too. We could see quite a lot by just looking from the surface but a mask would have been very useful. One couple admitted they have been there before so knew what to bring to get the most out of their experience.
After our swim, we dried off and changed and went back to Territory Manor where they feed the Barramundis at 9.30am and 1pm. It is a combination motel and Caravan Park and they have a lake with huge barramundis in it as well as peacocks, and a wide variety of birds due to the lovely green garden and big trees they have. The lake is very pretty with lots of waterlilies with pink flowers on them and we could see tadpoles, little fish and as the time got closer, BIG fish also with one of them being a real bully to any of the other big ones that dared to get too close to him. The guy that fed them (can’t remember his name) stepped onto a platform in the water and the fish hung around nearby waiting for their food. He had a bucket with some small fish cut into two which he held up to try to get the fish to jump for them. They were a bit sluggish at first which he said was due to the water temperature being too low but they soon got warmed up. He was able to catch one a few times by getting them to go for the fish then grabbing them by the mouth very quickly. Quite amazing! After this we had a lovely lunch of barramundi, chips and salad. I know it sounds wrong but it was lovely fish and we thoroughly enjoyed it sitting at a table in the gardens there with the birds all trying to tell us to share; the inevitable apostle birds, the peacock and even a blue-faced honeyeater came for a look. We booked a table for the evening meal also.
Next we went to the Mataranka Homestead Resort where the replica Elsey Homestead is located. It is the homestead they made for the movie of Jeannie Gunn’s book, “We of the never, never” It was an amazing story about a very hard life that she led in Mataranka at Elsey Homestead with her cattle farming husband, a Chinese chef and several aboriginal workers to help her. It must have been incredibly difficult in those times but Jeannie still managed very well and made some valued friendships. I must read that book again now that I have been there. We went to look at Mataranka Thermal pool which is also located on this property to see how it compared to Bitter Springs and were quite surprised at how much more it has been modified to suit tourists. The land has been cleared to make a boardwalk and it doesn’t have eth lovely lush vegetation that we saw at the other place. The pool has also been made with concrete sides and sand on the bottom with none of the vegetation that Bitter has except some very tall palms. It probably suits some people more because there is no risk of coming across a turtle, frog or slimy algae but Fin and I were so glad we had been to Bitter Springs and experienced the more natural environment. If you continue on the path you get to a platform where you can jump into the Roper River, where the spring water flows, and climb back up a metal ladder. There is a warning that fresh water crocodiles can be around and they can be troublesome if annoyed but they are not as dangerous as the salt water crocs. Go back along the path to a turn-off and you get to Rainbow Springs which is where the water flows up at an amazing 30.5 million litres each day.
Our final stop for the day was going to be to Mataranka falls but after driving to Elsey National Park and following the signs we discovered it was going to be a 2 hour return walk and quite frankly we were not up for that so we were just about to leave when we decided to go down to the boat ramp at the River to have a look. It was well worth it because it was very pretty and there was lots of wildlife of a mini nature there such as little fish, dragon and damsel flies, and unidentified insects as well as noises of something breaking the surface of the water, possibly a fish catching bugs off the surface. We decided we needed to go back to our cabin by now to have a break before dinner.
We went back to Territory Manor for dinner and had an enjoyable meal then as we were leaving could not believe the number of Cane Toads hopping out of our way everywhere we went. Many were hopping up the ramp into the shop area and in fact seemed to be going inside too! I guess they were looking for insects attracted to the lights.