Mataranka - 6th August 2011

We chose to come here rather than Katherine, because of the beautiful springs here.  The water there is warm and there are several places where you can swim.  The one we like has a current and carries you down the river gently.  We found we can swim against the current without too much trouble.    We wore our goggles to do the swim, which gives us such beautiful clarity in the pool.  

We had an insight into another world in there.  The stream is full of tree roots at various weird angles and vines, lots of small fish, river shelves, and of course my favourite, lots of waterlilies.    If you want to reach out and grab something to hold on to, you will get a handful of waterlilies, which are not much support.  Your head is bobbing along at the same level as the water lilly flowers.  The water is pristine, but every part of it is covered with lichens which move in the direction of the flow of the water. 

 

Dad’s take their tiny, small children down there in their arms without any difficulty.   One lady told me she saw a yellow snake in there, but since nobody else was worrying, she decided not to worry either and went in, regardless.   You only have to use your imagination to see all the little naked black children frolicking in the clear springs. 

I saw half of “We of the Never Never” as it showed an hour before the advertised time.  However, we don’t seem to find it easy to photograph it, so I got some post cards to show the scene.  At Mataranka you also have to imagine the Springs hemmed in by beautiful ancient Livistonia and Pandanus Palms and Tea Trees, which also like water and are useful to the Aboriginal people for making lean-tos.  Not sure how many live that way these days, but they try to keep their traditions as alive as they can.  It all reminds me of my half sister – she was probably one of the Stolen Generation – though we never had a name like that for the children who were taken into the white families.   Her name was Dorothy Rose Rowe.  She was a wonderful sister to me, that is all I can say.   I don’t have contact with her today, but I wish I did.  Last I knew of her around 1993, she lived at Parramatta.  Today she would be around 75 or 76 years old.

By the way, Katherine also has beautiful Springs, all open to the public to enjoy.  Its all free for everyone.   Katherine has the elegant and enormous Katherine River and Gorge, while Mataranka Springs has The Roper River.  Because we love to swim so much we enjoy them all, plus Berry Springs, 35 km south of Darwin, they are also a favourite.

The caravan where we stayed at Mataranka also had a lot of wildlife, peacocks, and 'pet' Barranundi, and the owner put on a demonstration twice a day of feeding them and catching them live with fish, quite spectacular.