Kakadu > Destinations > Katherine > Mataranka
Old Elsey Cemetery
The Old Elsey Cemetery, 21 kilometres from Mataranka, has graves dating back to 1926. It’s a significant part of Australia's heritage and is the final resting place of many local characters written about in the famous 1908 novel 'We of the Never Never' by Jeannie Gunn.
Bitter Springs
Located two kilometres from Mataranka, these spring-fed thermal pools are an idyllic setting for relaxing and enjoying the natural environment. Set among palms and tropical woodlands, there are many bushwalking tracks that provide a great opportunity to spot native wildlife, including an assortment of bird species.
Roper Bar
Roper Bar, 312 kilometres east of Katherine, was built in the early 1900s as part of the supply route for the Overland Telegraph Line. Originally labelled as a wild outback outpost, this store and campground is now recognised by fishermen as a superb base from which to catch huge barramundi.
Larrimah
This historic outpost, 185 kilometres south of Katherine, was established in 1940 to service the nearby Gorrie Airfield during the war. There's a Military Transport Museum with photographs and interpretive text documenting World War II, highlighting the impact it had on the region.
Mataranka Thermal Pool
The Mataranka Pool is fed by spring water from the Daly and Georgina basins at a volume of 30.5 million litres per day. It is surrounded by a palm forest and maintains a constant temperature of 34 degrees, making it an ideal place to relax, swim or camp overnight.
The small township of Mataranka sits on the upper reaches of the Roper River, an hour’s drive south-east of Katherine.
This tropical wayside stop is on the Explorer’s Way tourism drive, the main artery that connects Adelaide and Darwin, and is renowned for its thermal pool – a sandy-bottomed lagoon fringed by palm forest and a rejuvenating swimming spot for weary travellers up and down ‘the track’.
Although the township itself is small, with a population of about 250, it services outlying cattle stations and Aboriginal communities so is well equipped with facilities for travellers. There’s a good range of camping grounds, accommodation and a supermarket.
The area was made famous by Jeannie Gunn’s 1908 novel 'We of the Never Never' – a book she wrote about nearby Elsey Station that is now part of Australian folklore. The Elsey Cemetery, 21 kilometres south of the township, marks the final resting place of many of the book’s characters.
Attractions around town include the Stockyard Gallery that exhibits local Aboriginal art, barramundi hand-feeding tours and the Never Never Museum that displays the local Aboriginal history.
Elsey National Park, eight kilometres from Mataranka, is another of the region’s natural attractions. The massive Roper River slices through this 140 square-kilometre expanse, flowing through large waterholes then tumbling over rocks and tufa dams.
Canoeing and fishing are popular activities and swimming is great at Bitter Springs and the Thermal Pool. Scenic riverside walking tracks to Mataranka Falls are a great way to explore the Park overland.
