Passing through Elliot, a little highway town that looks like it needs a good bath, there were more camp dogs and plenty of dust. A petrol fill up and we were back on our way with the famous Daly Waters Pub in our sights for lunch.
And gee was it worth the drive! As we pulled off the highway and into Daly Waters, a town which is one street wide with nothing else much but a pumping hotel and a caravan park behind it which was packed to the rafters. What a sight! Caravans were pulling off the highway and lining the sidewalk out the front of the pub, in more numbers than if it had a big M shining above it. We parked and followed the travellers into the hotel and the kids' eyes grew wide as they tried to take in all the wild and wonderful decorations that filled the bar area and flowed out into the courtyard.
And outside was just as crazy!
And the food... the food!!! It's no wonder hungry travellers were pulling up here in droves. The portions are enormous and the food was fresh and tasty - just the thing to re-fuel before jumping back in the car again.
We were lucky to nab the final powered site at the chocka block Mataranka Homestead camp ground (and by final site, I mean we had to throw our power cord over the top of the ladies toilets and connect to a power socket in there, hoping no one would switch us off during the night!). We'd forgotten that it was the June long weekend, endless days of travelling has blended all our days into one! Needless to say, we were lucky to find a place to camp and in such a favourite spot for many, we didn't mind being a tad squashed in with the rest of the long weekenders, as long as it meant getting out of the car!
The Mataranka Homestead borders the Elsey National Park, so you can literally walk from the your campsite to the deliciously warm and inviting Mataranka Hot Springs in minutes. The kids couldn't believe how warm the water was and how clear as well and even though there were a fair few other swimmers enjoying the relaxing spot, it's still a must-do when you're in the Northern Territory.
The kids also enjoyed wandering through the replica house from the Australian classic movie We of the Never Never, the story of Jeannie Gunn, a pioneering white English women who lived in the area with her husband in 1902.
But the bonus during our stay at the Homestead, was without a doubt, the live music concert put on at the outdoor amphitheater at Maluka's Bar. We could hear bush music streaming from the night as we were having our dinner and any thoughts of an early night were quickly forgotten as we went to see what was going on and ended up staying and watching some of the best bush music we've seen! The kids had a ball, dancing with the local kids until well past their bedtime and chasing cane toads into the bush. It's spontaneous nights like these in the bush, when you look up into the clear, outback skies and listen to the raw, honest music from those that call these places home, that has made us so grateful to have the chance to share these experiences with our kids.
But our memories of Mataranka will always be overshadowed by the amazing lunch we shared with two beautiful brothers, who joined our lunch time picnic at the local park. What began as a typical lunch stop, turned into a lovely encounter that we will remember fondly.
A wandering Indigenous four year old spotted us and came over and threw his footy in our direction. Arley ended up playing with him for a while before we all sat down to have lunch, and he came too! Next thing his older brother had appeared and after they shared a couple of sandwiches and a juice, the boys were so eager to hear where our 'country' and 'people' were and couldn't quite comprehend how far away our home town was when Luke showed them on the iPhone! They told us stories of their people and their family and it was so nice to share a simple bite to eat with these funny young boys and have Arley, Sage and Bassie meet a couple of kids just like them who were so similar in their curiosity and sense of fun yet so different in their day to day life. A special time!
No comments:
Post a Comment