This photo doesn't do it justice, but just south of Katherine is Mataranka thermal pool. It's an oasis in the scrubby outback; beautiful clear, warm waters surrounded by palm trees. At the start of WWII it was just a creek filled with naturally heated spring water, running a short disatnce from the spring down in to the nearby Roper River. Soldiers stationed at Mataranka during the war, widened the creek and made it into a small pool.

I've been surprised by the impact of the war on the NT. For instance what is now the Stuart Hwy that links Darwin to Alice is known as The Track because up until the war that was all it really was - a rough old, dirt track. But the onset of the war and the need to defend Darwin and the North meant the road had to be quickly upgraded and capable of carrying a serious number of vehicles. (I'm sure I read the population of NT, whitefellas only presumeably, went from 1,000 to 100,000 during the war???).

For us, a quick dip at Matarnka was welcome relief from The Track.