Handbag yet to be found

Bitter Springs is still closed today but the rangers are trying to locate the missing handbag. Traps are set presumably and we have seen the rangers entering the area. So we went back to Mataranka Springs for another hour soaking up the clear 34 degree water.

With the air temperature also at 34 there isn't much respite from the heat but I'm sure we will get more acclimatised in the next few weeks. We did give the caravan aircon a blast last night before bed and the overnight temperature dropped to a pleasant 17 degrees. Thought we would sample the town life this morning so strolled along the main street, into the supermarket, past the pub, museum closed then a coffee from the Servo. That took an hour or so.....

There was a kiwi connection to Mataranka. The guy who named the town lived in NZ for a time and named it like a Maori placename. Except it only sounds like a Maori name. There is no place in NZ with that name.

We also walked the botanical walk in the national park learning what a lot of the flora was used for by aborigine. This culture is very aware of keeping the land self-sustaining so they can return and find more of the same food supplies every year.
We have acquired a few hundred ants in the caravan. Once I tracked and sprayed them we may be ok for the night. This won't be the last time. We did see some people have spread salt around each of their caravans contact points on the ground. We will keep that in mind if our 6 month insecticide fails.Read more