Mataranka and Bitter Springs

Sigh, it's been a long journey, and now I feel like I have arrived. I spent a long afternoon in Bitter Springs, a natural thermal pool. It's like a lazy river and you take a drift in the water. It's so clear you can see the bottom, and it's at least 9 feet deep. Ah, it was so nice. I booked an extra night here so I can enjoy it again tomorrow.

I also finalized my remaining trip itinerary, as it is high season and the parks I'm visiting are popular.

I find myself reflecting on how I spent more than I planned. I didn't anticipate the fuel consumption would be so poor in this particular campervan, plus the caravan parks rates were higher than my previous research.

Just to check that I am not going crazy about how much longer the drives are, google confirmed that it took me 7.5 hours to drive 315 miles. In the US, I would have done that in 5. And the Aussies look at me in disbelief when I tell them my distance in the past 2 weeks.

Camping in Australia is really enjoyed by retirees/seniors. This is in contrast to the US, where it was mostly younger people with the majority being under 50. As such, I haven't made any strong connections.

All I know is that I will probably take some downtime in Bali before I continue my touring. My future planning will be spacious, even if it means seeing fewer destinations. I have to honor my preferred pace.

Photos are not mine...Read more