We left Tennant Creek before we overstayed our welcome (maybe too late!). It was a long day's drive to Mataranka, with just a short lunch stop at a historic store in Newcastle Waters. After Rob's repairs, the leak of radiator fluid was greatly reduced - we only needed to top up the coolant level a couple of times.
The price of fuel is always a concern, but really it is the price of iced coffee that should be in the news. The highest we have paid for fuel is just over $2 a litre, while today we paid $5 for a 600 ml carton of iced coffee, which is $8 a litre! We won't pay that again, next stop we took advantage of the 'free coffee for the driver' campaign in the NT.
We finally arrived at Mataranka and first thing's first - a swim in the thermal pools, which is at a constant 32 degrees. It was cold getting out though under the shade of the palm trees. We are glad we are staying at an unpowered site, as we had the choice of a few shady isolated spots compared to the powered caravan sites all lined up close to each other. There was a band playing at the hotel only 100 metres away, so we went and had a look. All the kids were up dancing along, and little sociable Olive had to go up and join them!