The tropical Top End of Australia's Northern Territory meets its dry Red Centre near the tiny outpost of Mataranka. The Roper and Stuart highways intersect close to this town 420kms southeast of Darwin. The town itself consists of a pub, a few roadhouses and a couple of Mataranka hotels. A homestead tourist resort 10kms to its east features a small park and thermal pool surrounded by cabbage tree palms. The Elsey Homestead replica used in We of the Never-Never, a 1982 film based on a popular book, which was set in the area, also stands at the homestead. The graves of the book's author, Jeannie Gunn, and her husband can be found in Elsey Cemetery. Elsey National Park, along the Roper River's banks, is home to the Rainbow Springs and Bitter Springs thermal pools. Both turquoise thermal pools have average natural temperatures of between 32°C and 34°C. Exotic tropical bird species fly above the springs and the rest of Elsey National Park.

other spellings: matarankahotels, madaranka hotell, matarunka otel, mataranga hote, nataranka hotle