Elsey National Park

Elsey National Park is a protected area in the Roper Gulf region of the Northern Territory, centred around the town of Mataranka about 107 kilometres south of Katherine. Encompassing the Roper River, clear thermal springs and Livistona palm forests, it is notable for the Mataranka Thermal Pool and Bitter Springs. The park offers swimming, camping, walking and canoeing, and preserves pastoral heritage linked to Elsey Station and Jeannie Gunn's novel We of the Never Never.

Visitors can expect a riverine park centred on the Roper River with crystal-clear thermal springs surrounded by Livistona rigida palm forest and paperbark woodland. Main visitor areas are Mataranka Thermal Pool with a developed swimming area and Bitter Springs with a natural thermal creek for swimming. The park offers marked walking trails, canoeing on the Roper River, campgrounds at Jalmac and Mataranka Homestead, picnic and barbecue areas, and historic sites including the 12 Mile Yards and Mataranka Homestead replica.