Elsey National Park is 378 km southeast of Darwin in the Katherine Region in the Northern Territory of Australia, extending from 2 km to 19 km east of Mataranka. Features of the park include Mataranka Falls, and the Mataranka Thermal Pools.

The thermal springs are home to a well known colony of the little red fruit-bat, species Pteropus scapulatus, an attraction that has also been discouraged from inhabiting the site for the strong odour of their camps. These fruit eating bats roost during the day at the stands of bamboo, often in large numbers, and leave at night to feed on nectar from trees.

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Pandanus species at Bitter Springs, Elsey National Park, Northern Territory, Australia.jpg|Bitter Springs

File:Elsey National Park.JPG|Trees in Elsey National Park

File:Elsey national park.jpg|Elsey National Park

File:Walter Baldwin Spencer - Crossing Salt Creek near the Roper River, Eastern Arnhem Land, Australia, July 1911 - Google Art Project.jpg|Walter Baldwin Spencer, crossing the Salt Creek near the Roper River, July 1911

File:Mataranka Thermal Springs.jpg|Mataranka Thermal Springs

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See also

  • Protected areas of the Northern Territory

References

  • Official fact sheet and map
  • Elsey National Park