Daly Waters to Mataranka, NT: Distance, drive time & attractions

The Daly Waters to Mataranka drive is 168km in distance, with a driving time of around 1h44m. The best road trip stops along the way are the Larrimah Hotel and Gorrie Airstrip.

The drive from Daly Waters to Mataranka is best seen as a leg on a longer road trip through the Northern Territory. You’re likely to be passing through on the Tennant Creek to Katherine section of the drive from Alice Springs to Darwin. Alternatively, you might be coming over from Queensland on the Carpentaria Highway on a Cairns to Darwin road trip.

Daly Waters to Mataranka distance and driving time

The distance from Daly Waters to Mataranka by car is 168km. Driving along the Stuart Highway, this makes for a driving time of around one hour and 44 minutes.

Nobody is going to pretend that the Daly Waters to Mataranka route is one of Australia’s most scenic drives. But once in this part of the Northern Territory, you’re certainly in the tropics. There’s a bit of greenery mixed in with the outback starkness and big skies.

Daly Waters to Mataranka drive: Larrimah Hotel

The most obvious road trip stop on the drive from Daly Waters to Mataranka is Larrimah. This tiny settlement is home to the Pink Panther Roadhouse, should you need fuel and snacks, and the Larrimah Hotel. This outback pub proudly boasts that it is the highest pub in the Northern Territory. It serves cold beer and meals, offers accommodation and has a strange menagerie of animals outside. If you’ve ever wanted to see captive kangaroos, emus and crocodiles, you are in luck.

Daly Waters to Mataranka drive: Gorrie Airstrip

About 10km north of Larrimah is another road trip attraction – the remnants of the Gorrie Airstrip. In World War II, this was a vitally important air base, and some of the old buildings from the wartime days are still standing.

Otherwise, just keep going to Mataranka, where the Mataranka Thermal Pool next to the Mataranka Homestead is one of the best places to swim in the Northern Territory. You can also go for walks by the Roper River in Elsey National Park.