Good morning Devils Marbles Hotel!
Actually not such a great morning thanks to our very close neighbours….
I’m not sure if it was him or her but someone snored all night and it sounded
like that sound you make pretending to be a horse snorting. It was a warm night and unfortunately we all
had windows open. I guarantee their bed
was no more than about 3 metres from ours so no noises were sacred. They both seemed chipper this morning though
so at least someone had a good sleep.
I wanted to get a photo of some old cars that have been parked out the
front of the hotel for some time (they were here last time we came by) and had
hoped to catch the morning sun on them.
After a bit of a walk from the site around to where the cars were I
found a large truck parked right in front of them blocking the morning light
completely. So much for the best laid
plans. We packed up and I did manage to
snap a few photos of them on the way out.
Back onto the highway and onward north.
The sign said Tennant Creek but our planned destination was a little
further north. We have been in a speed
zone of 130 for a couple of days now and it is interesting because we always
thought we would strike lots of cars going very fast. But most people seem to sit on
100/110km. Our experience has been that
there are very few that you could say would be sitting on much above that which
is pretty easy to judge since our average speed is around 85 – 90.
Our first stop was Karlu Karlu (the Devils Marbles) so that I could
take a few shots. Once again it is
conflicting to read the history of the ownership of such a sacred site but we
both noted that the signposts now recognise the traditional names of these
areas and also that the traditional name is the primary one listed on the
signage – as it should be. Sadly though
– why some people feel they have a need or indeed the right to deface such an
amazing landmarks is absolutely beyond me.
This is why it is very dangerous to drive at night. So many of the cattle and sheep stations
along this route are unfenced and so stock have a tendency to wander across the
road depending on their mood or where the food and water is. Thankfully, in the daylight they are mostly
able to be avoided. The amount of
roadkill this time seems to have been less than we remember. Perhaps because of the recent flooding and
rainfall there is now more food and water available in areas off the roadside.
Shortly after spotting the cattle we came across Termite Central. A sudden and extensive termite mound patch
which extended for about maybe a kilometre, where the mounds were crowded in on
each other as far as the eye could see. Then suddenly they dissipated to the
usual amount that surrounded the area for many kilometres before and after.
Sometime later we arrived in Tennant Creek. On our last trip we stayed here for about 5
days at the local showgrounds as we were showing Kitty at the dog section of the Tennant Creek Agricultural Show. Tennant Creek has a sort of confronting
undercurrent and during that last trip we were exposed to and also spoke to
locals about the not so nice part of the town when it comes to alcohol and
domestic violence. The town itself, from an outsider's perspective, is quite presentable with a nicely designed streetscape, plenty of greenery, and a reasonable shopping centre for the size of the town. However as you look closer and see that all windows are barred and security guards are strategically placed at various locations, not to mention the fact that when we last visited - the local bottle shop was unable to open until a police officer was stationed at the door - you realise that there are more than just a few issues with life in Tennant Creek. Our visit this time consisted of picking up a few groceries, topping up fuel and continuing on up the road.
One of the first signs out of town brought a smile to our faces as we
have now broken the 1,000km mark to Darwin!
Once again the terrain and vegetation changes and in particular once we
passed the turnoff to Mt Isa and the Queensland border at Threeways – it really
felt as though we had hit the North of Northern Territory.
It was a very tiring drive despite a few stops along the way but we
arrived at Renner Springs around 1.30pm, settled in to a site right at the end
of the park. Although in the beginning it felt a little like Siberia, by the
time the park filled up I think we probably ended up with one of the best sites
not having anyone stuck right by our windows yet again. This park has a lovely lagoon with resident
geese and abundant birdlife in the surrounding trees. The unfortunate complication of this is the
resident mosquito population which took no time to inhabit the caravan as soon
as the sun set. Being set up as early as
we were, and having access to both power and water, it was a super afternoon
with the sun and warm breeze to get a few loads of washing done – no it never
ends!
This is the second day without internet or phone service, though the
phones did go berserk at Tennant Creek with notification after notification
ringing through when we finally did have a bit of signal. And yes, we’ve survived!
276 km
Total - 4,297 km
Top today 26°c - expecting overnight 12°c
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