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Sunday 23rd June
We left Alice Springs at 9.10am on a cold crisp morning of 5', all the mornings here were 2 or below while we were here but the days warmed to around 18'. Odometer was 115940.
There are loads of termite mounds on both sides of the road, some up to a metre high. Some are just straight up and some look like they have guest accommodation alongside, some are even dressed in t/shirts. Apparently these termites like the grass up this way and mounds will be even bigger when we get closer to Darwin. We pulled off to have a look at another Memorial for John McDowall Stuart again, this was as far north as he got and then turned back, 20' now. He did however claim using a sextan that here was the middle of the north and south but not quite east west. But with the technology that was available then it was a pretty good guesstimate.
We called into Barrow Creek for lunch at 12.55pm. The petrol station is out in the middle of nowhere and has seen better days. 50c to go to the loo, decided to use our toilet instead. There was an Overland Telegraph Post about 100metres up the road so we had a look in that but the rooms were all empty. Apparently it had been in used in 1873 when a single strand connected central Australia with England via Morse code. This was a huge achievement opening up the centre to communications with the rest of the world.
We then called into Wycliffe the UFO capital of Australia at 2.45pm, 24'. There were numerous newspaper articles pinned up all over the walls about people and their experiences and alleged abductions! The caravan park was immaculately kept for somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. There were murals painted on all the cabins and ablution blocks depicting aliens and lots of Corellas in the trees making a racket. The best thrill I got there was my magnum icecream. On leaving we passed a couple of cows walking on an embankment trying to cross the road, they are so unpredictable and you get to see numerous that have stepped out in front of big semi's, the cows come off second best. We had to stop for one herd that decided the grass was greener on the other side. There was also a sign of the side of the road that said, "We like our lizards frilled not grilled", I wasn't planning on eating one for dinner!
We arrived at Devils Marbles, our overnight camp spot at 3.30pm. There were already 38 vans setup, we completed the 40 securing the last two spots. We were told we needed to get here early and others came in and left after us! We had a wander around in the late afternoon, I don't know how these rocks got here and who stacked them up but WOW! Yes, I know their a natural wonder.
We lit the campfire and waited for the sunset which is a highlight if you get a good one here, we weren't let down. We then had our yummy Mexican Taco dish again. The fire was great and there was no wind so we didn't say our goodnight until 9.30pm.
Monday 24th June
The sunrise was just as good so took more photos. Chris and Rachel were here too and I spoke to Chris before heading off. They were parked next to another family who after dinner just went straight to bed without clearing the dinner leftovers. During the night Chris and Rachel were kept awake by dingoes and wild cats fighting over the scraps. They were not impressed! There are signs up wherever telling you not to feed or leave anything out at night, what a tool! We took off at 8.30am on a sunny clear morning, 14'.
We fuelled up at Tennant Creek at 9.35am, 20', taking ½ hour to get through the petrol station because of the cue. 169.9, $147.61 and 86.88lts. 3c a litre for seniors, its handy following Roger in to pay!! We stopped for a cuppa at Attack Creek and ticked over 6000km at 11.45am. We passed through Elliott as we were told it wasn't particularly nice to stop and so continued on to a spot about 20ks further up the road for lunch. It's now 28' and climbing. The temperature peeked at 31' at Dunmarra, 42ks from Daly Waters, our intended overnight stop. This is a very popular stopover with an evening meal of Beef and Baramundi for $28.50 each. We were again one of the last to get a spot and had to have a non powered site. That didn't bother us as we are all setup for off road anyway, $14 for the two of us. We had been communicating with another couple over the CB radio prior to arriving so they setup next to us and the 6 of us were together for dinner.
We did a quick setup and headed back to the pub where all the action was happening. There was a little stall open with handmade jewellery and wooden artefacts. I got a little bracelet and Glenn got another sign for the caravan, "a grumpy ol man and a lovely ol tart, lives here". We settled down for drinks during happy hour and ended up buying a t/shirt each and a hat pin for Glenn. The young lads from the kitchen were the live entrainment for the hour, both studying music at university. We returned to our vans for quick showers and headed back for dinner at 7.20pm. You are called up by name so they tell you not to be late and listen out. The place was packed; we guessed perhaps 100 vans, 200 people. By the time we got back to the covered outdoor eatery there were no tables left but another group vacated to let us sit down. Many thanks to them!! A round of drinks and a bit more of a chat with our new friends and it wasn't long before our names were called for dinner. Yum, Yum, Yum!! I just had the Barra and Glenn had Beef and Barra. We helped us to the salad bar and got stuck in. The Barra was fantastic and Glenn reckons the beef was the best he had tasted in ages, it was so tender. The second fellow who had been entertaining the crowd was winding up and the "Chilli" warmed up with the kitchen staff for the "Timewarp" before taking to the stage himself. He was a singer, poet, storyteller and comedian. For the next 2 hours we were treated to a terrific show full of country humour. Chilli is a very patriotic Australian and a lot of his show came directly from the heart. Glenn and Chris bought his two CD's. One was a live show and had all his stories and the other was his recently released album. The show finished at 9.30pm and we all wandered back to our caravans for a cuppa before bed. What a great evening.
Tuesday 25th June
We said goodbye to Kerry and David as they were leaving before us. We left at 8.30am, and called into "Fran's" for Devonshire Tea. Fran's is an outback stop were Chris and Roger got camel pies last time. Fran is a bit of a character, she had a blackeye this time, and she said she got it from a fall but we aren't too sure about that. There are no frills at this place, it's just set back off the road with mini garden gnomes and plastic furniture to sit on. You just have a seat and Fran yells from the kitchen that she will be out shortly and everything is freshly made today. No camel pies as she can't get camel anymore so just a cuppa and scone instead. Fran's on her own till extra help arrives at 11am and her hands are covered in scone mix, as she doesn't stop to wash them between serving customers. It's all a bit of a worry but you just have to laugh it off and hope for the best. The scones were great. There's even a sign up asking you to do your own dishes! Oh dear, will just have to see how I'm feeling in 6 hours, fingers crossed.
We called into the small cemetery which is a memorial to the author of "We of the Never Never". It was about 8km's down a very bumpy road. The cleared land was about 2 acres with about 10 graves dating back to the mid 1800's.
Mataranka Springs is a thermal pool set amongst lush palms at the Mataranka Homestead. The water is around 34' and the vegetation is like walking through a rainforest in the middle of nowhere. I had a bit of a panic attack when I thought I had lost my wedding ring. I always wear it but take my other rings off, so I had to walk back to the van to see if I had taken it off by accident when I took the other rings off. Thankfully that's where it was, I had to reassure myself by checking a seconding twice!! So back to the spring for another quick dip before finishing off with lunch. We spent 2 hours here, 34'.
We are stopping in Katherine over night before heading into Kakadu for about 3 to 4 days, then up to Darwin for about the same then back down to Katherine again.
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