En Route to Alice

As we started to plan our itinerary past Mataranka it became quickly evident that long stretches of "not whole lot" lay before us. But there were a few highlights before Alice that we were looking forward to.

Daly Waters made it into the itinerary as a lunch and beer stop and we were surprised to find it to be more than just a pub. We had fun exploring the aircraft relics that lined the main street, meeting the resident croc and of course taking in the memorabilia in the pub. We learned from the local jewellery makers that the black and red "Crab's Eye" seeds that the kids and I had gathered in masses were in fact deadly poisonous so I have had to surreptitiously bin our treasured collection.

Following Wikicamps reviews we stopped in at Dunmarra Wayside Inn to sample their top rated Chunky Pie and Vanilla Slice, both of which received a five out of five from me. We were sobered by the story of the 8 year old boy who perished in the bush across from the roadhouse when I was only a couple of years older.

We had another unofficial overnighter at Newcastle Waters South. We had the big open gravel pit to ourselves. The wind had whipped up and stayed with us getting icier and icier as we approached Alice.

Too windy for a coffee the next morning we packed up quickly and drove only about 150km further south to Banka Banka West Tourist Park. With a playground and pet donkeys and cows we thought this would be a better place for Hugh to wake up to on his birthday than on the side of the road. It had a beautiful lookout on the hill behind the camp and a nice walk to a seasonal waterhole. Live country music and a shared bonfire made for a fun evening atmosphere.

The birthday boy woke in a grump but with the discovery of balloons in his bed and the promise of choosing his brekky, lunch, dinner and a cake he came around to the idea of it being his special day. Hugh was like a kid in a candy store at the IGA in Tennant Creek. He walked out with the prettiest white monstrosity of a cake with gorgeous rainbow layers on the inside. He and Claire thought it was marvellous, while I questioned whether it was even meant for human consumption. I had been so looking forward to cake and yet this was like eating shaving cream and kitchen sponges.

Lake Mary Ann, just north of Tennant Creek provided a great setting for our birthday picnic and came complete with free roaming guinea fowl, peacocks, and geese, which the kids thought were fabulous.

We wandered around the Tennant Creek historic telegraph station before moving on to our booked site at Karlu Karlu Devil's Marbles. The campground was more of a parking lot but snuggled right up against the boulders the setting was fabulous. A sunset scramble over the granite marbles was a fitting end to Hugh's fourth birthday.

The various walking tracks through Karlu Karlu provided great access to the boggling formations as well as information about the landmark's cultural significance to the traditional owners. After soaking it all in we headed on for a big day of driving. The Barrow Creek old telegraph station with its tale of ambush and subsequent "retribution" provided the only relief before we pulled up stumps at Prowse Gap Rest Area.

Oma woke to a tent full of red sand after a night of strong icy winds which forced us inside the camper trailer for brekky. All our winter woollies were pulled out of storage.

Our final stop before reaching Alice Springs was the tiny town of Aileron, home to the giant Anmatjere Man standing fierce on the hill. We battled freezing winds to climb the hill and stand at his feet. As he and his spear swayed threateningly above us we watched dust storms sweep across the plains. The warrior's family on the flat, a mother and daughter figure with a giant perentie, were also awesome.