Deep into Australia’s outback

We’ve not long been on our road trip through Australia’s south, centre and west, and already we are deep in the outback having just left Alice Springs. When we left Alice, it was with a full fridge and pantry, knowing that we may not see a supermarket again for almost two weeks.

Marg and Ixi at the supermarket car park in Alice Springs, NT

But imagine our horror sometime later, when our fridge-freezer decided to go on the blink. It was a hot 34 degrees, so as we drove on, we were anxious in case our almost $200 worth of food spoiled. We needed to phone for help when we could get cellphone reception.

Marg at the Tropic of Capricorn marker, NT

In the meantime, we spotted a monument for the Tropic of Capricorn, just north of Alice Springs. The Tropic of Capricorn marks the World’s separation of the northern tropics from the more temperate zones below it. We stopped for a quick photo then moved on.

The very straight 130 km per hour Stuart Highway, NT

We were back on the Stuart Highway which has a speed limit of 130 km per hour. We were cruising at an average of about 112 km per hour and were the only ones on the road for most of the time. The road was very straight for very many kilometres and coming to a curve was cause for celebration.

The Anmatjere Man sculpture at Aileron, NT

After a couple of hours, we stopped for fuel at Aileron Roadhouse. Aileron is known for the ‘Anmatjere Man’, a 17-metre-high sculpture by Mark Egan that could be seen from the highway. There was also supposed to be a collection of original Albert Namatjira watercolour paintings there. Albert is one of the most famous Aboriginal artists from the NT.

Aboriginal art inside the Aileron Roadhouse, NT

We had heard that Aileron also had an Aboriginal art gallery and food, as well as fuel. The art in the roadhouse was interesting and the Anmatjere Man was impressive. But the art gallery was closed, food was all deep fried, and the fuel bowsers empty. Also, there were a lot of Anmatjere people congregating and gesticulating, and the police were around so we didn’t linger.

Ixi fuelling up at the very expensive Ti Tree Roadhouse, NT

After driving on, we soon reached the Ti Tree Roadhouse and fuelled up with diesel that was eye-wateringly expensive. Ti Tree is a tiny town of 995 people who live on cattle stations, Aboriginal settlements, and agricultural lots. We were interested to see grapevines as we drove into the town and learned that grapes are a budding industry here due to the climate and soils.

The memorable Barrow Creek Pub, NT

Around 109 km later, we came across the Barrow Creek Roadhouse and Pub and stopped for a look. We’d read that it is an historic place with great character, and it didn’t disappoint. It was built in 1926 and still has the original old bar, cellars, and tin ceiling. It was absolutely full of memorabilia donated by customers over its lifetime. It was one of those places that just brings a big grin to your face.

 

The historic telegraph station at Barrow Creek, NT

Next door was the restored Barrow Creek Telegraph Station, nestled into the foothills of the Forster Ranges. It was one of 15 telegraph stations that formed a network between Port Augusta and Port Darwin. The station was built in 1872, and when we walked through, it reeked of history, busyness and usefulness.

Marg at Devils Marbles, Karlu Conservation Reserve, NT

Our final destination this day, was at the Devils Marbles in Karlu Karlu Conservation Reserve. The “marbles” are clusters of huge roundish rocks, many of which are precariously balanced on top of one another. They are spread over 1,802 hectares either side of the Stuart Highway. We took the short walk through the rocks then stayed there overnight and admired the night sky.

Nice morning light leaving Karlu Conservation Reserve, NT

The next morning, we were up and away early to beat the heat. It was 32 degrees by 8:30 am and we were worried about the food as the fridge was still not working. With no cellphone reception or wifi, we weren’t going to get it fixed in a hurry.

Art at the entrance to Tennant Creek, NT

Our next stop was in Tennant Creek, an old gold rush town dating back to the 1930’s. We saw some nice community art, another historic telegraph station, and the Mary Anne Dam which had alarmingly low water levels. Then we fuelled up again because we were heading deeper into isolated areas of the outback. 

Barkly Homestead, Tablelands, NT

After leaving Tennant Creek, we drove east to the Barkly Homestead for a couple of nights. This homestead is one of the most remote places in the NT but it is entirely self-sufficient, generating its own power, making its water potable, and managing its own sewage. It mostly serves the local cattle stations, mining outfits, truckers, road repair crews, and outback tourist like us.

Bats in the trees at Barkly Homestead, NT

When we checked in for a campsite, they told us not to park under certain trees as they had an infestation of bats (!), so we ended up quite a way from the main homestead. But we had a nice break at the Barkly, and were also able to get online and sort out the fridge – luckily because its 36 degrees today. 

The one-lane and remote Tablelands Highway, Tablelands, NT

Leaving there, we headed north on the Tablelands Highway a remote single lane sealed road running from where we were at the Barkly Homestead, north to Cape Crawford for 375 km with no services (including no cellphone coverage) in between. The road was quite narrow with broken edges on the bitumen, and really only wide enough for one vehicle.

Off the road while this road train passes, Tablelands Highway, NT

But we had several big road trains bear down on us over the journey. Knowing that we may come across them in this cattle-driven area, our survival plan was to get off the bitumen and onto the side of the road well ahead of them reaching us, and wait until they passed. Some of the road-trains are up to 60 metres long, (about 12 car lengths!), and they create a huge wind as they pass.

 

The temperature as we were nearing Cape Crawford, NT

After 4.5 hours and 375 km kilometres on the terrible road and in heat getting up to 39-degrees, we finally reached Cape Crawford. Now you might think being named “Cape” Crawford means that we are by the sea. But this place is named after Lindsay Crawford, a local pastoralist, who set up his camp on a bend in the Mc Arthur River and called it a cape. 

Heartbreak Hotel, Cape Crawford, NT

There is nothing in Cape Crawford except the Heartbreak Hotel. It was named by the locals because the guy who built it had so much trouble getting labour, equipment and materials to this remote area to build the pub, that it nearly broke him. When we leave here, we go east into an even more isolated area, but that’s in the next blog.

This post is the third in a series about our travels through Australia’s south, centre and west. The first was in Adelaide and can be found here.