Queensland/NT Border to Alice Springs

We continued on the dulating Barkly Highway to Barkly Homestead.  We were now used to roadhouses, normally a working station with a caravan park of sorts, petrol and a small shop.  Barkly homestead was one of the best we had seen with a good bar.

Sunset at Barkly Homestead

After a god night sleep at the homestead we continued west until we hit the Stuart Highway at Three Ways.  We then went south to Tennant Creek.  We had been told that Tennant Creek was the Soweto of the Territory and it certainly did not sell itself well.  Most shops had bars and /or shutters on the windows and there were a lot of people that seemed to be sitting around doing very little.  Marty asked the nice old lady in one of the shops how long she had be in the town and where she had come from.  When she said she had come from the Barossa Valley he asked why did she move to the Creek.  She replied”cos

 if was f###ing cold”.  It was quite a surprise to have a sweet old lady of about 70 come out with that word and it was not the only time she used it. 

We were entertained in our camping ground by a bush storyteller who brought along a few samples of bush tucker.  We ate most things but I baulked at the witchery grubs but Marty ate them as well.

Jimmy the Bush Story teller

Jimmy and his Bush Tucker

We left the next day for Wycliffe Well the self-proclaimed UFO Capital of the Territory.  We lunched at the magnificent Devils Marbles en route.  It was amazing to see these large, round boulders suddenly appear on the side of the road and then disappear only a few ks later.  We had a good time walking around and over them.  We saw the giant steel sculpture of an Anmatjere man on hill overlooking Aileron and the equally large woman and child in the town.  Every town has to have a hook. 

At the Alice we stayed with my friend Elaine (Curls) from school, her husband Alan (Frapper) and their rotund miniature daschunds.  We went to the Alice Springs markets which for Canberraites is not dissimilar to the Hall markets.  We then went to the Museum of Pioneer Women in the old gaol which was very interesting although Marty couldn’t see any reason why we should commemorate any women at all

Frapper & Curls in Alice Springs