Wednesday we left Alice Springs for the next part of journey, arriving at the Devils Marbles campground by lunch time. The spectacular arrangement of boulders that make up the Devils's Marbles have been formed from the breaking down rather than the building up of rocks. The Marbles are remnants of a solid mass of granite, the bulk of it is underground. During the night we could hear Dingo's howling in the distance, and the next morning there was a Dingo laying not far from the van, I think they know that some campers will feed them.
Leaving the Marbles on Thursday we headed for the next stop which was Banka Banka Station. We had only gone 15klms up the road when we were waved down by a motorist, with the request for jumper leads. His vehicle's battery light had come on then it had just stopped. We were able to provide the leads but as the vehicle was on the opposite side of the road and we were towing the van, it was not practical for us to try and jump start him. Luckily the next vehicle to come along was a 4x4 Toyota and he attempted to jump start the car, but it would not fire. Bazza said the engine would never rust, as it was coated with an dirty oily dusty layer. Only hope for this guy was if he could get a tow to the nearest roadhouse that was 30klms away, his luck was in, as a vehicle towing an empty car trailer just happened along, and was able to take him to Alice Springs. Not only did a car trailer appear in the middle of nowhere the next thing a police car pulled in, just as if we were in the suburbs. We continued onto Banka Banka arriving well before lunch, as last time when we had stopped there for a night, the gates were closed by 2.30pm as it was full up. We waited for the rush of vehicles but were disappointed as only a dozen others stopped. Since we were last there 5yrs ago, the Station has changed ownership, previously it was owned by the Kidman Group, they owned two other Stations as well. We felt a little disappointed as it was more run down and lacked the entertainment and atmosphere that we had previously experienced.
Daly Waters Pub was our next stop where we again enjoyed their evening of entertainment and the meal of Barra & Beef. The weather has been getting noticeably hotter each day as we travel further north, so it was lovely to be able have a swim in the pool at the Pub.
Saturday we were on the road again, with a quick stop at Bitter Springs (Mataranka) where we enjoyed a refreshing dip in the hot springs with the water temp at 32 degrees. Passing through Katherine we traveled a further 170klm to Bridge Creek where there was a overnight stop, this would then give us a short run the next day into Darwin. After we had pulled in and picking our spot for the night, we noticed a fellow Tasmanian already set up and it just happened to be Roger who we have run into now for the last three years, we seem to have similar itineraries.
Sunday we arrived at the Hidden Valley Caravan Park Darwin before lunch, once again I was off to the pool, which just happens to be over the road from our site, while Bazza went to work washing the van to get the red dust and road grime removed. Last night we went into the Mindil Beach Sunset Market where half of Darwin descend with tables, chairs, rugs, and grog to settle under the coconut palms and await sunset, while enjoying the food from countries from around the world.
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| Devils Marbles |
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| Campground Devils Marbles |
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| Car trailer |
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| Banka Banka Station |
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| Bitter Springs |
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| Mindil Beach Sunset Market |
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| Sunset Mindil Beach |
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| Mindil Beach |
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| Sunset Mindil Beach |
