Our first border crossing - hello Northern Territory

Okay we have the brakes fixed and maybe our confidence is growing but we have decided to break our general ’no more than 400km’ rule.  So we headed off with the intention to get to Barkly Station but with the knowledge that if after 2 hours we are over it we can pull up in Camooweal.  The trip to Camooweal was great and we seem to be noticing less and less traffic as we go.  Here we decided to stop and let us all stretch our legs and have a much needed coffee for the parents.  As if we would give kids caffeine before confining them to a car – no instead we give them sugar!

Just outside Camooweal is the border crossing from Queensland to the Northern Territory and naturally there is a big sign letting you know.  We are never ones to miss a photo opportunity and were in luck as some backpackers had pulled over ahead of us.  So naturally we took a photo of them and they took a photo of us.  I think they were a little jealous of our caravan, as there were four of them traveling in a sedan with just a roof top tent.  Still at least their sedan had air-conditioning and we take our hats off to them as they are getting out and seeing this great country.

  

First border crossing - QLD into NT

Crossing over.

Now we could travel 130 km/hr but as if we would, still sitting on 90 km/hr.

 

On we trekked and I have to admit we were constantly looking down and seeing if the lights were on the electric brakes and also watching the temperature gauge for what it is outside.  The hotter it is the more anxious I got but there really was no need as it got up to over 37 degrees and worked perfectly.  Our first real test and they had worked perfectly.  I know we had the issue fixed but I remember back to the old Mitsubishi Magna days where the mechanic told us an issue was all fixed only to break down with the same issue 4 hours into our trip to Melbourne.  Obviously I have been quite scarred by that memory.

Entertaining the kids on big drives.

Barkly Station is pretty much a service station, pub, motel and caravan park all rolled into one in the middle of nowhere.  Yet for some reason it has this wonderful charm about it and the powered sites where shady and the pool was beautiful.  The gardens out the back of the main building were just beautiful and there are patches of green grass to camp on, but today they had four cows roaming around eating the grass.  The powered site we had was only $35 for the night which I felt was fair.  We were the first to arrive but six or so other vans quickly pulled up. 

Long open stretches of road.

As it was quite hot we turned on the caravan air-conditioner and went to the service station for lunch.  Reviews from previous guests had stated that everything at Barkly downs was expensive, from the powered sites through to the fuel and food.  Yes the fuel and food was dearer but people need to remember that they have to get it transported there and that they don’t actually have their own power, so they are burning 5000L of diesel a day to produce electricity from their huge generators.  The meals were awesome and so big.  There was no way I could eat it all, so to me it was certainly worth the extra bit of money, and it wasn’t like were going to spend much else that day.

We had a nice and relaxing afternoon having a swim, checking out the pet birds, watching the cattle and chatting to the neighbours.  One guy told us how he had blown two tyres on the Stuart Highway (through the centre of NT) yesterday and how bad the road was!  I certainly hoped that we wouldn’t experience that.  It was great hearing everyone’s stories though and going to bed knowing we only had a short drive the next day.

The friendly locals.

Cooling down with a swim.

Hamish's new friend.

 

In the morning I got up and went outside, only to find our neighbours on that side had already left.  I thought they were keen and continued on my way, only to walk around the side of the van and see the two on that side had also left.  Nothing like an unnerving moment wondering if something had happened during the night that we didn’t know about.  Luckily there were still two other vans there.  We obviously sleep very soundly (or the air conditioner is very loud!) as we did not hear them leave and obviously I was thinking we were early starters but we had nothing on these guys.  We did eventually get on the road.

I had much anticipated our arrival at the Three Ways, as to me this is all new territory.  Yes, we did a family holiday when I was little but I only really remember sections of it and the road trip is part of it.  For some reason I expected the Three Ways service station to literally be right at the intersection, but it isn’t.  Mind you it is just a couple of hundred metres to the right so we turned right so we could call in there.  Again we ran into a truckie who was great to chat to, and again we were advised not to stay in Tennant Creek.  Jason and I had a quick chat about it and decided we would have a coffee here and decide what to do as they did have a caravan park out the back.  In the end we decided to continue to Tennant Creek and just stay a night with the possibility of extending.

Three ways - original name!

Sort of in the middle of the NT.

 

We based this decision on the fact that we needed Telstra reception for Hamish’s eKindy lessons and the reviews of fellow travellers on the Wiki camps app on our phones.  Honestly this has been the best few dollars we have spent as this app has come in handy so many times when looking for a place to stay.  It has caravan parks and free camps, so you can change your filters to show what you are searching for.  It lists everything the spot has, previous traveller reviews and photos that previous travellers have posted.  Obviously some reviews are a bit out there but you read through them all and you get an overall feel for the place.

At Tennant Creek, we managed to get ourselves all set up and ready for Hamish’s lesson on time.  At only $25 a night in the local caravan park it was quite a bargain in my eyes.  Also being only the second van there we scored a pretty good spot with trees on both sides as we knew it was going to be hot.  After Hamish’s lesson we thought we would go and do the Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural Centre as it looked like a nice air-conditioned building.  How mistaken was I.  The lovely gentleman met us out the front and gave us a look as if we were crazy.  We found out that the majority of the audio tape was based on the outside plants and a few inside but their air-conditioning was not working.  We needed no persuading that maybe tomorrow morning would be a better time to visit.  So we went and checked out the lookout before heading back for a swim in the pool back at the caravan park.

The road into Tennant Creek.

The view from the lookout.

Looking a bit more to the right.

Before we went for a swim we had a phone call from my cousin Sandy who we had found out the day earlier would just happen to be passing through Tennant Creek that day from Alice Springs.  It was great to have a quick catch up and he assured us that the road down to Alice Springs was fine.  It makes me feel old seeing all my younger cousins starting families and all so grown up.  Thank you Sandy for calling in to say hi, we hope we can catch up again when we get back to do Darwin.

Back in the pool we met a couple who had travelled up from Alice Springs that day.  It was certainly interesting chatting to them.  Unfortunately I don’t think she was expecting it to be this hot as she said she didn’t function well in anything over 30 degrees.  It does beg me to wonder why on earth they timed their trip for this time of the year if that is the case.  She also said how they had seen a pen of cattle on the side of the road and how she hoped they had some water.  Her husband and I assured her that they would.  I don’t think I know any grazier who would muster their cattle into a yard and not provide water for them.  The other comment she made was that there was nothing to see and quite a boring drive from Alice Springs to Tennant creek, not what I wanted to hear.

Another beautiful sunrise.

 

Our plan of attack for Thursday was to get up as early as we could, go out and see some of the natural sights before returning to the Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural Centre.  The intention was to do all this before it got too hot.  However, when the minimum temperature is 30 degrees it does make it rather hard to get out before it starts to heat up.  Still it didn’t feel that hot and we got to see the Pebbles, old Telegraph station and Lake Mary Ann.  The lake was so low, but according to a local they haven’t had any decent rain for five years.  Thankfully the town is on bore water, not that it smells bad or anything.  I couldn’t even tell. 

Driving out to check out the Pebbles.

The Pebbles which are a local aboriginal sacred site.

The old Telegraph station.

A tree that Hamish wanted his photo with and Kayla had to hop in too.

There is actually a lot to do in Tennant Creek but we just selected what we wanted to see and did not push Hamish and Kayla too much as it would just come back to bite us.  Sometimes we forget this and need to be taught the lesson again!  Oh that is right, we have two little kids who don’t like walking for kilometres or going from museum to museum.  So with this is mind we headed back to the Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural Centre with our fingers crossed. 

Already it was 37 degrees so we really didn’t avoid the heat too much.  Unfortunately it seemed that every audio tour device we were given was flat and after taking them back about five times we gave up and just tried to listen to the one.  Hamish actually really enjoyed it and we managed to incorporate it into his eKindy lesson for the day so it was a double win.  After a while though the novelty wore off and the heat increased so Jason took them inside while I finished the outside part.  Once I had finished we didn’t stay much longer, as the kids were getting to the end of their tether.

Hamish was really into it to start with.

We retreated to the caravan for lunch, a nap and just to chill out.  We kept shaking our heads in disbelief at the backpackers who were camping in this heat.  Just a tent and that is it.  Mind you they probably thought we were crazy having happy hour outside out van in the 40 degree heat when the aircon was running inside.  Maybe we are crazy, or maybe we are just adjusting to this.  Though happy hour nearly didn’t happen when we realised we didn’t have any beer in the fridge.  I have no idea how that happened, as normally as the last two are taken out we top it up with another six pack.  Obviously one of us was off our guard!  A big thank you goes to Terry Mumford though for sending me through a tip on how to speed up cooling your beer in the freezer.  I learn something new every day!

Our time in Tennant Creek was enjoyable and I am glad we didn’t listen to the truckie who told us not to stay there.  I know it was obviously based on stories they had heard or previous experience, but our stay was fine and had no trouble at all.  We hooked up that night so we could get away early and see the Devils Marbles before it got too hot again (another low of 30 degrees predicted) and with the aim to get to Ti Tree for the night.