On Tuesday morning we towed Captain Slow across the border and into the Northern Territory! It felt very exciting to know we were closer to the red centre and some big, new adventures! The drive from here to the Three Ways along the Barkly is pretty long, straight and boring, with a lot of spinifex and scrub and barely a building in sight. Its a welcome relief to break at the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse for lunch and a stretch. We had been well-warned not to stop for fuel here though thank-goodness as its about 25c per litre more than Tennant Creek, where we were headed.
Driving into Tennant Creek, the landscape changes again to green stubby hills, distinct from the previous 500km of flatness. As you drive through town you cannot help but notice hundreds of Aboriginal men, women and kids all congregating around the town shopping and parks area with little to do and unfortunately a lot of the adults are affected by alcohol. It breaks my heart to see them affected so badly by the grog and so lost in our western culture and to try and explain to our kids why they are talking and acting the way they are.
On Wednesday afternoon we head out to the Lookout, Lake Mary Ann, a gorgeous, cool spot just North of town to have afternoon tea, and then onto The Pebbles, a sacred aboriginal womens meeting place. The custodians of this area keep it well looked after and have even left some artwork on parts of it, and its a great place to talk with the kids about some of this part of Aboriginal culture.
One of the last standing Telegraph Stations is also out in this area, so we also had a brief look there and learned more about morse code communications before coming back into town.
On Thursday morning we booked into a Battery Hill Gold Mining Tour. The tour was brilliant! It was a guided tour, where the guide worked all the equipment in the mine and had some great stories. We learned so much and it was so valuable for the kids to do. I would highly recommend this tour - another highlight of our trip. Afterwards, we got to do some of our own gold panning, and found a few interesting rocks to bring home, but certainly didn't make our fortunes! Tennant Creek is so rich in culture and history for such a small town, and a great place to visit, but also a place with so many deep Aboriginal issues that just seem so hard to change.
About an hour south of Tennant Creek are the amazing Devils Marbles where we stopped to walk around them and have lunch. I found them breathtaking! Another amazing creation moment! One last interesting spot was Wycliffe Well, apparently where the most UFO sightings in Australia have been recorded. It may also be the fact that 'well' means pub - the only one for miles! May be some connection? From here we stop at a freecamp before we head deeper into the Red Centre down the Stuart Highway.
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