17 February

Did a bit more looking about the Tennant Creek area today. Didn't think we'd be able to with all the rain that fell last night. But this morning was all bright and clear and sunny, so off we went. Began by going out to a place called Noble's Nob (don't laugh) which was at one stage the richest gold mine in Australia. It was discovered in the early 1900's (I think) by two prospectors - one was blind, and the other had only one eye (true). In the early days of the mine they weren't getting much out of it and had gone down 50 feet when one of the partners (I forget which one) had had enough and sold his share and with the proceeds bought himself a pub in Tennant Creek. The other partner soldiered on and at 54 feet (another 4 lousy feet, mind you) struck the mother lode and became obscenely rich. The mine continued to produce payable gold until fairly recent times, becoming an open-cut mine in the 1960's after the main pillar of the underground mine collapsed, fortunately without loss of life.

From there we headed south out of town to Bonney Well which is 87 kms out. This site was named by the explorer John McDouall Stuart. All that is there now (I don't think there has ever been anything much else) is the bore and a windmill.

A few kilometres further on we came to the Devil's Marbles. These are awesome. They rise up from the surrounding plain without warning and are a truly spectacular sight. They are large (L-A-R-G-E) blocks of granite all tossed up from beneath the earth's crust higgledy-piggledy with many on top of each other. I was surprised not only by their size (maybe 6-8 or more metres around and metres more higher), but also by the area they occupy (perhaps a couple of square kilometres). Over millennia they have all been weathered by the elements (mostly rain) to more or less rounded shapes and some are almost perfect spheres. Some have also split neatly in two where rain has entered through a small fault and dissolved some of the minerals of which granite is composed and the weight of the rocks themselves has then split them along this mineral seam - very often as if they had been cut cleanly with a knife.

After leaving the Devil's Marbles we drove another 20 kms south to Wauchope (it consists only of a pub) and topped up with petrol and then drove onto Wycliffe Well ("the UFO capital of Australia" - self-styled). Again there was nothing there but a pub and so we continued on south another 100 kms to the overland telegraph station at Barrow Creek. This is a series of beautiful bluestone buildings nestled under some very imposing peaks (I think of the Davenport Range). As we were now nearly half way to Alice Springs (and as we had gone further than we intended to anyway) we decided to return the way we had come (since there is no other way) to Tennant Creek.

On the way back we again called in to Wauchope to top up with fuel and this time I was joined by a curious camel. It decided to squeeze in with me in the narrow space between the ute and the petrol bowser to see what was going on. I think he was a juvenile, but still he towered over me and I was somewhat concerned at his intentions, not knowing whether he might kick, spit or bite. But he was quite good-natured and only wanted to watch what I was doing. I had to keep pushing his head out of the way so I could see and I thought this might upset him, but it didn't. I thought he would have really bad halitosis but he didn't, just a kind of musty smell. He had already been around to see Lorraine, but she quickly wound her window up. He has a donkey for a companion.

After which we returned without further ado to Tennant Creek.

On to Katherine in the morning - 685 kms north, and more sights to see.