Australian Outback Adventure - Day 5 - Road Trip North

Lots of Unique Potty Stops - Gotta Go!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - Road trip to Darwin

Way Outback Itinerary for Day 5 

You will be collected from your Alice Springs accommodation at approximately 6.00am when our adventure through the ‘Territory’ to Darwin begins. Just north of Alice Springs is the Tropic of Capricorn (80% of the Northern Territory lays north of this point). Further along the track are the Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu) which are a collection of gigantic granite boulders magically balanced on top of one another. Our day winds to a close just north of Tennant Creek at historic Banka Banka Cattle Station where we camp for the night.

• Tropic of Capricorn
• Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu)
• Banka Banka Cattle StationYou will be collected from your Alice Springs accommodation at approximately 6.00am when our adventure through the ‘Territory’ to Darwin begins. Just north of Alice Springs is the Tropic of Capricorn (80% of the Northern Territory lays north of this point). Further along the track are the Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu) which are a collection of gigantic granite boulders magically balanced on top of one another. Our day winds to a close just north of Tennant Creek at historic Banka Banka Cattle Station where we camp for the night.
  • Tropic of Capricorn
  • Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu)
  • Banka Banka Cattle Station

On the Road Again

Today starts our three day drive to the Northern Territory.  We are looking forward to letting Way Outback do the driving so that we can just watch the scenery, read, listen to music, sleep or whatever we want to do .  The tour company sent us an email last night alerting us that we would be picked up from our accommodations at 5:30 am. We arose early, and were standing by the bus stop outside the hotel portico just before the appointed time.  It was still semi-dark and lighting up.  The street began to fill with people and vehicles on their way to work.

Our bus with a new guide/driver John didn't arrive until 6:15. We were on the schedule for 6:45 and everyone thought they would have to wait around for us.  Seems that gremlins are messing with the schedules.   The 24 passenger van carried only 9 passengers including ourselves, 4 of whom we already knew from the first leg of the trip, three young German women, and a young man from Israel.  New passengers included an Aussie, and two independent women from the UK.  The Aussie was a passenger/guide trainee.  

We were able to spread out more which was a good thing for the extended hours we would be traveling to the top end.  The mini bus was actually less comfortable than the 4x4 with its independently adjustable seats, seat back pockets, insulated curtains to block out the blazing sun.  Lacking those amenities, spreading out was very welcome.  We each established our little nest for the long trip to Darwin.

John provided us some history and pointed out geographic features, passage over the Tropic of Capricorn, and changes in flora and fauna.  But for the most part, it was a long road through what seemed to be a never ending desert brush.  

There were many stops along the  road through the outback for petrol, cold drinks, and toilets.  John considerately stopped every hour or two for us to stretch our legs and move about.

Unique Road Houses

Stops along the Stuart highway included numerous roadhouses each trying to carve out a unique and memorable niche in the desert sands whether it be a place where there were large metal sculptures, 

Swimming Pools and Places to BBQ Lunch

Places that claimed to be UFO Capital of Australia,

cold beer or unique bars with hanging objects, stuffed buffalos and Crocodile Dundee mementos.

Devils Marbles

One of the geologically interesting places we stopped was Devils Marbles, which is an indigenous sacred site.  Called Devils Marbles, the egg shaped rocks represent spirit serpent eggs to the locals. 

Large boulders are split and look precariously balanced on top of one another.  One of the boulders was removed from this site for a monument and the nomadic indigenous people so in tune with every rock and tree spotted its absence immediately.  Eventually, the Aborigines were able to get the rock back, but it had been sand blasted clean.  John pointed it out to us and indeed it was back home, but cleaner and whiter than the other boulders.

Pyromanic Birds and Termite Mounds

We also crossed through the table lands, vast open land as flat as the eye can see.  Plums of smoke and haze dot the landscape with occasional bush fires.  Bush fires are not fought out here.  John told us that when there is a bush fire, all living critters evacuate the area, and the birds feast on their scurrying bodies.  Some of the large kites (birds) have become so smart about bush fire feasts they have learned to pick up burning twigs and purposely drop them elsewhere.  We thought this was brilliant from the bird's point of view.  Wonder if this adaptive behavior is prevalent with other types of birds looking for food.

We are also beginning to see these little mounds of dirt in the burnt out bush.  Turns out they are the protective castles of the termites.  These critters are protected from brush fires as they burrow into the dirt and under ground. John tells us to keep a watch out these mounds as they will become larger in size as we travel north in to the more humid climate where the termites thrive.

The road disappears into the horizon.  Both the overland train to Darwin and the huge long truck trains barrel across the land.  The speed limit on the Stuart Highway is posted at 130 km which is about  80 miles per hour. The truck trains are supposed to keep their speed down, but I suspect that our own vehicle is traveling close to that speed as the bush blurs by.

Indigenous People

The indigenous people of Australia were becoming more prevalent the farther north we drove.  While their demographic designation is Aborigine, they are as diverse as our Native American population with numerous clans, languages, and complex customs.  So far we have noticed that the indigenous people with whom we have passed on the street are very shy or non-responsive to greetings.  One might even think there is some smoldering passive aggressive behavior going on, but it is hard to tell.  Some of the older folks have first-hand recollection of the miserable treatment of their people as their lands were taken by Euro/Aussie settlers.  

They keep their eyes downcast and maintain a distance both physically and mentally from visitors.  Smile and greet foot travelers, and one gets nothing in return.  It is an interesting cultural response and so different from the friendly greetings of people in French Polynesia, Samoa, and Fiji.

While in Alice Springs, one forthcoming lady came up to us and wanted us to buy a 1 foot square painted canvas.  She used sign language that she wanted money to eat and she would give us the canvass for $30.00.  Our response was a polite no thank you.  It was evening time, and we had just witnessed some drunken violence of some indigenous people towards one another as we skirted around them in the park. Alcohol can be a problem with the indigenous folks.  A little seems to go a long way in triggering aggressiveness.

The art wasn't particularly to our liking, and we were inclined to think the woman would be using the $ for the art for liquor rather than food.  Again she pushed the art work towards us in an unfriendly way with a deep scowl.  Again, we said no thank you.  And again she shoved it toward us.  At that point, a bit tense that the situation might escalate into something more, we simply turned and walked away.  I could feel her dark brown eyes boring into our back.  The outback is a culturally, historically, and currently a complex mixture of people living in a rugged, unforgiving environment.

When we reached the outback settlement of Tennant Creek, school was just getting out in the early afternoon.  The shady side of the street sidewalk was filled with aboriginal adults waiting for children from school to cross over the pavement as the spilled out of the school.  Most of the children were Aborigine, some were mixed, and some very European in appearance.    The most striking characteristic was the lack of school uniform for the children which is fairly standard in Australia.   Many of the children regardless of their skin color were barefoot coming out of the school. The pavement was hot enough to fry eggs, yet none of the children were hopping about uncomfortably. As soon as the children got on buses, disappeared down the street, or met up with their parents, the town fell asleep in the hot afternoon.

Lake Mary Ann

Our last stop of interest was Lake Mary Ann.  It was simply a reservoir created for recreation.  Our guide stopped the bus here in  the late afternoon so that we could cool off.  We all changed into our swimming "costumes" and spent a lovely hour cooling off.  Many of the swimmers were indigenous Australians.  I suspect that some of the folks were the families we had seen a few miles back picking their children up from school.

We made one last stop before reaching the Banka Banka Cattle Station Campground where we would spend the night.  That stop was to collect firewood for the bonfire.  When we arrived at the station that evening we were told that since the fire danger was extreme, there was a fire ban.  The Banka Banka station is a public camping ground with generated electricity, so we had lights, a camp refrigerator, and outlets to charge the Ipad, phone, Ipod, electric razor, etc.  

Our Mini Bus is Center Left - We are the Only Campers on This Working Station

There was some patchy green lawn where we could set up our swags for the night.  Yes! Russ and I did a quick survey but decided against sleeping there as the biting ants had crisscrossing trails throughout the greenery.  Darn!   We found a place in the dirt and dust where even the ants avoided. 

John (not us) prepared a great barb-qued steak dinner with mashed potatoes and salad, while we the passengers hiked to the top of a small hill with our metal cups filled with wine, beer, or whatever to watch the setting sun over the desert.  We are living large this evening!  Lovely.

Before going to bed, we had nice cool showers, and I slathered up with insect repellent as I knew it was too warm to tuck into the swag.  The stars were twinkling overhead as we fell asleep under the Southern Cross.