Devils Marbles
Along the way at we stopped to check out a few points of interest and find a few sneaky Geocaches.
Highest point of the Stuart Highway
Fossicking for Gems at Gem Tree
Tori cleaning the gems she found at Gem Tree
Ella cleaning the gems she found at Gem Tree
Aboriginal Sculpures at Aileron
Some friendly lizards at Aileron
Making friends with Aliens at Wycliffe
Devils Marbles
Arriving at Devils Marbles Campgrounds late in the day, we were lucky to get one of the last sites left! Wow the place was busy!!
After exploring the giant granite boulders, that make up Devils Marbles we headed over to a campfire side talk held by some local Rangers.
We found it quite interesting and informative to hear what being a ranger in the Northern Territory involves. I was especially surprised to hear that each year 50,000 wild donkeys are killed yearly across Australia in an attempt to cull the ever growing population. Amazingly, killing this many doesn't even make a dent in the population and donkeys are still a major problem in outback Australia.
After the campfire we headed back to our campsite were we laid out under the stars. Being in the middle of Australia, with not a cloud in sight, thousands of stars soon lit up the night sky and we all spent some time pointing out the various shooting stars, planets, constellations and satellites.
The next day we headed up through Tenant Creek where we spent a some time exploring the town before heading out to Kunjarra for the night. Being such a beautiful night, in the middle of Australia, we soon had a campfire set up and we spent the night sharing stories with another couple. The next morning we woke early to head off to our next stop..
Daly Water Pub
We were quite excited to be visiting this iconic pub!!
From the moment we pulled up in front of the pub we were captivated. With so many unique, interesting and creative things to see, we spent hours trying to soak it all up!
From knickers and bras hanging from the bars roof, hundreds of notes and coins from all over the world hanging behind and around the bar, hats, shirts, number plates, business cards, old farm yard tools, funny signs and even a Thong Tree! This place had it all!
We booked in for the Beef and Barra meal that night and got ready to watch some great live entertainment in the funky beer garden.
Great food, a few drinks and live entertainment, all made for a fun night and all to soon the night came to a end.
The next day we made sure we left our mark by placing a pair of thongs signed by us on the thong tree.
From here we headed towards Mataranka. Along the way we stopped to check out the Larrimah Hotel. Although a little on the run down side it was still quite interesting to have a look at this little "pink Hotel" in the middle of Australia and have a photo with the Pink Panther!
Mataranka
Driving on we headed Mataranka for a swim in the warm waters of Bitter Springs and Mataranka Springs.
Our favourite of the two by far was Bitter Springs. With stunning clear blue warm waters we spent quite some time swimming and playing here.
Practising darts at a bush camp not far out of Katherine. (Think we all need some more practise!!)
Pine Creek Gold Rush Festival
From Mataranka to Katherine we stopped for a night at a great secluded little bushcamp before heading off to Pine Creek. We had heard that the Pine Creek Goldrush festival was on and thought we would go check it out.
We had a great day joining in with all the festivities at this event. There was gold panning competitions and Japanese Dragon Dancers to watch. Art displays and markets to browse. I entered a damper cooking competition. (I didn't win, but I had great fun anyway!) And the girls had fun panning for gold! (If only it was real gold we could be rich by now!!) lol.
We helped judge a "My Campfire Rules" competition by taste testing all the food too! YUMMMM!!! And danced the night away to a live band.
That night, exhausted after such a big day, we all slept well!
Next stop..
Back to Darwin for some Territory Day fun!!!
Xx
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