Just over 100kms from Tenant Creek, NT, travelling due south on the Stuart Highway there is a small turn-off to a place called the Devil’s Marbles. We enjoyed this area immensely as it has majesty and is so photogenic. The Devil’s Marbles are huge granite structures that have been exposed by erosion of the surrounding earth and the corners have been rounded with time. There are many precariously balanced on top of each other, some squashed like marsh mallows and others perfectly spherical. A few have tumbled down and others have split in half because of water seeping between layers over millions of years. All the rocks glow red at sunset and are wonderful to climb, photograph and walk around. They are of great significance to the Aboriginal people, as is Uluru.
We spent two nights at a campsite there with this lovely scene all around us – a great find. The camp fee was a donation of only $3.30 per person per night. Paul was able to have a camp fire and we spotted the glowing eyes of Dingoes on the edge of the camp. The dogs were pleased to be safely in the van at night...
We then did a huge day of travel from the Devil’s Marbles to a very remote campsite about 70kms off the Stuart Highway along a road running east called Plenty Highway. We covered nearly 400kms – a record for us and the doggies. It was very tiring and we were a bit out of sorts. The campsite was called Gem Tree and had been recommended to us by the Ranger at the Devil’s Marbles. We didn’t arrive until 6.30pm and it was nearly dark, but it was a real oasis and worth the trip.
The next morning we went on a prescribed Nature Walk for a couple of hours, armed with a booklet that pointed out all the varied fauna and flora along the way. Gem Tree is bounded by a dry and dusty creek bed on one side, a landing strip, the Plenty Highway and a fence and covers about 250 acres. The doggies had a race along the landing strip, running between Paul and me, with Tia the winner of course! It would be great to visit here again in the wet season to see the mammoth change that happens to the plants and the creek bed. Apparently the creek goes from nothing to 100 metres across and 4-5 metres deep.
Amazingly we bumped into Paul’s colleague Pat from Townsville again and his friend Ellen, who joined us in our van for a cup of tea and coffee before they carried on further east along the Plenty Highway. It’s a small world really...
We tried a game of Bush Golf on the course at Gem Tree, but got too many prickles in our shoes and on our legs. Tia barked loudly at every hit and Muffin hated the Bindi grass and hopped around, so we gave up after three holes and had a Gin and Tonic instead! On the way out the next day we got close and personal with a Dingo that we spotted in a dip in the road. He circled our van and appeared very confident and interested in us. Paul found a garnet in some stones just outside our van which was a nice surprise. Then it was onwards into Alice Springs and civilization.
We spent two nights at a campsite there with this lovely scene all around us – a great find. The camp fee was a donation of only $3.30 per person per night. Paul was able to have a camp fire and we spotted the glowing eyes of Dingoes on the edge of the camp. The dogs were pleased to be safely in the van at night...
We then did a huge day of travel from the Devil’s Marbles to a very remote campsite about 70kms off the Stuart Highway along a road running east called Plenty Highway. We covered nearly 400kms – a record for us and the doggies. It was very tiring and we were a bit out of sorts. The campsite was called Gem Tree and had been recommended to us by the Ranger at the Devil’s Marbles. We didn’t arrive until 6.30pm and it was nearly dark, but it was a real oasis and worth the trip.
The next morning we went on a prescribed Nature Walk for a couple of hours, armed with a booklet that pointed out all the varied fauna and flora along the way. Gem Tree is bounded by a dry and dusty creek bed on one side, a landing strip, the Plenty Highway and a fence and covers about 250 acres. The doggies had a race along the landing strip, running between Paul and me, with Tia the winner of course! It would be great to visit here again in the wet season to see the mammoth change that happens to the plants and the creek bed. Apparently the creek goes from nothing to 100 metres across and 4-5 metres deep.
Amazingly we bumped into Paul’s colleague Pat from Townsville again and his friend Ellen, who joined us in our van for a cup of tea and coffee before they carried on further east along the Plenty Highway. It’s a small world really...
We tried a game of Bush Golf on the course at Gem Tree, but got too many prickles in our shoes and on our legs. Tia barked loudly at every hit and Muffin hated the Bindi grass and hopped around, so we gave up after three holes and had a Gin and Tonic instead! On the way out the next day we got close and personal with a Dingo that we spotted in a dip in the road. He circled our van and appeared very confident and interested in us. Paul found a garnet in some stones just outside our van which was a nice surprise. Then it was onwards into Alice Springs and civilization.
Click below (open in new window) to see some pickies:
 |
| 49 Devils Marbles |
 |
| 50 to GemCreek |
 |
| 51 GemTree |
