Australia So Much to See

The Roadhouse and Caravan Park at Wycliffe Well is alongside a bridge, and claims to have had the most sightings of UFOs (unidentified flying objects), having the fifth most reported sightings in the world.  Maybe they are just the little green men type models alongside and adorning the roof of the roadhouse. 

After passing the roadhouse of Wauchope, seventeen kilometres further north the spinifex covered hills suddenly gives way to piles of large boulders.  This type of formation is hardly unique but here it is so different to the surrounding countryside. Ficus (fig trees) grow amongst the rock, and many rock piles are easy to climb.  Friendly spinifex pigeons hop around the spinifex clumps between the rock piles.  The “Devil’s Marbles” in the Karlu Karlu Devil's Marbles Conservation Park is a spot worth stopping for a while and marveling at balancing rocks and wondering how this cluster of rocks came to be here.  The NT Parks Devil's Marbles Campground is tucked away behind the rocks.  Karlu Karlu means round boulders. 

The large rest area at Bonney Well is near a bridge built in 1980 and at the site of an old well which was built on the site of a native well.  Like Ryans Well, there is a brick structure around the now disused well and here the wooden poles from the headframe at the top are still standing.  Signage explains the whip process of drawing water.  The windmill which stands out as a landmark is no longer functional and the tank alongside empty.  There are tanks in the picnic area providing water for travellers and campers, which must to be carted in.  The old road runs alongside the new, with a low level old crossing dwarfed by the new bridge.  The nearby railway bridge spans a huge valley.  Read the history of Bonney Well here

Just north of Bonney Well, we turned onto the Kurundi Road; a wide well maintained but stony road heading east, on our way to Old Police Station Waterhole on the Frew River, in the Davenport Ranges National Park.  A track via Ali Curung settlement which leaves the Stuart Highway nineteen kilometres south of Wycliffe Well is an alternative route to Old Police Station Waterhole, but one we did not take as it was not recommended for vehicles towing. 

The stony hills reminded me of the hills in the former gold mining area of Arltunga, and I noticed that Kurundi Station advertise gold fossicking.  We passed the turnoff to a campground at Whistleduck Waterhole, as we were heading for a bigger waterhole. 

Considering the distance from the Stuart Highway, we were suprised that many of the campers came for only one short night although some of these may have been travelling on the Binns Track.  This waterhole is a lovely place to come for a few days relaxation rather than just an out of the way overnight camp.  The pool is suitable for swimming, kayaking and fishing.  

Returning to the Stuart Highway via the Kurundi Road again, we headed north to Tennant Creek.  Tennant Creek townsite is some kilometres away from the fairly insignificant Tennant Creek from which it takes its name and the location of the Overland Telegraph Line repeater station.  Gold was discovered in the area in 1901 and further discoveries in 1928 to 1930s resulted in a gold rush. A Hotel was built in its present location which is now within the townsite of Tennant Creek.  Reasons given vary from a law preventing a Hotel from being built within seven kilometres of a Telegraph Station to a reserve being around the Telegraph Station so the Hotel was built on adjoining land.  Tennant Creek is now a modern town which services a large region.  We stayed at the old but roomy and pleasant Tennant Creek Outback Caravan Park.

The Battery Hill Mining and Visitor Centre with mining displays and underground tours is a little way along Peko Road on a hill overlooking the town.  This was the site of the first Government ore crushing battery.  The Tennant Creek area proved to be rich in gold, although uncommon in that here the ore is found in haematite rather than Quartz.  One mine is still in operation in the area.    

The Waterhole at Old Police Station was large and birds of all types were abundant.  We identified 26 different species. Weiros (cockatiels) and budgerigars nested in the shady trees along the water’s edge.  Clouds of white Corellas flew up and down the river in formation, turning simultaneously in graceful waves.  At night, feral donkeys come braying around the Old Police Station Waterhole Campsite startling campers, and dingoes can sometimes be seen or heard. 

Although fish can be caught, no-one had any luck when we were there which was put down to the season – fish are on the bite in summer rather than winter, although someone found a few tiny crabs when they tried a prawn net.  Even a group of families from the Wutunarrgurra community had no luck at fishing using a drop net which yielded only a few very tiny ones that were put back.  

In the late 1890s, drovers arrived at Frew River with mobs of cattle, and prospectors picked their way across the nearby hills. The first pastoralists on the Frew chose the flat area across the river from thecampground as the site for their homestead.

There are other pools along the river, and some of these can be accessed by campers from the Frew River four wheel drive track which goes to Hatches Creek former Tungsten (Wolfram) mine, where the track joins the road which forms part of the Binns Track, so a loop drive can be taken through this sometimes narrow track, and return to the waterhole via the road.   The Frew River track is not suitable for towing trailers, and some of the steep dips are limiting.   

Water supplies were transported to Tennant Creek twice per year from Port Augusta.  Beef and vegetables were grown on site, and cattle yards still remain at the Old Telegraph Station and appear to have been upgraded in recent times for use for cattle from a nearby cattle station. 

To the north of the town, the buildings at the Old Telegraph Station have been partially restored.  Following the move of the Overland Telegraph Line station to the town, the buildings were used as a homestead up until 1985.  A small graveyard includes the graves of Overland Telegraph linesmen Archibald Cameron and Bryan (Tom) Nugent from Banka Banka Station.  Read about Tom Nugent - A station owner with a shady past here

In 1897, Jerome Murif was the first man to cycle across Australia and had his bicycle repaired at the Blacksmith Shop here at the Telegraph Station.  Read about early adventurers on bicycles here

Not far from the Old Telegraph Station is a five kilometre track heading west to Kunjarra, a site of cultural significance as a women’s place.  Dancing and healing rites of the Munga Munga dreaming take are held here.  This series of stone ridges is shown as “The Pebbles” on maps. 

Heading south from Epenarra on part of the Binns Track we met a section of loose sandy patches which were not easy to drive through when towing a caravan.  At the turnoff to the Old Police Station Waterhole in the Davenport Ranges the hills were reminiscent of other gold discovery areas.  After all, this area used to be mined for tungsten (black gold) and gold.  The road consisted mainly of orange stained quartz stones with the white interior showing when they were broken. 

A walk trail goes right around this pool, which is one and a half kilometres long.  On the other side of the pool are the ruins of the Old Police Station which gives the waterhole its name.  These remnants are of walls made from local stone with no mortar used. 

Continuing north on the Stuart Highway with a deviation to visit Old Police Station Waterhole in the Davenport Range National Park, then on to Tennant Creek