Mataranka to Darwin

This is our final leg to Darwin and sees us pass termite mounds in increasingly large cathedrals. This one at Pine Creek was a good medium sized one.
Next stop is Darwin where we have a couple of days to decide how we are getting back home, and where I can stop concentrating on what might be about to bound out from the side of the road.

We've been lucky though, not one road train has overtaken us all the way up the middle, and no suicidal animals have interrupted our termite mound spotting. So all in all it's been a relatively easy trip.

Time to relax.

Tenant Creek to Mataranka

Our last stop before Darwin is Mataranka. The outstanding feature of this drive are the termite mounds. The belief is that there are more termites on earth than all other creatures added together. It's one of those facts that it's hard to appreciate until you visit somewhere like the Northern Territories, but for the past 1000km we've been driving alongside termite colonies which line the side of the road as far back as you can see, and who knows how much further than that. So if there are millions in each one then it's perfectly plausible that there are more termites just in Northern Australia alone.

To combat boredom we try to see who can spot the biggest one. Here's just a tiny sample...

Inbetween termite mound spotting there is the unnerving site of smouldering trees and bush at the side of the road. Again we're suddenly reminded of our vulnerability out here. Luckily enough there has been rain passing over head and the fires have dampened down, but you never know what's round the corner.

What I didn't expect round the corner was peacocks. Surrounding us while we were filling up with petrol.
Arriving at Mataranka Homestead we opt again for a cabin as the sweat is pouring from us as soon as we leave the van.

There is a mildly disconcerting drive along the nearby Flying Doctor Service runway to reach our cabin. Here we are greeted by, well, you guessed it...

A very pretty concierge.

Mataranka Homestead has natural hot springs running through it and a large colony of fruit bats, which should keep the mozzies down a bit.

Friendly Local

Alice to Tenant Creek

After such a poor night's sleep in Alice Springs last night it's a relatively short drive up to our next stop at Tenant Creek, and mercifully uneventful as well.

About 90km south of Tenant Creek we pass through the area known as the Devil's Marbles.

It's too hot for the camper van again so we decide upon an air-conditioned cabin in the Tenant Creek campsite. After settling a bit we pop over to the camps bar for a quiet drink where we meet Ron and Sandra.

Ron and Sandra fall into the grey nomad category, retired, kids grown up and then they bought a caravan and have been travelling round Australia for the past 3 years. Which kind of makes our trip seem a bit puny. We share a couple of cold ones and chew the fat for an hour or so, content with the knowledge that it's not all nutters up here.

A Different Country

Whilst buying four beers in a bottle shop in Alice, I was confronted by a situation which put a new perspective on this part of Australia. I was asked for I.D., as was everyone else in the shop. And my driver's licence was scanned into a system which can check ID from some 50 odd countries.

I know the reasons why, and I won't pretend that I understand the minutiae of the UN intervention in the Northern Territory because I've read enough patronising tourist drivel to know that it's not that simple, but it still takes you back when something that you take for granted at home and in most of Australia suddenly becomes quite sinister. My namby-pamby, artsy, lefty, liberal pretentions were offended (mildly of course).


But, as I say, I'm just a tourist.

Three Nights in Alice

14/11/08

Fatigue is slowly beginning to catch up with us and the temperatures are just getting warmer and warmer, especially at night. So, with this in mind, we book into a cabin in Alice springs for three nights.
The air-con is off when we enter it and the walls are just blasting out heat so we switch the fans on to DEFCON 1 and sit around like rednecks in our undies until it cools down.

Today we're deciding to go to either the Alice Reptile Park or the Desert Park. One is small and nearby, one is large and slightly farther away. The decision is made for us when we enter the Reptile Park and they're doing a snake handling session in reception. Off to the Desert Park it is.
Initially this doesn't seem like a great idea either. The park is deathly quiet, it's quite large and it's the middle of the day in the middle of the warmest part of Australia. But what the heck, we arm ourselves with a couple of audio guides and head round.

This proves to be a very good idea.

Thorny Devil

The Desert Park is a seemless recreation of all the desert habitats, flora and fauna included. It gives a really good idea of how what we've been driving across for the past week isn't quite as empty as it seemed. With a little bit of knowledge the desert can come alive.
After a couple of hours of wandering round the park we pick up some supplies in Alice, take them back to camp and then cycle back in to town for a cool one.

Mandy suggests Bojangles for some local flavour. This is a place where locals used to bring in their pet goannas, crocs etc. and the floor was covered with monkey nuts. It's not quite so rough and ready anymore but it still retains a good down-to-earth feel, whilst being wholly comfortable with it's tourist appeal.
Then something strange happens. Something distantly familiar is going on here. And eventually we realise, you can smoke in pubs in the Northern Territory! Not that Mandy is fussed about this but I'm quite happy to have a piece of good old pre-social-engineering pubbery back.

With this familiar feeling instilled we remain for a few more and sample some croc rissoles, kangaroo fillets and emu sausage before cycling home.

15/11/08

Today is gonna be a quiet one. Not only is there a hangover to be considered, but there is the realisation that there's still 1500km to drive to Darwin, and it's also raining again! We make an effort to head out to the MacDonnell Ranges but the weather is against us, and the very real threat of flash floods is upon us.
So we have a slow easy day, cycle into town to take photos of Bojangles and head back to watch England vs New Zealand in the RLWC.

After about 7ish things start to get weird. The guy in the cabin next to us starts shouting, initially we think our tv is too loud because the walls are paper thin. Then he keeps coming out onto his porch and shouting abuse, at who we have no idea. I figure on leaving it until the footie finishes. But it just gets weirder.
Not only is there shouting with no reply, but there is a lot of banging and thumping going on, interspersed with forays out onto the porch to call whoever he hates a 'gutless c**t'.
It's hard to write how serious this is beginning to sound, I've had plenty of experience of wasted neighbours making a racket and usually they exhaust themselves and fall asleep, or you go round and tell them to can it. But there's something about this guy's voice that sounds more than that. I can't see the guy so I'm finding it hard to judge what to do. He sounds more than drunk, he sounds psychotic. The banging and crashing continues as does the psychotic accusations, and still no other voices.
I think about phoning the police but of course we have no reception, and anyway we reckon they'll just come round, tell him to shut up, and then go, leaving us with an even more pissed off psycho next to us. Not a scenario for a good night's sleep. Also the campsite reception is closed and there's no mention of any security number or such.

I'm thinking about driving to the police station in town, even though I've had a couple of beers, but this just doesn't seem like a good idea. So Mandy suggests getting in the camper and moving over to the other side of the park.
And in what will seem to anyone reading this like a completely ludicrous scenario, we sneak out of the cabin, into the van and move it to the other side of the park in-between other vans. I wouldn't say this produced a perfect night's sleep, but I can guarantee it was a lot better than listening out all night for the slightest creak of a door. The van at least was a bed which was capable of driving away from (or over) people.


16/11/08
In the morning things seem a bit more manageable, as everything usually does. So we head back to the cabin to get the rest of our stuff and checkout whilst informing the staff of their maniac guest.
I briefly think about confronting the nutter now that it's daylight, but, unfeasibly, he has already left.

Mandy informs reception about what happened and they express disbelief, until she mentions that it sounded like he was trashing the place. Making it a bit more personal for them.
Then we leave, quite gladly.

Whilst looking for the road up to Anzac Hill I take a wrong turning and we find ourselves stopped in front of a rare sight; the Todd river is in spate. The saying is that if you see water in the Todd river 3 times then you're a local, and it's obviously a rare thing as everyone is coming down for a gander.


And I guess I feel slightly privileged, but I still want to leave as quickly as possible.

The Todd River (including water)

Alice from Anzac Hill