DARWIN 2019 Day 08 - Tuesday 22nd October

TENNANT CREEK TO KATHERINE

We started the day with an early visit to the information centre and mining museum, knowing that they would not be open but that the exterior displays of old mining equipment might provide some good photography in the early morning light.

The town was looking in better heart than on our previous visit. It may have just been the early morning light but apparently it is so.

The immediate hinterland including the Lake Mary Ann park, north of the town, is quite scenic.

Travelling on to Katherine was a long, hot slog broken only by a short break and cool drink at Mataranka, where they had been fighting bushfires.

DARWIN 2019 Day 07 - Monday 21st October

ALICE SPRINGS TO TENNANT CREEK

We have travelled this stretch of road so often and yet we have never specifically caught up with many of the historical markers. They are not all here but most.

Warburton Range in Western Australia was named after this man. It is the location of the old United Aborigines Mission (UAM) "Warburton Ranges", known to John's family and visited by his father in the trip to WA for the mission that ended with a heart attack and his death in Perth.

The sculpture of the Almatjere Man is the work of local artist Mark Egan. It was erected in 2005 to attract tourists to the town.

Grape growing near Ti-Tree and the man who started growing them.

The present well was built in the mid 1880s to provide water on the north-south stock route and support of the overland telegraph. It was a surprise to learn from the information plaque that around 1930 Annie Lock had a camp here. Annie Lock was the UAM missionary who worked initially at Ooldea then established UAM work at Oodnadatta.

 Welcome to Tennant Creek/

Our motel at the southern end of town - the Blue Stone Motor Inn.

DARWIN 2019 Day 06 - Sunday 20th October

ALICE SPRINGS

We stayed at the Desert Palms Resort where we have stayed several times previously.

A certain time was needed for reorganising from our bush travels to the trip north to Darwin.

There was time to visit Araluen Cultural Precinct to catch up on the last day of the Desert Mob exhibition.

A special interest at the Desert Mob exhibition was a pair of "ngintaka", not as good as the ngintaka that Amata gave us when we left but made by Sandy Dodd who we think might be a grand-daughter (or grand-daughter-in-law) of old Tommy Dodd who carved our treasure.

We wandered on around the precinct and into the museum .

In the museum there was a whole section on meteorite craters around Australia, including a model of Haasts Bluff that we had just visited on the previous day.

DARWIN 2019 Day 05 - Saturday 19th October

BOGGY HOLE TO ALICE SPRINGS

We awoke at Boggy Hole to a beautiful dawn (with horses).

The trip back to Larapinta Drive was uneventful.

Just past Hermannsburg was the restored house of Namatjira.

Gosse Bluff was a major visit for us before turning towards Alice Springs via the West Macdonnell National Park along Namatjira Drive.

 Gosse Bluff is a large meteorite crater. The track goes right into the crater.

Gosse Bluff from the Tylers Pass Lookout.

Redbank Gorge.

Overlooking the Finke River at Mount Sonder Lookout..

Along the road.

OrmistonGorge.

Approaching Alice Springs