The drive from Mary Kathleen to Mt Isa is very scenic, featuring large rocky hills and a winding road that makes for an enjoyable journey.
We stopped in Isa for groceries, to buy beer, and to refill our van's water supply. Our next destination was Camooweal, another 187 kilometres west along the Barkly Highway. We are camping again at Camooweal Billabong, just on the outskirts of town, as we have on previous occasions.
The Mt Isa council and traditional owners have decided to restrict camping here for the foreseeable future. The community was never consulted about these changes, so at this stage, only the metal stakes for the fencing are in place.
We stopped in Isa for groceries, to buy beer, and to refill our van's water supply. Our next destination was Camooweal, another 187 kilometres west along the Barkly Highway. We are camping again at Camooweal Billabong, just on the outskirts of town, as we have on previous occasions.
The Mt Isa council and traditional owners have decided to restrict camping here for the foreseeable future. The community was never consulted about these changes, so at this stage, only the metal stakes for the fencing are in place.
After filling up in Camooweal at $2.369, the highest fuel price in over two months, we continued further west along the Barkly Highway towards the Barkly Homestead, where we paused for lunch before driving another fifty-five kilometres to camp at the Frewena Rest Area.
We were surprised to see a large body of water behind the rest stop, so we drove out onto what seemed to be a patch of dry grass. We can only assume that the water had receded from where we had been camping.
After arriving in Tennant Creek, we headed to the Spinifex Farm Stay, a sprawling one-million-acre cattle station located five kilometres from the town. It’s safer and more secure than staying in town, which is definitely not. At only $20 per night with town water, it's the perfect place to stay.
We were once again joined by a lovely couple we first met at Mary Kathleen, then Camooweal. Bron and Bill will head to Darwin, and we will toddle off towards Alice Springs.
We shopped twice in Tennant Creek at one of the best IGA stores we've ever visited. The Northern Territory alcohol laws for purchasing liquor in Tennant Creek are between 4 and 7 p.m., so we queued with the locals and could buy one item each per day. We returned the following evening to make another purchase.
The Ford family purchased Tennant Creek station in 2003 and still manages it today. Stock numbers can vary with the seasons; however, there are generally ten thousand head spread across this vast area.
The wind has been relentless for the past week, and our drive south from Tennant Creek was no different, with winds from the south-east continuously blowing at 45 km/h. I was pleasantly surprised to find that we have averaged just under 20 litres per 100 km.
It was a late start for us, as we were only travelling two hundred kilometres to Barrow Creek. The late start allowed Ros to do a couple of loads of washing before setting off. Our camp for the night was situated one kilometre north of Barrow Creek, at the base of a spectacular landscape with imposing cliffs.
The following day involved a short drive of just 155 kilometres to the Prowse Gap Rest Area. Although the rest stop was near the main road, we found a dirt track that took us further away from the road, where we were joined by three other campers for the evening.
And another short drive the following day, covering just one hundred and fifty kilometres to Alice Springs. It was our first time staying at the National Road Transport Museum campsite.
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