Across The Barkly Tableland to Tennant Creek

 The drive from Mary Kathleen to Mt Isa is very scenic, with large rocky hills and the road twisting and turning through these, making it an enjoyable drive.

We stopped in the Isa to grocery shop, buy beer and replenish our van's water supply. Our next port of call was Camooweal, a further one hundred and eighty-seven kilometres west of here along the Barkly Highway.

We are camping again at Camooweal Billabong, just on the outskirts of town, just like 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 fueling up in Camooweal for $2.369, the dearest fuel price so far in over two months, we headed further west on the Barkly Highway towards the Barkly Homestead, where we stopped for lunch before continuing 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 appeared to be a mixture of grasses that was dry underneath. We can only assume that the water had receded from where we camped. 

After arriving in Tennant Creek, we made our way to the Spinifex Farm Stay, a one million-acre cattle station five kilometres from the town that is safe and secure instead of staying in town, which definitely isn't. At only $20 per night with town water, it's the perfect place to stay. We were 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 encountered. The Northern Territory alcohol laws for purchasing liquor in Tennant Creek are between 4 and 7 p.m., so we lined up with the locals and could buy one item each per day, so we returned the following evening again to purchase more.

The Ford Family purchased Tennant Creek station in 2003 and still operates it today. Stock numbers can vary with seasons; however, there are generally ten thousand head spread over this vast area.

The wind has been unrelenting for the past week, and our drive south from Tennant Creek was more of the same, with winds from the south-east continually blowing at 45km/h, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that we have averaged just under 20l/per 100 km.

It was a late start for us as we were only driving two hundred kilometres as far as Barrow Creek. So, the late start gave Ros time to do a couple of loads of washing before heading off. 

Our camp for the evening was one kilometre north of Barrow Creek at the base of the most imposing landscape with spectacular cliffs.

The following day was another short drive of just one hundred and fifty-five kilometres to camp at the Prowse Gap Rest Area. The rest stop was close to the road, but we found a dirt track that led us further back from the road, and we were joined by three other campers for the evening.

And another short drive the following day of just one hundred and fifty kilometres to Alice Springs. It was a first for us staying at the National Road Transport Museum campground.