Alice Springs to Mt Isa

Alice Springs to Wauchope

06/01/2015

We was on the road before 0700 hours, we fuelled up in Gap Road and headed north we figured we would have breakfast at Aileron , the day was cloudy with the occasional shower passing over we had heard that Tennant Creek had around 150mm rain so we were hoping that this did not cause and road closures.

(Wet roads, photo by Nancy)

We arrived at Aileron and it was pouring rain, we ran inside and Greg Dick was there to serve us, in my days in Alice Greg had the Flynn Drive Supermarket then he bought the Tea Tree Roadhouse and had that for 19 years. He is a shadow of his former self these days, he used to be a big man but he has had an illness which has made him lose a lot of weight, but he is the same old Greg. Ask how he is and he may say "I'm still f___ing here aren't I". Cooks a great breakfast and has a nice place there. His fuel prices are a little expensive so we did not buy fuel there (diesel $2.30 litre). All roadhouses in the Territory are expensive not sure why, places to fuel are Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin, the in between places are expensive some more than others. It may because we are subsidising the fuels to run the generator at the roadhouse.

(Aileron is also home to the striking giant figure of the ‘Anmatjere Man’. Erected in December 2005, at 17 metre tall and weighing 8 tonne, he strikes an impressive figure as he overlooks Aileron and the surrounding region. There is also the nearby Ryans Well Historical Reserve.

After 3 long years by himself, ‘Anmatjere Man’ finally has a family. Also created by the same sculptor Mark Egan, ‘Anmatjere Man’ has been joined by a wife and child, being erected in December 2008. Unlike the original piece which took Mark Egan a year to create, ‘Anmatjere Woman and Child’ took only four months.)

(Found this photo on the internet it was raining when we took the other photos, as a matter of interest Mark Egan is singer/poet Ted Egan's son)

Website.  

http://elsewhere.typepad.com/the_view_from_elsewhere/2007/04/on_saturday_we_.html

http://informedexplorer.com/2013/04/02/aileron-roadhouse-a-gallery-in-the-desert/

After breakfast we thanked Greg and set off again, we called into Ti Tree and checked the fuel prices it was expensive but 15 cents cheaper than Aileron so we put some fuel in the tank.  We then continued through occasional rain storms to Barrow Creek, we had a coffee there, the place has not changed, it is quite old and it could do with a bit of a cleanup, it is unique and has always been but it could do with a tidy up. They had 150mm of rain go through a couple of days before and there was still water laying around but it does drain quickly away from the roadhouse.

(Barrow Creek Roadhouse, photo by Nancy)

(Inside Barrow Creek Roadhouse, photo by Nancy)

(Barrow Creek Old Telegraph Station)

(Memorial for the Stationmaster and Linesman killed by natives in 1874)

We went through a lot of water over the road in places but not deep although it had been through the night. When we approached Whitecliffe  Wells there was water everywhere fortunately there is a bridge there where the deepest water lay but there was still some water across the road, part of the Whitecliffe Well complex had water around it .

(Many places had water over the road, photo by Nancy)

(Whitecliffe Well was surrounded by water, photo by Nancy)

( photo by Nancy)

(There were heaps of beer cans floating out from the bush)

(Water going through Whitecliffe Well photo by Nancy,)

Our intention was to go through to Wauchope so we could go to Devils Marbles  early in the morning for Nancy to do her photography hoping the sun may shine tomorrow. Interesting point, there is a Wauchope in NT and a Wauchope in NSW but they are pronounced differently. Wauchope in the NT is pronounced as 'Warcup' in NSW it is pronounced as 'Warhope'.

We were very pleased of the choice of staying at Wauchope, ($30 powered site), the caravan park at the roadhouse is very good and the roadhouse is also very good, they have a restaurant there that is top shelf and the meals are a'lacarte menu and very good quality. They have a small wine cellar there and the wines with dinner are not expensive. This would be the best place to stay between Alice and Tennant.

(Wauchope Roadhouse, photo from website)

(Wauchope caravan park, photo by Nancy)

(Display of old wrecks out front)

(Having a chat with the staff, photo by Nancy)

(Sign behind the bar, photo by Nancy)

(Dining room)

(Wine Cellar)

(Menu)

(Collage of signs)

Website . http://www.wauchopehotel.com.au/

Whilst we were having an ale and then dinner the rain came down and rained all night in buckets so we were wondering what tomorrow will bring as far as the roads.

Wauchope to Barkley Homestead

07/01/2015

We left early to get up to the Marbles but I am not sure if it is a good day for photography as we have cloud and light rain. As soon as we pulled out onto the road there was water for the next 200 metres or more, I could see the centre line of the road most of the way and there was little flow so we crossed it without any problems. 

(This was a worry seeing this water just as we got on the highway, photo by Nancy)

(Bit wet out there)

(Heads or tails,  photo by Nancy)

 (Devil's Marbles)

 (Dingo looking for a feed)

 (Dingo guarding our vehicle)

(I think he has some age on him)

 (More of Devils Marbles, click on photo to enlarge)

(It was continuous drizzles whilst we were here)

 (Wild flowers were starting to come out)

We arrived at the Devils Marbles there was light rain, we sat and had a cuppa and took in the sights. Whilst having breakfast we had a visitor, a dingo, he looked like an old fella and I think he is used to tourists and getting a feed from them. After breakfast we went a walk with our cameras as I said not a great day for it but we had to take advantage of being here. The dingo stood guard on the motorhome whilst we walked around.

After a time we said goodbye to the dingo and headed towards Tennant Creek as we drove along creeks were running very fast after the night rains there were a few areas with some water over the road but not much in it. 

 (Plenty of water running, photo by Nancy)

 (More rain ahead, photo by Nancy)

(Bonney Creek or Bonney Well, the well was from the Afghan camel trains in the early days there are a few of them on the track, photo by Nancy)

Arriving at Tennant Creek we called into a shop to get a couple of things then went to the BP to fuel up (Diesel $1.69 per litre), we were also looking for a place to have breakfast but this was not the place. 

(Tennant Creek, early days the road was the centre median strip and where the road is now was red dirt, all the buildings were covered in red dust those days photo by Nancy,)

We continued on to Threeways, which is near the intersection of the Stuart and Barkley Highways. We had a light breakfast and on the way to the vehicle I looked at the fuel prices diesel was $1.89 per litre, this place is 24kms closer to Darwin than Tennant and fuel is 20 cents more per litre. We asked the staff if they had news of the Barkley as far as road conditions, they said there is some water over the road in a couple of places but nothing to worry about.

 (Threeways Roadhouse, photo by Nancy)

(In with the big rigs photo by Nancy,)

As we progressed down the Barkley we came across water a little over 10kms out but nothing to worry about, there was many places that had signs up warning of water across the road but most had returned to fast flowing creeks and rivers. 

 (Quite a lot of hawks but hard to get photos, photo by Nancy)

(There must have been a craze of dressing the ant hills they are all along both highways,  photo by Nancy)

(Plenty of water on this highway, photo by Nancy )

(41 Mile Bore, good area to pull over for a rest or camp plenty of room, 1972 we camped here all that was here then a a tank and the windmill and soil you could get dry bogged in)

(Stacks of room now)

( photo by Nancy)

(Cyclist having a smoko break, photo by Nancy )

We arrived at the Barkley Homestead roadhouse and fuelled up ($1.99 per litre) and then booked into the caravan park for the night ($35 powered site).

(Barkley Homestead Roadhouse,  photo by Nancy)

When we went into the caravan park I selected a site and just as I shut the engine down the neighbour came over and advised me that where I had chosen was near knee deep in water this morning after last night's rain, she said the dry site is number 8. There was lots of pools of water through the grounds but the ground is solid you would not get bogged. Really this is not the season to be travelling this country the rain seasons cut and closes roads that can last for days. Most establishments have reduced staff numbers during these months.

Barkley Homestead to Mt Isa

08/01/2015

We left the Barkley Homestead at first light, we want to make the miles during the cooler parts of the day, we had been told that there is water across the road about 100kms away and the depth is about tyre height. We had a few light rain storms pass by and there again was warning signs about water across the road but again it had subsided to very little or stayed within the creeks that were flowing very strongly. Then ahead at around 120kms from the Queensland border I noticed cars parked on the side of the road, as we neared I could see the water it looked deep had a fair flow and was about 250 metres wide. Just as we pulled up a small truck came across from the other side so I could see what depth it was, what I could not understand is why the two cars over the other side did not follow it through, when a vehicle like the truck goes through  it pushes the water off the road causing a reduced depth of water close behind the truck where a smaller vehicle can get through in shallow water.

(Hawks out searching for breakfast, photo by Nancy)

(More storms ahead, photo by Nancy )

Talking to one of the smaller car owners on our side he told me he had driven back to the Barkley last night to sleep the depth then was 900mm, it was now 200mm, which was still a little deep for a small car, I said to him that if when I moved off if he tucked in behind me he would be safe. I took off and he glued himself behind me and we got through with all the other vehicle occupants just watching. We continued to Camooweal  fuelled up and had breakfast. We have been leaving early and buying breakfasts on this run because we need to get back to Brisbane for medical appointments and to get a service on the motorhome structure area as part of the warranty clause and since my operation I still have to take a little care of the area.

(Approaching the concerning water crossing, photo by Nancy )

(Cars waiting for the water to go down, the bloke I am talking to followed us through in the grey VW,  photo by Nancy)

(The truck came through but the cars the other side did not tuck behind him  photo by Nancy)

 (Away we go,  photo by Nancy)

( photo by Nancy)

(NT and Qld Border,  photo by Nancy)

 (Cows escaped through a fence water brought down,  photo by Nancy)

 (Camooweal,  photo by Nancy)

(Camooweal where there is the drovers camp,  photo by Nancy)

 (Many big rigs on this road,  photo by Nancy)

 (One that didn't make it, ) photo by Nancy

(Stock on the roads in these parts,  photo by Nancy)

 (That's a ot of bull,  photo by Nancy)

 (Ant hills and plenty of them,  photo by Nancy)

 (A sunburnt country, fires happen out this way and no one does anything about it unless it threatens the homestead,  photo by Nancy) 

(The start of hills going into the Isa country, photo by Nancy )

 (Mt Isa. In earlier days we thought the striped chimney stood out, photo by Nancy )

( photo by Nancy)

After breakfast we headed for Mt Isa as we neared there you could see the results of some good rains that they had earlier and the rains they had in the past few days, the country was lush and green. We headed for the Sunset Top Tourist Park ($33 powered site), where we stayed for the night which is a nice park but a fair way from the town centre so a little far to walk.

Cheers