Tennant Creek

Tennant Creek: 10-11 August [575 km]

Our first stop this morning was the Mataranka Homestead, where the Mataranka Hot Springs are located.  The area where people get in these springs is fully lined with stone and it is only possible to sit in the warm water.  As far as we were concerned, Bitter Springs was a much better option for enjoying these hot springs.

Then we were back on ‘The Track’ south to Daly Waters.  The country was generally very flat and the vegetation gradually changed from larger gum trees and scrub to just low scrub interspersed with stony patches.  All in all, it was not a particularly interesting vista as we drove along.

The Daly Waters Pub is quite an experience.  For a start, it is in the middle of nowhere. 

Chaunticleer wasn't too sure about this pub, so he parked a little way off!  Of course, the location of the pub largely reflects the fact that this was one of the key locations for Stuart on his various journeys to cross Australia from south to north, as he found fresh water here.  The buildings themselves are a bit ramshackle but they are covered inside with all sorts of memorabilia:  t-shirts, caps, number plates and dollar notes among many other things.

There appear to be lots of people visiting this pub – which is a little way off the highway, as well as people staying at the camping ground.  All in all, it is a quaint settlement.  Just near the pub is a tree in which Stuart carved an ‘S’ on one of his journeys.

The airstrip at Daly Waters is like a number of overgrown airstrips scattered along The Track:  they are reminders of the enormous effort which was made by the Australians and Americans during the Second World War to develop the capacity to respond to the Japanese threat.  After we left Daly Waters, we passed the turn off to the Buchanan Highway.  [Question:  who was Ned Buchanan and what did he do?]

We got to Elliott for lunch and then pressed on to Three Ways (where the Barkly Highway meets the Stuart Highway).  About 30 km before we got to Three Ways, we passed Attack Creek.  There is an historic marker at this creek crossing and a memorial to Stuart.  [Question:  Why is this spot called Attack Creek?]  We arrived in Tennant Creek by mid-afternoon and, after a bit of shopping, we booked in to our motel and relaxed.  We had dinner at the Sporties Club surrounded by TV screens showing a range of sporting activities.

Kapoks and Boabs

It is interesting to reflect that we had been driving through country with deep rich red earth;  it is a very vibrant colour and contrasts with the stony and savannah country.  We also noted that we had ‘lost’ the yellow flowers of the kapok bush from the Kimberleys and we had not seen any boabs as we started coming south.  It is a bit sad to leave behind these two symbols of the Kimberley region.

There is not all that much to do in Tennant Creek on a Sunday!  We did some domestic chores in the morning and then drove to the Battery Mine site – which is also the information centre.  There is a lot of good information at the centre:  we bought a couple of interesting books – one was a transcript of Stuart’s journal of his sixth and successful attempt to reach the sea on the northern Australian coast and the other a great analysis of places of interest along The Track.  We then drove to a lookout nearby to get a bit of a perspective of where Tennant Creek is situated;  it was fascinating to ponder on what Stuart thought of this country as he sought to find water on his journey north in 1861-62, as it didn’t look very hospitable to man or horse.

Our afternoon was spent getting our blog up to date. We were able to use our motel’s wifi, and this meant that we could get all our photos current to the previous day.  What a relief after some of the struggles we’ve had uploading our photos.  We drove the few kilometres out to Lake Mary Anne – a lovely, serene spot with lots of pelicans and other water birds. 

After dinner at the RSL Club, we prepared for another long day tomorrow and had an early night.