We received some good advice from an old timer at 1770 at the very start of our trip. He told us the importance of recognising the places where there is much to see and recognising places where there is a whole lot of nothing and just moving through it. We reached the nothing.

We stopped in at Tennant Creek to repair the punctured tyre and attempted to get some blog posts up at Mary Ann Dam (although not enough phone reception to do so) and continued North past ‘the Pebbles’  which is the little sister of the Devils Marbles. The traditional land owners believe that the hillsides covered in these ‘pebbles’ is actually where the rainbow serpent laid its eggs.

 

As the light started to fade, we couldn’t find anywhere to sleep as the tiny outback towns such as Elliot and its inhabitants didn’t seem to offer a safe sanctuary. We ventured off the road to a ‘historic village’ the find the entire place eerily abandoned. Literally. Surely the darkness was riddled with ghosts and we had shivers down our spines as we decided to leave and find a new shelter. The roadside stops were packed to the brim full of grey nomads caravans and we had no choice but to push on into the night.

We eventually found a roadhouse on the Stuart Highway which offered camping out the back at the cheapest camping rates yet at $6.50pp. The showers we definitely $6.50 worth and we decided we would be cleaner if we didn’t use them. We set up camp under a boab tree and enjoyed the twinkle of starlight and the rising of the big moon.