Dancing with the Devils Marbles

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We drove from Alice Springs to Devils Marbles, (about 100km from Tennant Creek) and arrived about 3pm. When we pulled into the camp site we were surprised to see so many vans already set up for the night. There would have been 15 or more when we got there. The place is a conservation park, just has a long drop toilet.

Didn’t realise until after we setup that it was also a Toyota Convention, except someone forgot to tell Toyota. The first 8 vans were towed by Toyota Prados or Landcruisers. The guys exchanged stories on their cars for a while.
Bruce got into Sales mode and told the folks next door all about the enhancements to the car. Then they got talking about broadband on the road, and Bruce was in his element. By the time the conversation ended there were 10 people standing around talking about the different options for getting phone coverage and broadband on their trips. I think if we charged commission we would have had our trip payed for, and the Telstra show in Casuarina in Darwin is going to get a hammering.

The sunset over devils marbles was fantastic. Apparently the sunrise is just as spectacular but we did not see it.
When we got up at 7:45am a lot of the vans were already packing and by 8am we were sitting with all of our friends. We then passed a lot of them on the road during the day from Devils Marbles to Dunmurra as they took their multiple tea breaks, as Grey Nomads are enclined to do, so why the early start I do not know.

On the way we met up with some people, one couple from Elizabeth South, who left Adelaide the same day we did, and another couple from the Hunter Valley. We made comment that the guys from Adelaide are the only people we have met so far from a capital city, everyone else has been from country or rural areas.

In Dunmurra the temperature has changed, was 32 when we arrived, so the swimming pool looked awfully inviting. Until we got in and sore Mr and Mrs Kane Toad and their 4 children, along with the Lizards, wasps and hornets. It was like having our own Discovery Channel. Put it this way, the swim was quite short.

The diesel prices changed every stop. At Three Ways diesel was $1.66. When we got to Elliot it started at $1.57 at the first station,, $1.52 at the next, we ended up the Shell where it was $1.43. It pays to shop around.

On our trip we would have passed at least 10 dead cows on the road. The farmers would not have been impressed. That left lots of Kytes (birds) flying around eating the cows. Great sight, but you had to drive carefully so they do not go through the windscreen. We also hit a locust storm for about 20 metres. Was an interesting experience driving through that. We found one about 4 hours later in our snorkel still half alive, that Bruce had to fish out and humanely put to death.

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Photos

Cooking roadside
We cooked up last nights chinese for lunch at Ti Tree.

Toyota Convention
The first 8 vehicles in Devils Marbles where all Toyota's of some sort (Prados and Cruisers).
Of the rest, 75% were also Toyota

Telstra Talk
Bruce having a conversation with the Grey Nomads around the type of technology that is good for on the road. Had a large audience by the end.

Comments

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From little old new zealand
Hi guys. Enjoying your show. Are the twin ghost gums still standing. I have that photo at home on wall. Good traveling