Mataranka to Tennant Creek

13th June 2013

We had a slower start to the morning today so the girls had time to do some schoolwork while we had Internet connection, meaning that we set off around 9.40am. After only 10 minutes on the road we had a feral pig try to run out in front of us, again I was in morning cruise mode and what really got my eyes wide open was Rach digging her finger nails deep into my thigh when she saw the pig!

We had a fair bit of driving to do today with our next stop along the way being the famous Daly Waters. The town has a great history, from when it was first discovered & named  because of its fresh water supply, in 1862 by John McDouall Stuart during the first successful crossing from Adelaide to Darwin.

During the droving era, it was the last fresh water stop before the perilous Murranji Stock Route. During this time a Drover's Store was opened which has now become the world famous Daly Waters Pub that the area is best known for today.

Daly Waters was also an important airfield and was a major Air Force base during WW2 & was Australia's first international airport when it opened its hangar doors for the Australia to England air race.

We spent a couple of hours here, had a great feed at the pub and checked out all the quirky paraphernalia which has been left by travellers over the years, such as number plates, stubby holders, bra's and the list really could go on and on, it's a must do stop over if you are ever travelling through this part of the Territory.

Enjoying a Beer at the Daly Waters Pub

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving to our overnight stop at The Devils Pebbles, just outside of Tennant Creek. We arrived just before sunset, set up quickly and had some time to watch the sunset over the beautiful landscape, a very nice way to finish the day.

Sunset at Devils Pebbles