Driving Holidays - Alice Springs to Tennant Creek (NT)

Driving Holidays - Alice Springs to Tennant Creek (NT)

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The journey

What a drive this was! A total of 531km in 47-degree heat and and the air-conditioning wasn’t working. Worse still, we had it quoted in Alice Springs to fix for a whopping $3100! Fortunately, we got it fixed for $434 in Broome.

While in Alice Springs, dinner at the Outlander Steak House is a must. They have 2kg steaks and I finished mine in 42 minutes, which was a mighty achievement. It is very funny watching people try to do it, so just make sure you eat dinner first as it can be quite off-putting.  The old Jail is home to the Women’s First Gallery, which highlights all women who were first in their field and makes for some very interesting reading. The old Jail is also haunted so go for a stroll through the cells if you dare. Keen hikers should take in Stanley Chasm, absolutely spectacular. A huge lizard ran in front of me and scared the life of me, but it was all worth it and there’s some great photo opportunities. There is so much to see and do in Alice that you could easily spend a few weeks here. A prayer for Peter Falconio along the way and then we stopped in at the Barrow Creek Hotel, where they are more than happy to talk about all the different scenarios surrounding his disappearance and, believe me, they seem to know a heck of a lot more than the media ever published about it. My wife Sheree was there for almost two hours! His disappearance site isn’t marked, as requested by his family, however people have left many tributes on the roadside nearby, which is 1.3km north of the pub.

Now don’t be fooled - the Devil’s Marbles (top right) aren’t in Tennant Creek; they are 126km south. You will spend hours here marveling about just how they have come to be. Then driving into Tennant Creek is a thrill – the oasis in the desert – with its lush greenery and water in abundance. It’s quite amazing at how different it is to Alice. It was built on gold mining money and has great museums and the Battery Hill. It’s definitely worth a few days here.

PETER “SPIDA” EVERITT

Scott Podmore

Scott Podmore

Award-winning writer, editor, photographer, videographer and owner of October Grey Media. Specialising in travel and lifestyle content and a full member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. Has contributed regular content for the NewsCorp stable of newspapers and magazines, TravelTalk mag, The Departure Lounge and many more publications in Australia and internationally. Follow on Twitter & instragram #scottpodmore

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