Back to the blog to bring you ever closer (I hope) but it sometimes seems like a dog chasing its tail; after this post however, you will not be too far away from us.
As mentioned in the last episode I will not go over old ground but just say that between Scarborough and Mount Isa we stopped off at several places to catch up with family and friends we have met on the road.
CAMOOWEAL (no park website)
Our first stop after Isa was Camooweal which is only 188km heading west; we decided to stay here as our next stop was to be Tennant Creek. The total distance from Isa to Tennant is 660km so we wanted to break this down a little so it was Camooweal or the Barkly Homestead.
Not much in Camooweal as you can imagine; 2 service stations that act as take away and general stores (so does the post office) and a pub. The caravan park is situated behind the pub and has secure fencing around the perimeter for obvious reasons, it also has cabin accommodation. The amenities were clean and usable and they do have a pool along with a few cabins; sites had power and water, sullage water was just out onto the ground, rate was $25p/n and diesel in town was 185.9. The BP servo also has caravan sites.
According to the latest stats the population here is 310 so staying behind the pub even on a Saturday night would be quiet. There is a drover’s camp attraction in town but I am not sure what time of the year it runs. If you do not want to stop here there is a dump point and access to drinking water as you come into town on the eastern side so you can dump and fill up with water.
Above is our site behind the pub; not much to look at but comfortable for an overnight stay, we needed A/C in these temperatures (37c).
As Camooweal is on the QLD / NT border there is a sign above the pub as you travel east to west bidding farewell.
There is also a welcome sign at the BP as you enter Queensland.
Above is the main sign you will see at the Barkly Homestead; this is situated about half way between Camooweal and Tennant Creek. There is a caravan park here as well if you want to stay and it also has a pool.
The main building at the Barkly; diesel here was 199.7, unleaded was 2 cents cheaper.
TENNANT CREEK
Tennant Creek is a bit of an eye opener if you have not been in a town where the indigenous are quite predominant; they just seem to wonder back and forth with seemingly no place to go other than the shops, pub or Centrelink. Pubs don’t open till noon here and you cannot buy take away grog until 2.00pm and then only in limited quantities, check the regulations for the NT so you know what is and is not allowed.
There are 2 caravan parks in Tennant Creek and you can take your pick as they both seem as bad as each other. We stayed 2 nights at the Tennant Creek Caravan Park; it did have a pool and the drive through site we had was well shaded on each side so no shit on the van but well protected on the east and west sides. Amenities were only just okay and cleaning only seemed to be a good hose out; I did not notice to much cleaning equipment being taken in to them at cleaning time.
The rate was $32 per night which is about par for out in these remoter areas. There is a few pubs in town and the mix of small shops and there is an IGA which was reasonably priced; cheapest fuel was at the first servo as you enter town from the north, it was 8c cheaper than the other 2 and also offered an extra 4c a litre discount if you had a seniors card.
Our site at Tennant Creek, shade each side but no overhanging trees.
The old Tennant Creek telegraph station which is about 12km north of TC. If you leave a $20 deposit at the tourist info centre you can get the key to go inside and look around (we only found this out later).
“Hey Dave; come and have a look at what these 2 dirty buggers are up to”. “Linda!!!, what have I told you about peeping through keyholes”.
Just the right size house for hobbits (or Linda).
Main street of Tennant Creek.
THREEWAYS ROADHOUSE
Thought I would mention the Threeways Roadhouse as it does have a van park; can’t comment as we did not stay here. This is where you have to make a decision here fuel wise; travelling the Barkly Highway from Isa (east/west) you eventually get to the “T” junction of the Stuart Highway (north/south; from here turning left takes you to Tennant Creek (25km) or turning right is to Darwin. The Threeways Roadhouse sits near this intersection and fuel here is about 25c a litre dearer than Tennant Creek; if you are visiting TC before heading north get your fuel there.
The Threeways Roadhouse is just north of the Barkly/Stuart Highway intersection.
DALY WATERS PUB
If you are heading north whatever you do don’t miss this place; put the Daly Waters Pub on your must visit list as it is well worth it, it has a caravan park of sorts and does have powered or unpowered sites, The pub also has a pool so its very welcome in the hotter months. The amenities are basic but clean and quite useable; a powered site is $24p/n powered or $14p/n unpowered. The pub sits left about 8km off the main highway heading north; you will go past the Daly Waters Highway Inn Roadhouse and about 6km north of that is the turn off for the pub.
The food here is very good; if you have a look at the web site I think it has a menu for the meals they serve; there is so much visually to see both inside and outside the pub. It certainly is one of a kind so don’t miss it.
Our site; not the best as there had been light rain for a few hours before we arrived. It was still raining in the morning when we left but would do it all again as we had a great night.
One of the signs outside the pub.
This sits opposite the pub; if you can’t read the sign it says “Everything here not made in China”.
Outside the front of the pub; it looks quite small from the outside but it is quite big inside and has one of the biggest outdoor undercover eating areas.
Above the bar are the souvenirs, “Things to Take Home”.
If you have lost a bra it may be hanging here; there is just about every item of clothing you can imagine hanging around the walls and ceiling.
Plenty of knickers and thongs (not the foot variety) adorns the rafters.
For a gold coin donation to the Royal Flying Doctor you can write your message on the wall or staple a card; here is ours so if you get to the Daly Waters Pub let us know if you find it, a clue, it is on the inside front wall (somewhere).
Well that’s it until the next one; from here we headed to Katherine and Darwin before making our way west to Broome with a few overnighters on the way.
Hope you enjoy the read and will start the next post soon. Travel safely and hope to see you somewhere soon; love and warm regards to you all.
David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
