After leaving the “Alice” we travelled up the Stuart Highway stopping at roadhouses to refuel as well as going through Tenant Creek which was the scene of Australia’s last gold rush.

We visited The Devils Marbles.
The marbles balance precariously atop each other in mind bending formations. The granite boulders glow a stunning red in the early morning and as the sun sets each day. Scientists believe that the boulders were part of a large formation that cracked, and that natural erosion over thousands of years rounded their edges, resulting in their spherical shape today.

One of our fuel stops was at Wycliffe Well. Wycliffe Well is not just another roadhouse — it is the self-proclaimed UFO Capital of Australia. According its own brochure, “UFO sightings are so common, that if you stayed up all night looking, you would be considered unlucky not to see anything, rather than lucky to see something”. It’s unbelievably cheesy, but the local restaurant is filled with newspaper clippings and images to persuade skeptic visitors. It was started by a bloke called Lew Farkus in 1985. Vice media chased him down in 2017 for an interview. He got the idea from an American journal which stated Wycliffe Well to be the UFO capital of the world. He stayed 25 years, built a lake, an auditorium, and invested 4 million AUD into the project. He claimed the UFO idea was both good and bad for business. Sometimes people were chased into the place by strange lights on the highway, and sometimes they were chased out.
For its remote location, it is remarkable that it also boasts one of the largest selections of beer in the Northern Territory.
When I paid for the fuel – the attendant was acting quite weird…….maybe he was an alien!!!
On our third day on the highway we arrived at Mataranka where we stayed for two nights. During our stay we enjoyed the hot springs and attended two concerts at the caravan park.

We left Mataranka and travelled a short distance to Katherine for a 3 night stay. Beginning as an outpost established with the Australian Overland Telegraph Line on the North-South transport route between Darwin and Adelaide, Katherine has grown with the development of transport and local industries including mining – particularly gold mining; a strategic military function with RAAF Base Tindal; also as a tourism gateway to the attractions of nearby Nitmiluk National Park, particularly Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge and its many ancient rock paintings. The region is known to experience heavy flooding during the wet season.

The Wildlife!