Friday 27 July – Up and away by 9.30 this morning – we’re not the earliest risers in the camp by a long shot!  Today was totally a driving day, with our first stop for a leg stretch about 120 km north of Alice at a place called Ti Tree, which boasts a population of 50.  But a point of interest prior to that was the marker showing that we had just crossed the Tropic of Capricorn about thirty kms north of Alice Springs.  From there we drove to Barrow Creek, famous as being the town nearest where Peter Falconio was murdered a few years back.  We sat out the front of the pub/roadhouse and had our lunch, accompanied by the local publican’s dog, and when Grant went to look for the toilet he found it was located in the pub and you had to ask the publican for the key, which Grant duly did.  The response from the publican was you’ll get the key when you buy a beer!
We passed through some pretty major towns today: Aileron population 10, Ti Tree as mentioned above, Barrow Creek 11 and Wauchope 7.  I’m not sure where the five aboriginal men we saw by the road were counted, or if indeed they were, but they were a fair way from anywhere.

The touristy highlight of the day was the visit to the Devil’s Marbles – I thought there was just one clump, but there were lots.

We passed through Tennant Creek and are now in the caravan park at the Three Ways Roadhouse, about 25 km north of Tennant Creek, on the junction of the Stuart and Barkly Highways, and is a pretty busy stopover.
  We also saw lots of termite mounds (magnetic anthills – so named because they are constructed aligned in a north-south direction).  Today’s weren’t real tall, only between 60 and 90cm, but I expect we’ll see big ones further north.

Wildlife sightings today gave a couple of new specimens.  As well as about twenty eagles and a similar number of hawks, we saw heaps of budgies darting around.  The ones in the wild are all green, they fly very fast and dip and turn with amazing speed and a style which could teach our synchronised swimmers something!  The other new sighting was a snake – not sure what sort, but it was lying on the edge of the road – and quite alive.  Not so fortunate was the dead cow, which was outnumbered yet again by the half dozen burnt out abandoned cars.

Oh to see some living four legged native wildlife.  We live in hope.