Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from England to Australia in 1930. Just about everyone stops at the famous
Daly Waters
Pub
( 08-8975 9927;
www.dalywaterspub.com
;
unpowered/powered sites $14/24, d $60-95,
cabins $125-165; )
. Decorated with business cards, bras, banknotes and memorabilia
from passing travellers, the pub claims to be the oldest in the Territory (its liquor licence
has been valid since 1893) and has become a bit of a legend along the Track, although it
may be a bit too popular for its own good. Every evening from April to September
there's the popular beef 'n' barra BBQ ($28). Otherwise, hearty meals (mains $10 to $25,
open lunch and dinner), including the filling barra burger, are served. Beside the pub is a
dustbowl camping ground with a bit of shade − book ahead or arrive early to secure a
powered site. Accommodation ranges from basic dongas (small, transportable buildings)
to spacious self-contained cabins.
Daly Waters to Three Ways
Heading south, you encounter the fascinating ghost town of Newcastle Waters, 3km west
of the highway. Its atmospheric, historic buildings include the Junction Hotel, cobbled
together from abandoned windmills in 1932. South of the cattle town of Elliott, the land
just gets drier and drier and the vegetation sparser. The mesmerising sameness breaks at
Renner Springs, generally accepted as the dividing line between the seasonally wet Top
End and the dry Centre, where there is a decent roadhouse.
Banka Banka
( 08-8964 4511; adult/child $10/5)
is a historic cattle station 100km
north of Tennant Creek, with a grassy camping area (no power), marked walking tracks
(one leading to a tranquil waterhole) and a licensed bar and small kiosk selling basic re-
freshments.
Three Ways, 537km north of Alice Springs, is the junction of the Stuart and Barkly
Hwys, from where you can head south to Alice, north to Darwin (988km) or east to Mt
Isa in Queensland (643km).
Threeways Roadhouse
( 08-8962 2744;
www.threewaysroadhouse.com.au
; Stuart Hwy; unpowered/powered sites $24/32, cabins d $90-113;
)
is a potential stopover with a bar and restaurant, but Tennant Creek is only
26km further south.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Tennant Creek
POP 3061
Servicing a vast region of cattle stations and remote Aboriginal communities, roughly the
size of the UK, Tennant Creek is the only town of any size between Katherine, 680km to
