Devils Marbles
Yesterday we drove about 300kms from the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse to the Wauchope Roadhouse. This trip was westerly along the Barkly Hwy to the Threeways Roadhouse at the intersection with the Sturt Hwy which runs north-south. We topped up fuel at the Threeways and let Blue out on a small area of green grass. We have seen a few road trains carrying these bales of wool wrapped in yellow plastic like this one at the Threeways. We don't know where the wool comes from but presume South Australia.
There has been hardly any roadkill on the roads we have driven. We think it is because there is grass and other food available away from the roads, so kangaroos and other animals are not having to eat roadside grass. We have not seen any live animals along the roads, which is most unusual.
The Devils Marbles Hotel is 8kms south of the site of the Marbles. We had a powered site out the back but decided one night there would be enough. The money we had paid for the second night was willingly refunded, and we spent it having dinner at the hotel (which was disappointing given the good reviews we had read). There was a lovely area of green grass for campers so I could keep Blue off the dirt. There is no Telstra mobile phone coverage there, and only exists in a few places along the Sturt Hwy where there are some emergency stations where you put your phone into a metal bracket to use this service.
As we visited the Marbles last year Anita decided to look after Blue and Tilly. Three of our Roadie friends came with me in the afternoon, but I was on my own when I drove back to see the granite rocks at sunset. The spiky seed is only about the size of a 10 cent coin. The close up of the granite shows the amazing colours in these rocks.