Hayes Creek

No, it's not the Stuart Highway. This is one of the old World War 2 airstrips between Katherine and Darwin. The surface was in great condition and as we were the only vehicle there we were tempted to drive along it as fast as we could (with a van in tow) but Mr Boobook is more sensible than me so we refrained.

The same very law-abiding driver had no trouble parking in this spot at Daly Waters.

We found a great spot to camp further up the highway, at Hayes Creek, under trees near a creek that is still running. There is a delightful walking track along the creek, with a rocky hillside as a backdrop. A sign informed us that the hillside was home to a species of Rock Wallaby, a Rock Rat and a Rock Ringtail Possum. All are nocturnal so we didn't see them.

Swimming hole, Hayes Creek

Hayes Creek

It was a very peaceful evening and night ... but about seven in the morning the whole camp was abruptly wakened by a noisy helicopter taking off from the paddock next door. It had everyone talking because it had some large geo survey equipment dangling below, and we were all intrigued an hour later to see the same helicopter maneuvering to land the equipment on the ground before itself landing beside it. And we're intrigued about what they could have been surveying for.

7.00 am

8.00 am

Some Stuart Highway highlights

The highest point on the Stuart Highway

Marker to indicate the Tropic of Capricorn

Stuart climbed the hill behind this monument and named it Mount Sturt and using a model of Australia hung below a plumb bob calculated that he was in the most central point of Australia. It has since been named Central Mount Stuart and the actual 'centre of Australia' depends on what parameters you use to calculate it. Stuart wasn't far wrong by any definition.

Arulte Atwatye (Native Gap), the final resting place of a carpet snake that also visited Glen Helen 140 kms away. It's a very important place in Aboriginal lore. The natural water well that used to be here was destroyed by explosives when an Overland Telegraph construction party thought they would have a go at enlarging it.

Barrow Creek telegraph repeater station, built in 1872, one of many on the Stuart Highway.

Japanese tourists at Wycliffe Well, the UFO capital of Australia.

South to Port Augusta

According to the map we've been driving in a prohibited area even though we were on the Stuart Highway. There is a good little museum at Woomera, the town where all residents have a job - you're not allowed to rent a house from the owners, the Defence Department (I think) unless you're working. So there aren't many elderly people in Woomera. We met one volunteering at the museum but he's only there because he lives with his son. The museum details the huge areas put under restriction when the rocket testing programs started after WW2, it details the lives of the highly educated community that lived at Woomera in the 50s and 60s, it has collections of photos and maps and memorabilia and in the park outside there are real rockets. We enjoyed our visit and stayed longer than we had intended.

Then today we travelled south to Port Augusta. It's not very far but it took us all day because the landscape is so interesting. At one stop we met an interesting resident, a cross and brilliantly-coloured stumpytail looking wonderful on the red sand.