Deals > Explore > Tennant Creek > South of Tennant
Barrow Creek
Barrow Creek, 204 kilometres south of Tennant Creek, was established in 1871 as a repeater station for the Overland Telegraph Line. The original stone buildings were complemented by a store and pub in 1932, coinciding with the gold rush in the area. It is now a popular stopover between Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve
The Devils Marbles, about 100 kilometres south of Tennant Creek, are a collection of huge granite boulders, scattered through a wide, shallow valley. Originally large rectangular blocks, the boulders have eroded over millennia to their current spherical shape that appear to be precariously balanced. Sunrise is a particularly beautiful time to see them.
Davenport Range National Park
The Davenport Range National Park is an area of rugged outback beauty that can be accessed off the Explorer’s Way, 87 kilometres south of Tennant Creek. The Old Police Station Waterhole is picturesque and camping is allowed here. A high-clearance four-wheel-drive is necessary to fully experience the Park.
Wauchope
The Wauchope Hotel is located just a few kilometres south of the Devils Marbles, making it a great place to stay to catch the sunrise and sunset over the Marbles. The hotel has comfortable cabins and a caravan park and travellers can enjoy a drink on the verandah, chat to the locals and try their luck on the pool table.
Wycliffe Well
The Wycliffe Well Holiday Park is located 132 kilometres south of Tennant Creek. Facilities for travellers include caravan, camping and cabin accommodation, a shop and a service station. Its main claim to fame, however, is numerous UFO sightings that have been reported in the area, alluded to by the concrete aliens out the front.
Ti Tree
The tiny township of Ti Tree, 314 kilometres south of Tennant Creek, services several Aboriginal communities including Utopia, which is renowned for its art. The area is an emerging centre for grapes and melons due to its year-round sunshine and abundant underground water supply. The Ti Tree Roadhouse services most travellers’ needs.
The ruggedly beautiful landscape south of Tennant Creek is home to the Warumungu people, the Aboriginal traditional owners of this region.
It is not a desert landscape as many expect, but sweeping plains of golden grasslands, gum trees and red sandstone rock formations. The Barkly region contains several huge cattle stations and is awash with history from the pioneering past and the Second World War.
The Explorer’s Way (also known as the Stuart Highway) follows the route forged by explorer John McDouall Stuart in the 1860s for the Overland Telegraph Line, which formed the basis for all subsequent north/south lines of communications. This corridor is the Northern Territory’s lifeline and carries travellers to the attractions of the area such as the remarkable Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve and Davenport Range National Park.
The Devils Marbles are many huge granite boulders scattered (often precariously) through a wide, shallow valley. The formations provide shelter to a variety of flora and fauna of the area and glow a rich red in the light of the early evening. Local Aboriginal mythology holds that the boulders are the eggs of the Rainbow Serpent. Visitors can take a self-guided walk from the car park.
The Davenport Range National Park, located due east of the Devils Marbles, was worked by prospectors in the 1930s and 40s. More recently, its rugged outback beauty and permanent waterholes helped establish the area as a proposed national park in 1993. The Davenport Ranges are best explored by four-wheel-drive vehicle.
