We had a good takeoff from the van park in Camooweal. Quite a few vans in but still plenty of room. Maybe we have gotten away early from Brisbane and beaten the rush of nomads north.

Arrived at Barkly Homestead, about 270km west from Camooweal at 12.30 or so, benefiting from the half hour time gain. Very flat country getting across the Barkly Tablelands, quite green grasslands and the creeks with plenty of water. Stopped for morning tea about 50 km out of the Homestead, felt like a long way from nowhere, plenty of flies out and about. Hopefully they will disappear as we get further into winter.

The Barkly Homestead is an oasis along the highway and a great place to stop for the night. Well laid out grounds and facilities, some artwork to go with it too! We have had a relaxing afternoon in the shade, flicking flies away.

In the evening we had a bite to eat in the Roadhouse cafe. Quite an extensive menu for the most remote Roadhouse in Australia. Allthego settled on a parmie and Homealone a straight schnitzel. Not huge meals but not small either, excellent!

Hitting the road again at around 9am in the morning our next stop was at Banka Banka (BB). BB is on the Stuart Hwy about 60km north of where the Barkly Hwy terminates, 160 km on from the Homestead. It is a long stretch of uninspiring country! Tennant Creek is to the south of the junction.

Heading for BB on the Stuart we had a first time experience of every caravaner’s nightmare. A tyre blowout.

Not ours!

We passed some tyre remnants on the road and up around the next bend was the truck and van in the ditch, upright. It must have only happened minutes before. We stopped and checked the guy out, he was an old bloke, looked about 70-75 (mmmmm). All ok, but the van was on its wheel rim dug into the gravel up to its suspension. Not a pretty sight. We took his details and upon arrival at BB rang his roadside assistance people who declined to assist, saying it was an insurance job. Nice. Thankfully, the BB people assisted and drove down to get him going taking several jacks for the job. All worked out ok in the end.

BB is an indigenous cattle station that also provides camping facilities for about 40 vans. Very comfortable spot. We settled in for the afternoon. Late in the day Allthego climbed the nearby hill for a look over the landscape. Great view of the campground and surrounding countryside.

Moving on from BB the trip up the Stuart to the Daly Waters Pub was uneventful compared to the previous days tyre blow out. We stopped for a while at Newcastle Waters, a bit of a ghost town after being a drovers meeting point in the 1800 and early 1900s. The ‘waters’ were brimful and teeming with bird life, pelicans, cormorants, herons, ducks and others.

At the pub we got our site and made a bit of a meal in positioning the van between the trees. Almost collecting them at times. Bit of guidance from a neighbour helped and all was good! Daly Waters is in the middle of nowhere, several hundred kilometres south of Darwin and several hundred north of Tennant Creek. It is about 5 km off the highway and so out of the way. A significant airport was built here pre the Second World War and it was a staging point for early Sydney to London flights. Its remnants remain today for exploration.

Pleasant afternoon in the shade beside the van relaxing. The pub is famous for its barra meals and dinner didn’t disappoint.

Head off now for Katherine in the morning.