Making a new friend at a roadhouse off the Stuart Highway in the middle of nowhere!
The drive from Alice Springs to Darwin is long – about 20 hours – and there’s not too much to see in between except for Devils Marbles and Katherine Gorge. So the guide on our trip had to be a bit creative in stops to make the 3 day tour more exciting, and she did a good job of it. A friend of hers at a roadhouse south of Daly Waters has a few pet pythons which she lets visitors hold and take a picture with. Considering most zoos will charge $20 for this, I took the opportunity to do it for free.
There is also the famous Daly Waters pub – a place which claims to have the oldest liquor license in Australia. Like lots of other outback roadhouses they have collected postcards, photos, letters, and other memorabilia from all over the world.
Finally there’s the Mataranka thermal pools and Waterhouse River – a nice swimming spot just south of Katherine that’s not worth going out of your way for but a pleasant spot if you’re passing through anyway.
A Yank without a Chain 