When we were in Alice Springs we found out there was a 4×4 track which stretched from the South Australian border to just south of Darwin which was created by Bill Binn who was a National Parks ranger to show tourists the lesser known wonders of Northern Territory. This track gave us an alternate route from Ross River up to the Plenty Highway so after discussing it with the Ross River locals we decided to give it a go.
The first part of the track was a little rough with lots of corrugations and creek crossings but the scenery was spectacular driving through the Ranges. The rock formations were amazing and to me looked like the spines of sleeping dragons. After about 40kms we arrived at an old gold mining town called Arltunga. Another example of how crazy the early settlers were trying to make a living off countryside that wasn’t kind to humans. Not enough water to even have a veggie garden.
After Arltunga we then drove through several working cattle stations where the road was a little better. After about 80kms of this we then took a right turn off the Binn’s track to intersect the Plenty highway and that track was slow going. It was pretty much a goat track with lots of wash outs. It was fun but tough driving and needless to say when we came to the intersection of the Plenty Hwy we gave ourselves a high-five and realised it had taken us 5 hours to travel the 160kms! It would have been quicker to take the highway back to Alice and then up to Gem tree but where would the fun be in that!
Gem tree consisted of a caravan park and nothing else. It got its name from the gem fields just down the road which are abundant in garnets and it’s the key attraction at the park. Unfortunately we missed the tour so Tim and I decided to go off and try our luck armed with our shovel and colander and absolutely no idea on how or what to look for. Needless to say we didn’t find any. 😂😂
There were two reasons why we stopped at Gemtree. One was for the power so we could run our little electric heater as the nights were getting down to 1 degree and also to watch the State of Origin on TV. The fun thing was there were a few NSW supporters around us so lots of banter was had before the game. They were a little sheepish the next day after we came away with the win! S