After more sunrise pictures at the Devils Marbles we were on the road north. The 106 Km return journey to Tennant Creek was a little more pleasant than the southbound trip, due in part to a helpful tailwind. We stopped in Tennant Creek only long enough to re-fuel, with the price being quite reasonable considering the location. The pump price was $1.39.9 but we were given a 3 cents per litre discount for having spent more than $50 at the local supermarket the day before.

Tennant creek to us was quite depressing with all the houses having very high fences and locked gates and there were many groups of aboriginal people just wandering the streets, seemingly aimlessly. All this gave us the impression that the town suffered from a deal of social problems and possibly a high crime rate, considering the previously mentioned fences. About 9 Km north of Tennant Creek is the old Overland Telegraph Station. This was truly worth a visit and we spent about an hour wandering around looking at the well-preserved buildings and reading the info boards. It must have been a harsh and lonely existence for the workers stationed out here in the 1800s.

Once again heading north we passed by Three Ways again and set our destination for Banka Banka Station. We had heard that this was a good spot to stop for the night and the recommendations were certainly correct. It was the first nice green grass we had seen for quite some time and although they do not offer power you are able to run a generator until 7p.m. We were quite surprised when we were offered the opportunity to wash our car and van, and this we did because both were covered in red dust from our trip out to Lawn Hill and Riversliegh. The water at Banka Banka comes from a spring and is clean and sweet tasting, you can drink it straight from the tap unlike the bore water at most of the places we had been over last few weeks. Because there was an abundance of this good quality water we also took the opportunity to fill our water tanks.

Our overnight stay at Banka Banka was very pleasant and we enjoyed the free slide show which runs each night for all visitors. It gives a very good insight to the daily life of the station workers here and at the two nearby stations that are part of this section of the Kidman Cattle Company. We thought this a good place for anyone to break their journey, the cost is reasonable at $16 per night ($8 p.p.p.n.), the amenities are large and clean, and the sites are shady with lush green grass, highly recommended.