TENNANT CREEK

 
 
 

DAY 1:
Tennant Creek was where we were headed today but unfortunately we broke down and the NRMA had to come and help us. He towed us to a Toyota dealer where we got an ice cream – a splice, while Dad and Brian the tow truck man talked to the Toyota dealer to see what was wrong with the car. They thought it would take a week to fix it because they thought the fuel pump had broken. It was only a petrol problem and after we filled up we were on our way. I was a bit scared being stuck out in the middle of the outback, but we played eye spy and I felt better. Some of the things we spied were: Spinifex, sky, cars (very few) and termite mounds!

We arrived at our caravan park and ordered pizza which was delivered to the caravan park! We also bought a fizzy drink to have with it. At night we sat outside and watched the beautiful fireworks. I had never seen fireworks like that before! We went to bed late (but I went to bed a bit later that James because I could see the fireworks out of my window!!

DAY2:
This morning we went and bought a new Gerri can to help us store fuel in case we run out again. Mum was a bit scared sitting in the car with us so she locked the doors while Dad went inside! There are a lot of Aboriginal people here – they didn’t have many clothes and most did not wear shoes. We saw young children pushing babies in prams and lots of dogs with them. They like to sit in big groups on the ground and chat together.

After our quick trip to get the Gerri can, we went to the Battery Hill Mine where we met our guide – Ray. It was so cool. We got to wear ear muffs and a hard hat so that if a wall fell in we would be O.K. We were able to carry big torches too. The best thing I liked in the mine was touching all the machinery – especially when Ray turned it on and we got to use it. He was interesting and told us many stories of when he worked in the mine. He was funny!

When we left the mine, we panned for gold but didn’t get anything. Ray told us where to find the gold and we started noodling and found heaps. He showed us a car park where they had dumped a lot of the gold so we went and washed it off and found lots of little pieces.

We had a swim in the afternoon – a bit chilly, but we had fun anyway. I wonder why no one else came in?