Entering the Northern Territory

Finally near the end of the long stretch of unsealed road as we enter the Northern Territory.



As we neared the Docker River area, a roadhouse with an associated aboriginal settlement nearby, had a sign on the road warning us to be careful.

And we saw Brumbies along the road. These are feral horses found in lots of places around the country. From Wikipedia:

Brumbies are the descendants of escaped or lost horses, dating back in some cases to those belonging to the early European settlers, including the "Capers" from South Africa, Timor Ponies from Indonesia, British pony and draught horse breeds, and a significant number of Thoroughbreds and Arabians.

The road here is quite different from the sections I've shown earlier. Here, it is all red sand and very smooth. You just don't want to get to close in the edges for fear it gets too soft you get stuck. Large sections in the NT were under construction so it was a bit of a mess while the road surface was built up and graded.

Then suddenly, we reached the sealed road and Kata Tjuta. This a large outcropping of seriously large stones of a similar color and composition to Uluru (below).

A note on pronounciation: The "tj" combination is sounded "ch". So, to pronounce the name of this place, think about the Chatanooga Choo Choo...here we have the Kata Tjuta (choo choo). At least it sounds similar to me.

Another 40 km or so and we reach Uluru (Ayer's Rock).

These outcroppings were once known as The Olgas and Ayer's Rock. Since that time, all this land has been returned to the Aboriginals who traditionally inhabit this area and it is administered by them. With this change came the name change to their traditional names.