Four lads, two 4WDs and more camera gear than entirely necessary for a long weekend in the bush. From Alice Springs, they pointed their bonnets north towards the Davenport Ranges, on a mission to capture bulldust clouds, desert-defying waterholes, and Barkly’s starlit skies.

 

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Alyawarr, Wakaya, Kaytetye, and Warumungu peoples, who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Quick Overview

We’d seen the icons and we wanted more. We travelled north, along 400km of highway and red dirt from Alice Springs, to tackle this three-day 4WD adventure.

On this trip we explored Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park and the surrounding Barkly region, passing through some of Central Australia’s most rugged and remote country.

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About Davenport Ranges

Stretching a mammoth 320,000km² across the central-eastern Northern Territory to the Queensland border, the Barkly region is best known for the vast cattle stations and grassy plains of the Barkly Tableland.

But southeast of Tennant Creek, the country buckles into the rocky ridges and sheltered gullies of Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park, where permanent waterholes provide a vital refuge for desert wildlife.

Throw in remnants of the region’s mining and pastoral past, 4WD tracks, and the monolithic Karlu Karlu / Devil’s Marbles, and there’s plenty to explore.

Read more: Remember to leave no trace

 

Time to hit the road!

What It’s Like to 4WD From Alice Springs to Davenport Ranges

Day 1 – Alice Springs to Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve

Distance: ~400km
Driving Time: 4 hours

By the time we’d collected the last of the crew from Alice Springs Airport, the afternoon was already getting away from us. Some of us had spent the last few days exploring the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, so our off-grid Thrifty 4×4 Adventure Campers were both already fully stocked.

Well, almost. Central Australia’s heat had made short work of our water supplies, calling for a quick detour to Blatherskite Park, just south of town. Only $5 (paid at the office) to refill both 45L onboard tanks, with drinking water as clear as any we’d found in town.

We set our sights on Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, around 400km north of Alice, or four hours’ driving, up the Stuart Highway. Soon enough, the MacDonnell Ranges had disappeared in the rear-view, the Stuart Highway’s 130km/h limit helping us reel in the plains.

 

Trails wind through the boulders of Karlu Karlu

 

There were temptations to stop: the enormous Anmatjere sculptures at Aileron, for starters, and the lure of a cold drink at Barrow Creek Hotel. With an earlier start, both would have been on the cards. But with four light-chasing photographers in the convoy, missing golden hour wasn’t an option. The pub could wait.

 

Mind-bending boulders cloven clean in two

 

We rolled into Karlu Karlu for an hour’s stroll around its extraordinary granite monoliths. Scattered across a shallow valley, some sit in improbable stacks; others look as though some otherworldly force had split them neatly down the middle.

They’re not props for a daredevil photo shoot, though. This is a sacred place for its Traditional Owners, who ask visitors not to climb the boulders. Stick to the walking tracks and respect restricted areas. At sunset, follow the 350m spur off the Mayijangu Walk to Nyanjiki Lookout, where the outcrop glows rusty orange before deepening to a rich, earthy red.

 

Sunset (or sunrise) is a must at Karlu Karlu

 

We’d considered staying at the reserve’s bush campground, but the prospect of a beer, a shower and a campsite out the back of Devils Marbles Hotel, 8km south along the Stuart Highway, won out.

Dinner and a quick rinse later, we were back among the boulders with tripods and cameras in hand. In August 2026, Karlu Karlu earned the NT’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary designation. And for good reason. Away from artificial lights, the night sky doesn’t fill with stars, it disappears behind them.

Hot Tip: On the 22nd of July 2028 there will be a nearly five minute long total solar eclipse here!

 

Karlu Karlu is the NT’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary too!

Day 2 – Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve to Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole

Distance: 235km
Driving Time: 4 hours

Passing up the hotel’s bacon-and-egg toasties (breakfast 6-11am) took some willpower, but we’d already stocked the campers with fruit, muesli, and yoghurt. Breakfast done and tanks refuelled, we continued 20 minutes north to Bonney Well, where a weatherbeaten windmill was our cue to turn east onto Kurundi Road.

Dug in 1878–79, the well here kept cattle and sheep watered on their long journey north to Springvale Station, near Katherine. These days, the site marks the gateway to Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park.

 

Heading off the tarmac and into the park

 

With the bitumen finally behind us, we’d joined a stretch of the 2,230km Binns Track, a remote 4WD route named after longtime NT Parks ranger Bill Binns, who wanted more travellers to explore the Territory’s desert landscapes.

Bill clearly knew a thing or two about taking the road less travelled. Long red-dirt straights cut across the Barkly’s sunbaked flats, and for much of the drive, we had them to ourselves. Gradually, the plains began to buckle, the bends tightened and the road dipped through one bone-dry creekbed after another as the first folds of the Davenport Ranges rose around us.

 

Red dirt, dust, and ranges ahead

 

Which made the broad, shimmering waterhole just beyond Kurundi Station, an hour from the highway, all the more surprising. A swim was tempting in the late-morning heat, but the cattle lazing along its grassy banks didn’t look like they were moving anytime soon. Besides, better swims lay ahead.

 

Sorry to bother you, mate!

 

Another 18km on, a turnoff led south towards the semi-permanent pools of Whistleduck Creek, just inside the national park’s boundary. With our tyres aired down for the corrugations, we followed the 24km access track, only stopping to open and close two station gates, before pulling up at the picnic shelter for lunch.

Fed and ready to cool off, we walked the short trail to Irrmweng Rockhole, wasting little time slipping into the water. Take care getting in; the rocks are slippery. The creekside campsites looked equally inviting. With another night up our sleeves, we’d have happily pitched our tents here among the ghost gums.

 

Wistful at Whistleduck, but we had further to go today

 

Instead, we backtracked to Kurundi Road and continued towards Epenarra Station, where the turn south to Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole led us deeper into the ranges’ rugged high country. Before re-entering the park, we sent up the drone, revealing an expanse of rippled escarpments, their spinifex-speckled slopes striped with long afternoon shadows.

 

The dry, flat Red Centre everyone!

 

Around two hours from Whistleduck Creek, we reached camp with enough warmth left in the day to make the waterhole irresistible. Another dip washed off the dust before we got dinner cooking and settled in for the evening. The cameras weren’t going away just yet, though. We had another cloudless sky to keep us up late.

 

Home amongst the gum trees, literally, at Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole

Day 3 – Frew River 4WD Track Return to Alice Springs

Distance: 520km
Driving Time: 8 hours

Morning arrived with a chorus of birdsong, a melodic change from the wild donkeys we’d heard braying before bed. Corellas, butcherbirds, and cormorants are among the regulars here, drawn to this rare patch of desert water. Before packing up, we set off to explore the opposite bank.

 

The morning soak in water and birdsong comes highly recommended

 

There’s no formal walking circuit around the waterhole, just a series of animal tracks and stony outcrops, some of which were submerged after recent rain. Give yourself a slow hour for the full lap when conditions allow. Confident swimmers (and lazy walkers) can take a refreshing shortcut across to the ruins of the police station and Frew River homestead.

Known as Thethew to the Alyawarr people, the waterhole has sustained Aboriginal communities for thousands of years, long before pastoralists arrived in the late 1880s. The homestead dates back to those early cattle-station days, with the police post arriving in 1919 during the tungsten-mining boom.

 

Heading out on the Frew River 4WD Track

 

Back at camp, our attention turned to the day’s main event: the Frew River 4WD Track, starting just outside the campground. Don’t let its modest 17km length fool you. Allow two hours to negotiate its twists and turns, dipping through creekbeds past two secluded bush camps before climbing steep, loose slopes onto exposed ridgelines.

Low-range gearing, steady throttle control and picking your line to avoid underbody scrapes all come with the territory, as does the odd roadside wrestle with prickly grevillea when hopping out to inspect the trickier sections. The full circuit rewards drivers with sweeping views across the ranges and the river gums tracing the Frew below.

 

We left enough campsites behind for a whole second trip!

 

Luckily, we’d checked with NT Parks before leaving Alice, so the flooded closure beyond Campground 2 was no surprise. With the full loop off limits, we doubled back to the main access road and rejoined the Binns Track heading south, passing the abandoned tungsten mining relics at Hatches Creek.

Rocky creek crossings and winding tracks gradually gave way to open cattle country around Murray Downs, before we swung west towards the Stuart Highway, popping out by Taylor Creek.

From there, it was a long haul back to Alice Springs. We’d come looking for bulldust, waterholes, and star-filled skies, and were heading home with memory cards full of all three.

 

Memories: locked in. Next trip? Loading

History of Davenport Ranges

For thousands of years, the Alyawarr, Wakaya, Kaytetye, and Warumungu peoples have maintained deep connections to Iytwelepenty (meaning ‘where the black-footed rock-wallabies run’). Further west, the giant granite formations of Karlu Karlu (‘round boulders’) hold their own cultural significance, featuring in ancestral Dreaming stories. Both were returned to Aboriginal ownership in 2008 and are now jointly managed with NT Parks.

The name Davenport came in 1860, when explorer John McDouall Stuart named the ranges after South Australian politician Samuel Davenport. The completion of the Overland Telegraph in 1872 helped open the Barkly region to pastoralism and later mining.

How To Get to Davenport Ranges

Head north from Alice Springs along the Stuart Highway for around 420km, then swap bitumen for red dirt at the Bonney Well turnoff. From there, it’s around two hours to reach Whistleduck Creek or closer to four for Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole Campground (depending on road conditions).

How Long Is a Davenport Ranges 4WD Road Trip?

1,225km total (including return to Alice Springs). It took us three days.

Where To Stay Around Davenport Ranges

Whistleduck Creek Campground

Birdsong carries across a string of shaded waterholes at this remote bush camp inside the national park’s northwest corner. Accessible only by high-clearance 4WD.

Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole Campground

Pitch up at this campsite beneath the River Red gums, with a permanent swimming hole on your doorstep and drop toilets, tables, and fire rings.

Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve

Just off Stuart Highway, camp among the enormous granite boulders, which glow red in the late-afternoon sun and make an equally impressive backdrop at sunrise. Basic campground facilities; BYO drinking water.

Devils Marbles Hotel

An old-school highway pub 8km south of Karlu Karlu, offering motel rooms, cabins, and powered and unpowered campsites with camp kitchen and bathrooms. Not to mention a front bar, cold beer, fuel, and a swimming pool.

Things To Do Around Davenport Ranges

  • Swim at waterholes: Take a refreshing dip in Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole or explore the gum-fringed rock pools of Whistleduck Creek
  • Go 4WDing: Tackle the rocky climbs and sweeping ridgelines of the 17km Frew River 4WD Track
  • Discover historic sites: Check out Bonney Well just off the highway, the crumbling Frew River homestead and police station, and the abandoned tungsten workings at Hatches Creek
  • Astrophotography: Capture the silhouetted granite boulders of Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles or the dazzling star fields above the park’s remote campsites
  • Explore Tennant Creek: Discover the region’s gold-mining history, visit the Battery Hill Mining Centre, and explore the town’s Aboriginal art and cultural experiences

 

Pulling up at Thethew / Old Police Station Waterhole Campground

Skill Level

Intermediate

Most of the route is fairly approachable for beginners in dry conditions, but the technically-demanding Frew River 4WD Track is where things get serious.

Read more: How to 4WD For Beginners

Essential Gear for a Davenport Ranges 4WD Road Trip

  • 4WD
  • Extra fuel
  • Extra water (plan for 4-6L per person, per day, in hot conditions)
  • BYO Firewood
  • Food and cooking equipment
  • Camping/sleeping gear
  • Recovery gear (recovery boards, shovel, winch, snatch straps)
  • Air compressor
  • Communication (satellite phone, PLB, two-way radio)
  • First aid kit
  • NT Parks Visitor Pass
  • Half-decent camera (yes, this is essential)

Tips for 4WDing in Davenport Ranges

  • Carry plenty of fuel. Slow, technical driving along the Frew River 4WD Track can be thirsty work, with the nearest reliable bowser a long way away
  • Give your tyres a break on the corrugations. Drop pressures as conditions require, and bring a compressor to pump them back up before hitting the Stuart Highway
  • Before setting off, contact NT Parks Tennant Creek Office (08 8951 8250) for track conditions. You’ll also need to book campsites online in advance, while interstate visitors need an NT Parks Visitor Pass
  • Keep food and rubbish secured overnight. Curious donkeys and cattle are known to wander into camp
  • Beat the Barkly heat with early starts, plenty of shade and at least 4-6L of drinking water per person, per day, plus emergency reserves

This piece was brought to you by a real living human who felt the wind in their hair and described their adventure in their own words. This is because we rate authenticity and the sharing of great experiences in the natural world – it’s all part of our ethos here at We Are Explorers. You can read more about it in our Editorial Standards.