A long day was had by all ...

After leaving Trephina Gorge we had a short run back in to Alice Springs to fuel ($1.85p/l) up then headed up the Stuart Highway to Gemtree (about 140kms north).

Gemtree is a little place north of the East Macdonnel Ranges on the Plenty Highway and is the gateway to the Central Australian Gemfields. The Caravan Park is 5th generation owned and prides itself on fossicking.

After a brief stop for lunch we headed up the Plenty Highway which links Alice Springs to Boulia in Qld. It is largely (on the section that we drove) a single lane bitumen road with jagged edges.

We eventually turned onto Binns Track to get to Tower Rock. The road was unsealed with the odd section of mud and cows and their dung ... because there was still water on parts of the road, the cows liked to stand in the water and drink ... oblivious to the road... and what was on it ...

The full Binns Track is about 2,230kms long and is one of Australia's longest continuous drives. It starts at Mt Dare (near the NT/SA border) and ends at Timber Creek (NT). It is named after Bill Binns who worked as a NT Ranger for over 32 years whose dream was to help visitors explore more of Central Australia.

Tower Rock

We camped right in front of this rock formation. Stunning and so quiet.

Tower Rock at Sunset

It would've been easy to spend a day or two here ... but more of Binns Track awaited us ...

The video tells the story - 7 minutes ... (note: large file!) ... lots of water crossings, rocks, sand ... a long day was had by all ...