I thought Ellery Creek Big Hole was nice. Whistleduck creek is as beautiful as Ellery Creek but with the benefits of being much more remote, the birdlife epic, the night time temperature much warmer and we were the only ones in the camp ground. Flocks of green Budgies run rampant. They are camouflaged so well in the trees, a flock suddenly materializes from a tree, then just as quickly they have vanished, morphing into the next tree. Being alone meant we could build a fire of the highest calibre and Sharni cooked up a camp roast that may have been history’s best. The pristine desert environment meant that even after a late night tending to the fire and consuming close to his body weight in beers, Joe felt so good in the morning he got up to take a photo of the sunrise.

The track through the Davenport ranges is located just south of Tennant Creek off the Stuart Highway and is reasonable. It’s not too bad – needs to be kept ok because it’s used by road trains transporting cattle. The track passes through Kurundi cattle station homestead which has a small shop and fuel station. There are several aboriginal communities in the area too. The side track to Whistleduck creek is 4WD only I reckon, but only just. It passes through some dry creek beds which may be too steep for a 2WD. The campsite has long drop toilets and some picnic tables. Many of the sites are overgrown with grass. Needs some whipper snipper work.