Northern Territory Attractions

Venue: Devil's Marbles    When: Daily

A hundred kilometres south of Tennant Creek, thousands of huge, perfectly round and precariously-balanced boulders are strewn across a shallow valley, as if the devil himself had just finished playing a game of giant marbles. Called Karlwe Karlwe by the Warrumungu people, the rock formations are at the heart of a 1802 hectare reserve, of great cultural importance not only to the Warrumungu but also the Kaiditch, Wogaia and Alyawarre peoples.

The Aboriginal people believe that these boulders are the eggs of the Dreamtime's Rainbow Serpent, while geologists think they resulted from a series of granite intrusions that occurred 1700 million years ago. Regardless of how or why they got there, the Marbles, some of which are as big as an office block, are a spectacular sight and a photographer's dream, especially as the sun rises or falls, bathing the rocks in beautiful light.

There is a man-made path that leads you through the rocks, but it's more fun to just clamber among them and imagine that you're really small. Tours are organised from Tennant Creek and the reserve is easily accessible by ordinary two-wheel drive vehicles. For those who want to take their time to make a deeper connection with the rocks, there is a campsite on the eastern side, where camping fees apply.