Location
The area is located near Wauchope, approximately 114 km south of Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory. The site is known as Karlu Karlu to the land's Aboriginal traditional owners. The ‘Devils Marbles’ or ‘Karlu Karlu’ with its gigantic, rounded granite boulders, some spectacularly poised, is a remarkable landscape. Scattered clusters of these ‘marbles’, including many balancing rocks, are spread across a wide, shallow valley. The Devils Marbles is a nationally and internationally recognised symbol of Australia’s outback.
In 2007, according to the Northern Territory Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport 96,172 people visited the reserve. It is one of the most visited conservation areas in the Northern Territory and one of the main tourist attractions in the Barkly region.
The Reserve is accessible all year round and has a network of pathways with information boards and a basic camping area. Between May and October each year Rangers offer a program of live events at the site as part of their Territory Parks Alive Program.
Accounts of Aborigines believing the site to be eggs of the mythical Rainbow Serpent are incorrect. In reality, a number of traditional 'Dreaming' stories (none of which are about serpents) are present at Karlu Karlu, hence its great importance as a sacred site. These stories are alive and well and are passed on from generation to generation of Traditional Owners. Only a handful are considered suitable to tell to uninitiated visitors.
Most of the conservation reserve is a Registered Sacred Site, protected under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act.
On Tuesday 28 October 2008 ownership of Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles was officially passed from the Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory back to the Traditional Owners at a ceremony held on the reserve. The reserve is now leased back to the Parks Service under a 99 year lease and the site is now managed by Rangers and Traditional Owners in joint partnership. Visitor access has not been affected.
Read more about this topic: Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve