- Location: 114 km south of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory
- Nearest town: Wauchope
- Website: https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/karlu-karlu-devils-marbles-conservation-reserve
- Date of foundation: October 1961.
- Area: 18.02 square meters. km
- Opening hours: all year round
- Attendance: 137,500 people
In the Australian state of the Northern Territories near the city of Tennant Creek there is a mysterious place, gathered around itself a lot of rumors and legends - the reserve "Devil's Balls". The reserve "Devil's Balls" (or "Devil's Balls") is a set of large round granite boulders, chaotically located in the valley.
The material from which the boulders were composed was formed millions of years ago from frozen magma, and the shape of the stones was given to water, wind and time, unfortunately, part of the round stones is destroyed and continues to deteriorate due to large differences in daytime and night temperatures (the stones first expand, and then shrink, which leads to cracks). Surprising boulders and their size - the diameter of the stones varies from 0.5 to 6 meters in diameter.
Legends and facts of the reserve "Devil's Balls"
The "Devil's Balls" reserve is located in a sacred place for the Aboriginal tribe, in the local dialect the name of these round boulders sounds like "Karlu-Karlu". As mentioned above, many legends are composed about the reserve, according to one of which round boulders are eggs of the rainbow snake, which is the ancestor of the human race; according to another legend, the balls are part of the Devil's decoration, but this is only a part of the legends known to a wide circle, the rest of the aborigines are kept secret from the uninitiated.
In the middle of the 20th century (1953), one of the stones of the "Devil's Balls" reserve was transported to the city of Alice Springs to decorate the monument dedicated to the founder of the Royal Service "Flying Doctor", however this action aroused great resonance in the society since the stone was taken without the permission of the natives from their sacred place. In the late 90's, the stone was returned to its place, and Flynn's grave was decorated with another similar stone.
Since 2008, the territory of the reserve has been officially transferred to the possession of the indigenous people, but management is also carried out jointly with the Park Protection Service of Australia. Nowadays, the "Devil's Balls" reserve is a favorite holiday destination for many tourists: pedestrian paths are laid, information boards are installed, picnic sites are built. The best time to visit the reserve is the period from May to October - at this time in the park are organized various festivals and events.
How to get there?
To get to the reserve "Devil's Balls" will not be difficult - from Tennant Creek to the reserve regularly ride tourist buses and taxis, the journey will take approximately 1,5-2 hours. Tennant Creek can be reached by any domestic flight from Australia , or from Adelaide or Darwin by train.
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