Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Protected area near Wauchope, Australia.
Massive granite blocks in spherical form scatter across 18 square kilometers of protected territory, forming an extraordinary geological collection in the Australian Outback of Northern Territory.
John Ross coined the English name in 1870 during the Australian Overland Telegraph Line expedition, after remarking that the Devil had emptied his bag of marbles there. The area became the Devils Marbles Reserve in October 1961, was renamed Devil's Marbles Conservation Reserve on 21 September 1979, and was listed on the Register of the National Estate in 1980. Ownership returned to the traditional owners in October 2008 under a 99-year lease back to the Parks Service, and the joint name Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve was assigned on 6 July 2011.
The Warumungu people preserve spiritual connections to this sacred landscape, where traditional narratives describe how Dreamtime beings shaped the granite formations during creation ceremonies.
The reserve lies just off the Stuart Highway, about 105 km south of Tennant Creek and 393 km north of Alice Springs; the nearest town is Wauchope, 9 km south. A short access road leads into the boulder fields. Paths, information boards and a basic camping area are open all year, with ranger events from May to September.
A granite block weighing more than eight tonnes was taken from Karlu Karlu to Alice Springs in November 1952 to mark the grave of Reverend John Flynn, founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. After negotiations with the traditional owners it was returned in 1999, and Arrernte people gave a stone from their own country to replace it.
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