Hello Alice!

30th May 2013

This morning we woke to a spectacular sun rising over the Canyon, made even more impressive by some scattered high cloud.

Today we decided we'd treat ourselves to breakfast at the Roadhouse/Cafe near the entrance to the Campgrounds. They have the usual menu as well as the option of a full buffet breakfast. Sharon and I both decided on the bacon and scrambled eggs, which also entitles you to help yourselves to the juices and coffee.

After an enjoyable brekky, we wandered back to the van to finish packing up, then it was back out to the Lassiter Highway and then the Stuart.

We'd been seeing evidence of Camels on the roads prior to Uluru and this morning we finally spotted a group grazing in the bush close to the roadside.

After a quick stop for fuel and a bite of lunch at the Erldunda Roadhouse we were on our way again and making a bee-line for Alice Springs.



Road Trains at Erldunda, lunchtime



The rest of the drive was pretty much uneventful with the terrain still changing every half dozen kilometres but now with some large rocky outcrops thrown into the mix.

We arrived in Alice and went directly to the MacDonnell Range Holiday Park, booked for 3 nights, and settled ourselves onto our site.

Our first quest was to find a Tourist Information office which proved a lot more difficult even with the blue "i" signs pointing the way. They're not that big on direction and advisory signage up here and it took us a few blockies to find what we were loking for. Eventually, we spotted our target, parked the car, and entered the air conditioned comfort of the Visitors Centre. Sharon spent some time gathering info on the drives and destinations we intended to visit over the next 3 days and we left fully armed. Next stop was a short drive to the back of town and a steep climb to the lookout atop ANZAC Hill. From here you can get a full 360 degree view of Alice Springs in all its glory.

 

Once we'd taken our fill of photos and video, the next exercise was to find a supermarket. These seem to all be located in the busy heart of the CBD and by the time we'd bought what we needed and run the gauntlet exiting the carpark, almost getting wiped out by a carelessly reversing motorhome in the process, we thought we were just about over Alice Springs.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.