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28th July 2009
Departed Kings Creek Station today headed for the West MacDonnell Ranges via the Meereenie Loops Road - 150km's of very rough road.We finally made it Glen Helen Gorge where we set up camp on river at Finke Two Mile bush camp - just across the road from the Glen Helen Resort.That arvo we walked down to Glen Helen Gorge and then drove to Ormiston Gorge and bumped in to Bill and Elizabeth - our friends from William Creek.
Drove back to camp and watched the cars roll in.It seems you can't escape the crowds even when you're bush camping!For dinner Matt cooked up some yummy curried sausages in the camp oven.We now have enough left-over's for the next 3 days!
29th July 2009
Got up and decided to pack up camp and move on.We were going to stay another night but it was too windy.Matt decided he needed a bath so went for a very quick swim in the river.It was freezing!And he received a round of applause from our neighbours.
As we were packing up we spotted our first snake!Mel was reversing the car to connect the camper when she spotted it on the side of the road.She called out to Matt who quickly got the shovel and whacked it a couple of times.It was after the first whack that Mel realised that it was a rubber snake!It was extremely real looking but we felt like a couple of dills afterwards!
After killing the snake we drove back to Ormiston Gorge did the Pound Walk (7km's) which takes you out along the hills and across the pound so that you come in the back of Ormiston Gorge.It was a nice walk.
Back on the road again and we made a stop at the Ochre Pits.Which is where the aboriginals used to get there Ochre for painting.Apparently they traded it all over Australia.After that we stopped at Serpentine Gorge and climbed up the steep, rocky hillside to look over the back of the gorge (Mel was stuffed by this stage!).We then drove on the Ellery Creek Bighole where we camped for the night.It has been the quietest campsite so far!It must be because there are no showers.Matt setup our shower so we were both able to have a lovely hot shower.We ate our dinner around the communal campfire and spent the evening chatting to a couple from Melbourne who are travelling around the western half of Oz with their two young kids.It was nice to meet some people our own age.
30th July 2009
Packed up camp and walked down to Ellery Creek Bighole.Matt decided that he wasn't in need of a bath today so we jumped in the car and drove to Standley Chasm.From there we decided to take a detour to Hermannsburg to the old Lutheran Mission where we bumped in to Bill and Elizabeth again!Hermannsburg was one of the first towns in Central Australia and was originally a mission run by Germans.
After Hermannsburg we drove to Simpsons Gap - the last gorge or gap before Alice Springs - which was really nice.It was getting late when we arrived so most of the tourists had left and it was nice a quiet with only a couple of other people around.From there we drove to Alice Springs and checked in to the Big 4 Caravan Park.It was massive - 400 sites plus cabins.
We went for a quick drive around Alice Springs and then headed back to camp for take-away pizza and TV - the first time we've had TV since we've been away!
31st July 2009
Off to do some jobs this morning!First stop ARB for a canvas bag for the car roof as the camper is a little bit overloaded and crowded and we want to do some rearranging of stuff.Then it was off to the car wash to give our poor car and camper a bath.The poor things are filthy!Then we met Steve - who has offered us a bed at his place - and dropped of the camper before heading to the Todd Mall for lunch.We had a bit of a look in some galleries and then Matt went to a didgeridoo lesson - he's a bit disappointed he left his didge in Melbourne.Then we went to the reptile centre to play with some lizards and snakes before heading back to Steve's to get ready for dinner.We are dining out tonight.We went to Oscar's in the Todd Mall and it was lovely!We highly recommend it.
1st August 2009
Matt went for a drive with Steve today to do a job so Mel spent the day at home uploading photo's on the computer and trying to update the blog page.
We dined out again in the Todd Mall and had some yummy tapas and then we went to the Didgeridoo Show Outback which was really good.It's one guy who plays contempary didgeridoo, accompanied by electric drums and traditional percussion.It was well worth the visit.
2nd August 2009
Today we spent most of the day at the Alice Springs Desert Park.We weren't sure if we would like it but we found it really interesting.We went to a talk on Aboriginal survival in the desert, and toured the nocturnal house and saw lots of nocturnal marsupials and reptiles and we saw a Birds of Prey display which was really good fun.It was a very informative and interesting place - a must see if you visit Alice Springs.
Out for dinner again as it was our last night in Alice Springs and Steve wanted to take us to the Juicy Rump which is one of the restaurants at the casino.After a yummy dinner (again) we hit the casino with the pokies eating all of Steve and my money but not Matt's!He won $200.
We really enjoyed our time in Alice Springs and found it to be much nicer than we expected.It's quite clean and tidy and there is lots to see and do and plenty of nice restaurants.
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