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What a fantastic place Alice Springs is! We arrived with the intention of staying 3 nights and ended up extending our stay by a further 2 nights.
Friday was spent restocking our food supplies, it was so nice to get good fresh fruit and veg (the simple things you miss when in a remote area). Spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the Big 4 Macdonnell Ranges Caravan Park, which we found to be an outstanding park and quite reasonably priced. Also caught up with some mates we had made on our travels.
Saturday was camel cup day! The track was walking distance from our park so off we trotted, very excited by the prospect of a day at the races. I must say, they do things very casually in the NT. There was not a fascinator to be seen, but there were plenty of shorts and thongs! We all checked out the camels and tried to pick a winner. I thought Goldy looked like a chilled out Territorian, as she was just sitting and relaxing before the big race. Turns out she may have been a little too chilled, as she thundered home at about third last place. Was a great day, capped off by the kids having a swim in the pool (which was freezing!)
Sunday we decided to explore the West Macdonnell Ranges. We started with lunch at Simpsons Gap, which is a pretty little place only about 20 km's from town. Next up was a drive out to Ellery Big Hole which is a popular swimming hole in the summer. It was a bit of a chilly day, so even us mad Victorians weren't really tempted to go for a dip. A little further out the road was Serpentine Gorge, which had a fantastic walk into a very pretty and peaceful gorge. We also decided to do the lookout walk, which was a 1100m climb virtually straight up! It was a great cardio workout but Jess and I were feeling a little scared coming down as it was really high and a bit treacherous at times! The view was worth it though, with sweeping views across the West Macdonnell Ranges. We enjoyed one last night with our new friends before they headed home and hit the sack in readiness for another big day.
Today we headed back to the West Macs again, this time to visit Ormiston Gorge. This place is incredibly beautiful and we all agreed it was the highlight of the trip so far. We went on the Ghost Gum walk which led us up many steps to the top of the gorge, where a lone Ghost Gum stands. The view was spectacular. The track then meandered down the side of the gorge to the riverbed, where we walked over sand and scrambled over rocks to complete the journey. We were lucky enough to see a dingo trying to catch some fish. Drove the 130 km's back into town and arrived back to the caravan park, only to run into the Portland Walsh and McDonald families! Had a quick catchup but had packing to do as we have a huge day of 600ish km's tomorrow, so hoping for an early start.
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Pooky Lol Mavis.... Nothing like getting away from it all!!!!! People included!!!! :))))