Apr 26, 2013 - Leaving Alice tomorrow

After talking to Steph's Dad's Doctor, we have decided that we are going to leave Alice Springs tomorrow and head back to Boyup Brook instead of continuing north as he is not very well, we have decided to do this and then hopefully continue the trip in a few months.

Apr 21, 2013 - Still in Alice Springs

We are still in Alice Springs having a relaxing time of it, doing a little bit of sight seeing of the MacDonnell Ranges which surround Alice Springs. There are a lot of gorges and chasims in these ranges. Unfortunately there is not too much water around the area, and where there is water it didn't look that inviting as it is very stagnate. I will put up a number of photos of both the East and West Ranges. We also had a look at Desert Park where there is a large range of native birds and a very good nocturnal area where you are taken by a...

Apr 17, 2013 - Alice Springs

Just a quick update, due to us not totally sure what is happening with Steph's dad we are going to stay in Alice Springs for another week until the 24th at least. He is having some more tests next week. We will then make a decision as to what we do. He is in reasonably good spirits and back in his home so he is comfortable. We are going out tonight with Steph's brother Owen and his wife Jo to the local TAFE where the students cook and serve the meals as part of their tourist schooling. I am also taking the opportunity to replace the...

Apr 15, 2013 - Now in Alice Springs

Well after a few days without phone or email at Yulara (Ayers Rock) we are now in Alice Springs. We left Erldunda on Friday and headed to THE ROCK, arrived early afternoon and again the FLYS per prolific. We settled in and had a look around the resort area. We tried to get booked on the Sounds of Silence which is an silver service meal under the stars. I did it when here on the Bash and wanted to take Steph to it. Unfortunately it was booked out for that night but we finally managed to get booked for Saturday night. So this meant we had to...

Apr 14, 2013 - Ormiston Gorge, West Macdonnell Ranges

Day 18 of our Camping Trip - Sunday 14 April Ormiston Gorge, West Macdonnell Ranges Today I was extremely happy as I had gotten my request, a sleep in! After a late morning I finally got up and we went for a walk up to the lookout looking across Ormiston Gorge and waterhole. After a hot and tiring walk we went for a cold and refreshing swim. Today we had to go to other campsites so Mum and Dad could check them out for the business. We had a long and boring drive to this place called Red Bank Gorge. Once we had a look at every single thing...

Apr 13, 2013 - Alice Springs to Ormiston Gorge, West Macdonnell Ranges

Day 17 of our hike: Saturday 13 April Alice Springs to Ormiston Gorge, West Macdonnell Ranges Today we had to unfortunately leave the Atkins as they had to stay in Alice until the next Thursday waiting for their radiator to arrive from Sydney. We are heading to the West MacDonnell Ranges that was also in Mums list of must dos. We headed on the road, ready to discover some more information and find something new to say “wow” at. Quite quickly we found a spot that we stopped at. This place is called Simpsons Gap. Here we looked at the water...

Apr 12, 2013 - East MacDonnell Ranges

Day 16: Friday 12 April Alice Springs / Sunny and hot Day 16 of our journey East MacDonnell Ranges Today is our third and last day of Alice Springs and Mums wish here was to go to the East MacDonnell Ranges. We got on the road early as we were planning to visit many places today. We were enjoying the nice tarred road (nearly all our trip has been on dirt roads) so we decided that we would go the extra kilometres to go to this old goldfield town. Unfortunately the good road turned into a very bad dirt road, but Mum still wanted to keep...

Apr 11, 2013 - Alice Springs

Day 15: Thursday 11 April Alice Springs / Sunny and hot Day 15 of our trek – Alice Springs After a good night’s sleep we were able to have our breakfast outside with no flies. We had toast for the first time on the trip, I really enjoyed my cinnamon toast. We hadn’t been able to wash for a while, my towel was starting to smell! We did 7 loads of washing, it was a hot day (31 degrees) so it was all going to dry quickly. Once we had finished hanging out the washing we set off to look around town. Firstly we went to Todd Mall and looked at...

Apr 10, 2013 - Erldunda to Alice Springs

Day 14: Wednesday 10 April Erldunda to Alice Springs / Sunny and hot Day 14 of our expedition Today I woke up to discover the Atkins had already left, they were worried about their car so wanted to get on the road in the cool of the morning. We only had 200kms to travel on sealed roads today to reach Alice Springs. We enjoyed the smooth drive. At some stretches on this road you are allowed to travel at 130km/hr…but we went nowhere near this speed. Approaching Alice Springs we could see the big rocky hills, these are called The Macdonald...

Feb 6, 2013 - Fly to Alice Springs (AM)

Flying Qantas Airlines today to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. At the airports here, up until recently Australians believed in DIY...Do It Yourself, Mate... Meaning no Sky Cabs. If you couldn't carry it, then you don't need to bring it. Sounds pretty reasonable when you see what folks lug on and then can't lift up to the storage bin themselves. Recently a business was opened to help with the handling of tour and cruise luggage only. What a surprise as the AFL Richmond team (Aussie Football Team) was on our flight today. All the...

Jan 16, 2013 - Alice Springs

Alice Springs in de grootste stad van het Red Center maar vrij dood in deze tijd van het jaar. We hebben moeten zoeken om hier een bar te vinden. Er lopen hier veel aboriginals rond en het is snel duidelijk dat er integratieproblemen zijn. We hebben een dagtocht gedaan naar het westelijk gedeelte van de Mc Donnell Ranges (en daarvan enkel het onderste gedeelte : Simpsons Gap, Standley Charm en Palm Valley. Voor deze laatste heeft de 4x4 hard morgen werken ... meer dan een uur om 21 km te doen om palmbomen in een vallei te zien die nergens...

Dec 16, 2012 - Macdonnell ranges back to Alice

We checked out of the Big4 park after having one last play on the jumping pillows. Filled up with decent fuel and headed out towards the West Macdonnell Ranges. We were eager to see how the Nav towed the van. It was pretty good, still a few coughs and splutters, but this only seems to happen in 3rd gear. Overall it's still running like its a bit sick, very sluggish, we know it's only a small 4x4 but we remembered it to have more go than it seems to be giving us these days. Called in to the Ellery Creek water hole for morning tea and a cool...