Alice Springs

We arrived in Alice Springs looking forward to a longer stay in one place,  with all the amenities we might need and probably won't see again for quite some time!

We decided to book in to a caravan park for 7 days and couldn't help noticing an increasing number of hotrods and muscle cars as we drove in to town. When I casually requested an unpowered site for 7 nights,  the caravan park owner asked if I was aware that Red Centre Nats car expo was starting that evening and the whole town is booked out! Luckily for us,  a last minute cancellation meant we got the very last site! After setting up camp,  we walked down to the highway and watched the car parade.  There were some very impressive vehicles but Stella found the loud revving too scary.

In addition to the mundane but very important jobs such as laundry,  grocery shopping, car servicing, visiting the book exchange and buying some hardware and electronics,  we were able to make the most of our time exploring the area.

The kids were very interested in our visit to the School of the Air,  where we were able to see how children in remote areas have their lessons and we watched a preschool class.

We also enjoyed visiting the Royal Flying Doctor service where we watched a film about the history and current work of the RFDS,  and had the opportunity to sit in an actual aeroplane cockpit.  It's very reassuring to know that even in the most remote areas of Australia there is a doctor and paramedic with a flying intensive care unit only a few hours away.

Father's day was celebrated with pancakes cooked on the gas bbq,  then a trip to the aviation museum.  We all enjoyed seeing the old planes up close and learning how important small planes are to the remote properties.

Our favourite attraction was the Alice Springs Desert Park. We attended the Birds flying free demonstration, where a Ranger showed off the flying and hunting skills of various birds including a barn owl,  kite,  bustard,  falcon and heron. We learned a lot at a Desert Survival session which covered bush tucker,  bush medicine,  weapons,  tracking and local culture. In addition,  we saw many beautiful wildflowers,  colourful birds,  lizards,  dingoes ,  emus and kangaroos.

Our final day in Alice Springs involved a 90 min drive into the West MacDonnell Ranges to Ormiston Gorge. An easy 10 min walk from the car park saw us in the most spectacular rock gorge with a rock pool at the bottom,  surrounded by stunning ghost gum trees. We had a picnic lunch on the bank of the water hole then in the water for some paddling.  A few people were swimming, including a school group,  but it was far too cold for us!

The next morning saw us driving north again,  where we stopped at Devil's Marbles for some photos before setting up camp at a historic windmill and well further up the road.