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    • Our Australian AdventuresOur First Big Aussie Adventure
      1
      11111
      Day 13

      Alice Springs

      August 23, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      After getting caught up with the washing we decided to take a quick trip to the Alice Springs Reptile Centre. We had planned on taking a look at the Desert Park but it looked like a place you would need to spend half a day at least to get a good look around. The girls were very keen on spending as much time at the caravan park as possible and to be honest we were all stuffed to a quick trip to the Reptile Centre sounded like the perfect alternative.

      It didn't disappoint! We ended up spending a couple of hours at the centre looking at all the different animals. We were lucky enough to see their salt water crocodile being fed which only happens once a week through winter then we were able to meet and hold a few of their residents which the girls got a real kick out of.

      We went and grabbed a couple of groceries and had a late lunch. Paige commented on how many aboriginal people were around. It's definitely been an education for the girls!

      Within minutes of getting back to the caravan park the girls were off to the pool and their beloved slide. We had a bit of a rest watching the local bird life flying around. Once the girls came back we had dinner and wandered down to the dessert place one last time. The kids have decided we should come back to Alice Springs for a holiday without leaving the caravan park! This one has definitely been a winner! To top it off fuel is available for guests at $125.9c per litre! Roughly 20c cheaper than the rest of town! The Big 4 MacDonnell Range Caravan Park was five star all the way!!      Read more

    • TravelerKenny’s Aussie Adventures 2023
      11
      Day 128

      Alice Springs

      May 8, 2023 in Australia

      An eerie silence in the town of Alice Springs this year. I guess all the negative media, has had an impact on tourism this year.

      As we drove through town, the caravan parks were empty, this time last year they were busting at their seems. We easily pulled up and grabbed a parking spot to do our shopping, last year this was a struggle. This year, plenty of stock on the shelves.

      We stayed at the show grounds again this year, we were 1 of 5 vans! Last year, vans came and went daily, this year it was so quite, with only 1 or 2 coming and going in the 3 days we were there. Such a great place to stay.

      New alcohol restrictions in place too, no alcohol sold on Mondays and Tuesdays and only 2 bottle shops in town open on a Sunday. Brett was lucky a fellow camper mentioned it or he would have been having a dry week or two 🤣.

      We didn’t experience or see any trouble while we were there only good times.

      And in Brett style he and the boys climbed a mountain. I skipped this one as I had a headache.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Long Road Home
      Day 22

      Three Cornered Jack

      July 18, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

      The heading gives you a hint of what the last couple of days has revolved around. Saturday morning we wandered into Alice Springs cbd. It has a few historical buildings and a lot of indigenous tourism. A couple of malls and supermarkets. It was the biggest town we had been in for a while. Our first task was to get plumbing pieces to finally fix our water leak. We found an amazing camping store who could help us out. Regan spent more time under the caravan on his yoga mat with great success.

      Decided on a bike ride in the afternoon so headed up past Alice Springs Desert Park. The cycleway is wide and fully sealed. We stopped for a photo op and I parked my bike off the track. Big mistake. The tyres got a few jabs from this noxious weed called three cornered jack. Continued on for another 20km. At about 5km from home I noticed I had a soft front tyre so straight home as fast as possible. Had to walk the last kilometre. Mended the front tyre then Julie noticed my back tyre was also flat. So more time finding 4 thorns and punctures in the back tyre.

      Woke up this morning to both tyres flat again. Being a Sunday we only managed to get one new tube so spent more time replacing tubes and pulling out all thorns from the tyres. We first experienced three cornered Jack on the Birdsville track and have stood on it a few times and dragged in inside the caravan. Guaranteed to curse when you stand on one of these bare-footed and must be careful to get the complete thorn out as well.

      Today we went for a leisurely drive to Simpson's Gap then Standleys Chasm. Amazing rocks and just spectacular when you discover that these rocks are some of Australia's oldest rocks . And of course the rocks and the dirt is so red. The main birdlife were budgies. Hundreds of speedy noisy characters darting between the branches. We managed a couple of walks which we enjoyed after having a few long days sitting in the car. The temperature is cooler than Mt Isa but we are further south. Today was a pleasant 20 degrees and sunny.

      As we haven’t managed to see all we wanted in Alice we are staying an extra day before we head into the tourism Mecca of Uluru and Kings Canyon.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Long Road Home
      Day 23

      Museum day

      July 19, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      We decided that there was a bit more to see in Alice so booked another night.

      First up was getting our 2nd covid vaccination. Being a small town there weren't queues so it was all done in 40 minutes for us.
      Then we went to the Royal Flying Doctors Service museum to learn all about the history. Was well worth the visit to understand its importance to the outback communities for over 100 years. The virtual goggle experiences were amazing especially as one was a flight over Kings Canyon where we are heading tomorrow. We had lunch in the associated cafe which would rival any in Melbourne with a focus on native flavours.

      Then we visited the Women's Museum of Australia. This is on the site of the old Alice Springs prison which closed in 1996. The prison is small and all concrete and had both men and women - segregated of course . The men's wing was very cold and depressing and the women's wing seemed a lot nicer although definitely not a place you would want to be. There was also some cultural segregation for the indigenous inmates but that was relaxed over the years.

      The women's museum was really interesting with the museum split into two themes. The first was focused on some of the early women European settlers who became the first teachers and nurses in the area. You had to admire how they coped in such a harsh environment and some took over 6 months just to travel to their new homes. The second half featured all the women who have been the first to achieve something within their fields of expertise, so the first to become a judge, veterinarian, civil engineer, explorer etc. There were fascinating stories and it was really uplifting.

      Stock up shop at Coles and top up of the fuel tank as we have heard the prices are pretty outrageous down around the rock. Tomorrow is a big day travelling to Kings Canyon to see more spectacular scenery.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Long Road Home
      Day 29

      Back-tracking north

      July 25, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      After a chilly start in Uluru we hit the road and headed back to Alice Springs which was 460km. From here on we will travel north towards the tropical part of Australia.

      We topped up fuel at Curtin Springs meeting the lady who had also supplied us fuel as we passed through 3 days ago. A bit of a chat we found out that she has just moved there 3 months ago from Christchurch and used to work in the City council's contact centre so we knew lots of crossover people. Totally reinforces how small our world is. There was also a road train there transporting vintage war vehicles while their owners were in convoy following with caravans. The road train was topping up fuel- that fuel bill wasn't small.

      A stop for lunch at Finke River then back to the same camp ground in Alice as last week. Groceries and picked up some alcohol from a bottle store- complete with 2 policemen checking that the local laws were maintained. Julie's fake ID passed scrutiny- haha.

      We have absolutely loved our time in the desert with its incredible landscapes. There were many breathtaking moments and we have added a few more photos of the past couple of days. We won't miss the red dust everywhere and getting a static shock everytime we touch something metal and the bush flies of course! We have travelled over 5000kms and paid between $1.57 to $ 2.05 a litre for diesel- still pretty good compared to NZ prices.

      Another big distance day tomorrow but plenty to see with a few stops on the way. Weather for travel is perfect except that we are traveling into the sun for the next few days. Definitely not complaining as we haven't seen rain since we left Victoria a month ago.      Read more

    • TravelerThe Long Road Home
      Day 20

      Into Alice

      July 16, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

      Left Tennant Creek early as the drive south to Alice was over 500km. The Stuart Highway is a good road overall and traffic was light. With NT roads having a posted speed limit of 130km/hr some vehicles flew past us with ease. I think the first bend in the road was at about 40km so an easy drive.

      Julie also drove for almost 200km and caught up with a road train which set our speed to around 90km/hr. Passing a road train is a tricky undertaking and as we have no timeframes we were happy to follow. We did watch one driver with caravan attempt once before getting past successfully on the second try. The windy day wasn’t helping either.

      We stopped at The Devils Marbles for a look around. These are quite impressive and as we are returning on this road in a couple of weeks we may try and spend more time there. A brunch stop at Barrow Creek then onward to arrive at Alice by 4pm. Alice Springs township is enclosed by a number of ranges so is surrounded by the granite rocks and is pretty green with lots of trees.

      Campground is very large with all the family features like giant bouncy pillows and an amazing pool area. After setting up we walked around and met up with a kiwi family we had met at the Bash. Small world sometimes with the caravan travelling fraternity. Tomorrow we will head into town to discover and stock up.      Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Territory 2022
      Day 4

      Leaving Alice Spings

      August 25, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

      On our way to our next destination. A Town like Alice was very interesting. Heaps to see and do, a shame we never got to do the ballooning over the MacDonnell Ranges. We might just have to come back one day to see everything Alice has to offer. Maybe some friends would like to join so we can tour more of this beautiful wide land.

      Good bye Alice here we come Uluru.      Read more

    • The big one Number 2.
      Day 21

      Alice Springs

      May 19, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Planned to stay tonight at railway ruins halfway between here and Maryvale but route was detoured away from the original track so had to go plan B.

    • TravelerNorthern Territory 2022
      Day 2

      Sightseeing

      August 23, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

      On the downside we had booked ballooning over the McDonald Ranges for this morning but it was cancelled yesterday due to high winds.

      What can I say 🤷 these things always happen to the Hopwood's.

      We have rescheduled for tomorrow, fingers crossed 🤞.

      It was too late to book a tour. So, we rented a car for the day so we can drive around and check out what is on offer in Alice, rather than drive the van.      Read more

    • TravelerPeter Creigh
      111
      Day 15

      A TOWN CALLED ALICE!

      May 10, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      This place is both romantic & confronting at the same time. The entrance & scenery surrounding the city are gorgeous but driving around has you on tender hooks all the time. The sight if 2-3 metre fences & gates around homes, shops with roller shutters & police on patrol at bottle shops didn't leave a good impression.
      What did was our day out in The MacDonald Ranges today was superb . Simply stunning. Alot more to see tomorrow.

      I did mention the 'camel burger well here it was. Great burger!.
      The walk around the rim of Kings Canyon was a amazing. Challenging but got through ok. Top experience!      Read more

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