Coober to Alice Springs

  

The trucks are huge! Remember I am passing him, not the other way round.

An outback bar.

 This is what a river looks like in the dry season.

 Interesting history.

Monday, April 4^th.

I woke up early (even underground without the daylight), got ready, packed up and in the car by 7:00. Ken and his wife Anne heard me and came out to say goodbye. They told me to stop by on the way back down, so who knows, maybe Wednesday night.

The driving was good, great weather, no traffic and just long open roads. Not for the first time I wish my vehicle had cruise control, but my foot keeps a pretty consistent speed. The limit is 110 and no one really goes faster than that, interesting because with the wide open roads, you'd think they would be roaring along. The trucks do about a 100 and I've never been passed by one thankfully. They are truly huge. Not only are they longer than normal they are taller too, because there are no underpasses to worry about anywhere out here.

Eventually I made it to the border of the Northern Territory where I stopped to take a photo and was greeted by two dogs. At first I thought they were dingoes. No idea why they were out here with no one around.

I decided to drive to Alice Springs today instead of Uluru, to see if there might be other things I should see while here. That way I can do a complete loop from Alice to King's Canyon and then Uluru and have it as my last major place to visit in the outback before I begin the drive back home.

I also stopped at a couple of Roadhouses where I could get gas (always want to stay full, no idea when the next one is) and a drink or something to eat. They are really remote, isolated spots and usually have a bar. One lady told me that they had a 100 people there on Saturday night. I haven't seen a hundred people in the state!

At the border there was a sign that said the speed limit in the Northern Territories is 110 unless posted otherwise, and a hundred metres down the road there was another one saying 130!

The scenery in the Territories changed and became a little hillier and there are some small mountain ranges that I drove through. I stopped at a camel farm. They take tourists for rides and camel safaris here. They breed them and they used to race them as well. There were lots of trophies displayed.

When I finally got to Alice Springs, about 3:00, I went to a tour operator and talked to him about what to see and told him I wanted to drive the loop from Alice to King's Canyon and on to Uluru before catching the highway south again. He told me that the part of the road from Alice to King's is two parts. The first is 150 kms of sealed road, followed by 150 kms of washboard dirt road that is on Aboriginal land and you have to pay $5 for a permit to use it. He wouldn't recommend it. All the rental car companies tell people not to use that road. A couple of other people told me I would be alright with the CRV, so I bought the pass. But after thinking about it, I've decided not to because all I need to do is wreck my old car and then I'd have a big problem. Or at the least I might shake my fillings out of my teeth! So that means I have to retrace my route back south to pick up the pave route to Kings and Uluru that I passed on the way north.

Initially I was very disappointed but late this afternoon I went for a drive beside the McDonnell Range of mountains which were lit up beautifully by the late afternoon sun. It got dark on the way back so I stopped and looked at the stars. They were amazing. Very clear, no light pollution and millions of them. I stopped at a gas station on the way back and found a large group of Aboriginal teens and young adults hanging out. I felt a bit uncomfortable around them. Sad to say but they smelled were dirty and looked to be up to no good. Then I drove back to the backpackers place to type and get some much needed sleep.

Total of 965 kms of driving today.