Day 85 & 86 (Alice Springs)

Alice, alice...who the f#*k is Alice?!?

After a long, long, long 12 hours on the road we pulled up to Haven Backpacker Resort in Alice Springs. We'd had stops along the way for a photo opportunity at the Devil's Marbles, at Wycliffe Wells which is possibly one of the weirdest places I've ever been (it's known as a centre for UFO's and has a really high report rate for extraterrestrial activity), Barrow Creek (where there's a famous Telegraph Station where the workers were killed by Aboriginal men a long time back) and Ti-Tree to see a mango farm – or rather taste their ice-cream. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and I got some pretty good sunset shots, one of which I'm considering for a canvas print when I get home.

For our evening in Alice we headed out to Bojangles where I had my first full kangaroo steak..Mmmmm so tasty! Not sure it'd surpass beef steak in my hierarchy of deliciousness – but it was damn nice. The Galway Girls were shouted to a round of drinks from one of their mates at home who logged onto the Bojangles website to see the live stream.

The next day we were leaving for Kings Canyon but first we had a free morning to explore all that Alice had to offer – the Flying Doctors, School in the Air, Reptile Centre and the Desert Park. Unfortunately Una and I managed only a single one of those (though I'd like to think the best). We hired bikes from the hostel and cycled off into the desert in search of the Desert Park. Yes, I realise it's a bit weird to go to the desert to see the desert...that's exactly what Bill Bryson's mate thought in Down Under (I finished it a few days ago). But...it makes perfect sense! They've created three ecosystems in the Alice Springs Desert Park – Riverbed, Sand and Woodland, each being completely different. The cycle out was refreshing..so nice to be off the bus and surprisingly I managed to do the whole thing without having to get off and walk or getting red in the face – miraculous! Una wasn't as happy saying that had it been a walk or a swim to get there she'd be happy out but biking just ain't her thing. By the time we got there we had about an hour to spend wandering the place before we needed to get on our bikes and get back to the hostel for the drive to Kings Canyon – not the best when they suggest a minimum of 3 hours to see the place in its entirety. Thankfully the guides onsite were really good and were able to tell us the must see sections and what would be advisable to skip to be able to get the most for our $20. It was amazing to walk just a couple of paces and see the landscape change so dramatically between the three areas. We got to walk around live kangaroos that were bouncing around the place and saw a wealth of plants and birds too. Well worth the energy it took to cycle out and the cycle back in while battling the wind and creating a jet-stream to make the ride a little bit easier for Una.

Verdict on Alice Springs, a nice place to stop and I'd definitely consider going back to see the attractions that I missed out on. It seems like a small enough place but I didn't really see enough of it.