Our intention for the day was to relax and have a look around . . . → Read More: 4 June 2008 – Alice Springs]]> We had another excellent night’s sleep due to it being very cool (the roof hatch was unfortunately left open) and we arose for the day at 7.00am.

Our intention for the day was to relax and have a look around Alice Springs shops.  We were ready to depart at 8.30am but struck a problem when “He” attempted to reverse the van off the levelling blocks with the rear stabilisers still extended.  The end result was both of the plastic feet on the stabilisers breaking.  We both learnt from this mishap as we were not following our normal departure routine.  In future we will follow our standard routine and this should remove the possibility of this type of problem.  We spoke with our daughter-in-law who provided an address for a local caravan accessory shop.

We purchased new feet and they were installed on the van later in the day.  We now have a couple of spares.

Our first visit was to the local Reptile exhibition.  We spent a couple of hours there and were able to have close encounters with several lizards and a python.  After lunch we paid a visit to Coles and restocked for the next couple of days.  We also purchased an Albert Namatjira print and will have it framed when we return home.  Whilst purchasing the print, we took note of the weather forecast that was being broadcast.  Rain is coming and they expect a wet weekend.  It looks like the rain is about 2 days behind us as most of the places we have visited have had rain since we left.   

After arriving back at the caravan park we emptied the grey tank, refilled the fresh tank and watched National Treasure 2 (was released today).  Chicken and pasta salad for tea.

Tomorrow we head into South Australia with an overnight stop planned at Marla.  We don’t have a booking and it is first in, best dressed.

STOP PRESS – Extract from the Advertiser Adelaide, Australia - 2 Jun 2008

Estimated to be about six metres wide, they say the object passed the vehicle with such speed that its slipstream forced their Mazda sedan into the middle of the road.

They were travelling in a westerly direction and were about 55km east of the Threeways roadhouse when the incident occurred.

“It was about 4pm when suddenly we saw a dark, silvery flash and heard a loud sound as it passed,” Mr Fuchs said.

“It was travelling at a terrific speed, very bloody fast, and there was no warning at all.”

WE DROVE ON THIS ROAD THE DAY AFTER THIS SIGHTING……….

We had a quick breakfast and prepared ourselves for a bus . . . → Read More: 3 June 2008 – Alice Springs to Palm Valley & return]]> Last night was cool and this allowed us to have the best night’s sleep so far this trip.  Our slumber was disturbed at 5.30am when the alarm rang. 

We had a quick breakfast and prepared ourselves for a bus trip to Palm Valley and then Hermannsburg.  Our 4 wheel drive, AAT Kings bus arrived at 7.10am and after picking up another 8 guests we headed west towards Palm Valley.  At Hermannsburg, we engaged low range and headed towards Palm Valley.  This site is only accessible by 4 wheel drive vehicles.

The trip into the valley was very rough with the vehicle travelling down the middle of the Finke River bed on one occasion.  Whilst we were in this area, we went on 3 walks, one taking close to 2 hours.  As part of the cost, we were provided with morning tea, lunch and then afternoon tea at Hermannsburg.

 

There are also wild horses and camels in this area and we saw the tracks of several animals in the area that we walked.

Our arrival at Hermannsburg was 1 hour later than planned but we had sufficient time to look at the Historic Precinct, view a video about Albert Namatjira and then view 2 original works plus several other works of this family. We also looked through several buildings and a museum.  This is one site that requires another visit.

We arrived back at the caravan park at 7.00pm and had microwave meals for tea.  We settled ourselves in front of the televisions before hitting the sack around 11.00pm.  Alice Springs is a lot cooler than north Queensland with temperatures between 6 and about 22 degree Celsius.

Tomorrow will be spent in Alice.

After breakfast we departed for the Sunday Markets held in Todd Mall. We went with intention of purchasing some Aboriginal art. . . . → Read More: 3 June 2007 – Alice Springs]]> The alarm went off at 7.00am but we had woken sometime earlier. The outside temperature was 2 degrees and there were a couple of patches of ice on the ground outside the motor-home.

After breakfast we departed for the Sunday Markets held in Todd Mall. We went with intention of purchasing some Aboriginal art. After about two hours, we had secured a framed painting, several small canvases, two bags, one piece of jewellery and a didgeridoo (for latter for our son). After finishing at the markets, we drove to Alice Springs Railway Station to have a look at the Ghan that had arrived shortly before. The Ghan was travelling south and was stopping for about 4 hours. We had a quick visit to Kmart and then visited Emily Gap and Jessie Gap where again we were blesses with wonderful scenery. Upon returning to Alice we visited the Old Alice Gaol which incorporated the National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame. “He” departed for fifteen or so minutes during this visit to photograph the Ghan as it departed heading south.

Final part of the day was a visit to John Flynn’s grave and finally Coles for a quick restock of the refrigerator. Steak and salad was served for tea. After tea we caught up with our son via video through MSN. Our son informed us that our grandson is trying hard to talk and he is in the process of cutting his 6th tooth.

Tomorrow we will have an early start heading south and then west to Kings Canyon.