Alice and the West Macdonnell Ranges Pt 1

Alice Springs was our base for the next few days.  We set up at the Macdonnell Range Big 4 caravan park and opted for an ensuite site - It is that cold out here i thought it'd be a good investment to have endless hot water at our disposal!  The park itself is great - friendly, clean and good playgrounds for the kids.  It looks to be the nicest one in town and we'd recommend it if you're ever out this way.

The town itself has a weird feel to it,  I don't think i've ever seen so many police in such a small town.  They're everywhere - walking through supermarkets, shopping centres, car parks....everywhere.  That said, it's a good spot to resupply but we didn't come to Alice for the town.  The Macdonnell range was what this stop is about and there is so much to see around here.

Simpsons Gap

Palm valley was the next spot i wanted to hit after reading so much about the place.  The sign was an added bonus, it was good to do some four wheel driving after 1700 odd km's of blacktop.

Driving through Cycad Gorge on the way in.

Even the view in the mirrors was good.

We loved the colour of the sand out here - it sparkles in the sunlight!

Some of the sights on the 2 1/2 hour walk around and through Palm Valley.

Team photo in Palm Valley.

Standley Chasm.

The West Macdonnell Range.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

After a crazy week from a not so well timed litter, we said goodbye to the last puppy around 1030am. 

We can be gone by midday can't we? - No worries.  After dragging the chain for a bit we hit the road just after 2pm and pulled into the Lakeview Caravan park in Richmond for the night.   The next day we had a quick look at Mt Isa before pulling up at a nice little free camp near Cammoweal.  Up bright and early to hit the road again.

The first of our State/Territory border crossing pics.

That afternoon we pulled up a Devils Marbles, the view from the dining table wasn't to shabby!

At sunset we were all doing our best mountain goat impersonations crawling all over the place to find a good possie for a pic and watch the sun go down.

I tried to sneak out of the van a dawn to have some quiet time snapping away by myself, only to be met  with three faces in darkness.  "What are WE doing Dad?  Can we come?"  I reckon they were reconsidering when we got outside, damn it was cold.

After breakie we headed south and pulled up at the UFO capital of Austrailia - Wycliffe Well.

I had the worst cup of coffee (I use that term loosely) at a roadhouse on the way down to Alice Springs.

Dreams become reality.

What started out as a pipe dream for Jen and I a couple of years ago, discussions got a little more serious after realising how quickly our little family is growing up.  Can we, Can't we, should we, shouldn't we, what about work, what about saving for the future???   We came up with a thousand reasons why we shouldn't do the trip but after losing family and close friends, we figure life is too short not to.  With the kids growing up way too fast and with time not standing still, what the hell, you can't take it with you.

After wandering up and down the east coast of oz, we figured we should go and have a look at the other side.  To date we have been to the northern, eastern and southern most points of the mainland so it only seemed logical to go to the western most point.  If we're going to go all the way to Steep Point WA, I figured we should make a trip of it.

Plans were made, camper trailer's sold in favour of more luxurious options (I got sick of throwing canvas up and down).  The kids were ripped out of school with little resistance, Jen and I organised leave from work and we're off.

Originally we were going to do the smart thing and head north first before heading south as the weather warmed up, but you know what they say about best laid plans.  My oldest mate and his wife welcomed a beautiful set of triplets into the world in December last year and gave me the honour of being Godfather.  One small hitch - the christening is happening four weeks into the trip, no worries, we'll just fly from Broome to Brisvegas.   After nearly having a coronary from checking the prices of flights for 5, we decided to flip the trip on its ear.  For future reference it is HEAPS cheaper to fly from Adelaide to Brisbane.

And this is how our lil mob of North Queenslanders have ended up in the middle of the country during winter....brrrrrrrr.  I reckon I will lose my thong tan that i earned on the cape trip last year.

And so it begins.