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A town called Alice...........ooaoo yeh-a
Entry 33 of 68 | show all | print this entry |
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Whilst planning our trip around Australia we had promised to treat ourselves once we reached Alice Springs. We figured we would have earnt a few nights in a nice hotel with a balcony, fluffy robes, air con and a pool as we would be covered in red dust and exhausted from long hot desert driving. Well what a bloody irony that turned out to be. There would be no need for a balcony, we can hear the wind & the rain thanks, we don't need to see it as well. As for fluffy robes we would happily swap them for a pair of thermal ski jackets, the ac we'd exchange for heating and the pool... you can keep.
We left Tennant Creek unhappy in the news that Alice Springs was 11degrees colder. 11! Jesus, it's only 560km south. Anyway, after stopping just outside the historic town to snap some photos of the big 'Alice Springs' sign we ventured into the sprawling metropolis. Considered by many as just a fuelling stop (both motorised and human) before a push onto the big rock, Alice Springs and the surrounding area are often overlooked. To the East and West stretch the macdonnal ranges, not so much 'rocky mountains' as 'mountainous rocks' but nevertheless a cracking backdrop for an afternoon stroll. Having had a 'van day' (sleep in, eat breakfast lunch and dinner all within the space of 4 hours, drink some Vino DePlonko then go to bed) because of wet weather, the following day we decided to brave frostbite by going for a walk. Ice picks, crampons, thermals and cheese sandwiches (yum) packed, we headed out west to Simpson gap (a big gap in the range), Standley Chasm (a big chasm) and finally Emily and Jessie Gaps (insert your own joke here), we finished the day atop Anzac hill overlooking the town for sunset and treated ourselves after all that exercise to a bag of crisps so large that Jen considered using the foil to insulate herself with at night. It would be remiss of me to mention Jen's new scarf (which she mentions later). Following her maxim 'Everyone's an asset' she managed to acquire her new winter apparell from a kind lady who felt she looked chilly one morning. Made from fibres about 1cm long coloured with every hue found in the spectrum, the scarf is a violent assault on ones sight and continues to shed it's 'fur' any moment it is moved. I now look like I own a moulting rainbow cat. Great.
Enough of me, here's Jen's witty addition..... Our campsite offered a free pancake breakfast where one of the chefs was so impressed I had come all the way from England to try his pancakes he kept giving me extra. I had started the day being a similar size to Rose McGowan (the ginger one from charmed) but by the end of breakfast I looked more like Roseanne (um the fat one from... Roseanne). I also managed to secure some accommodation in Adelaide by being my charming self and befriending a middle aged couple who simply found me adorable. They also informed me it only gets colder the further south you go and Uluru and Kings Canyon were freezing. Great. Well I guess it will be easy to find our clothes each morning ...we will be wearing them... all. Lynn kindly gave me a scarf she had handknitted as she thought I looked cold enough already, which I gladly accepted. However, on proudly showing off my new bright multi pastel coloured garment, Chris thought someone had thrown up on me and suggested I looked like a very gay Dr Who. Jealousy, will get you nowhere my friend.
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