Arriving In Alice Springs
We are running out of money!!!!!
Yes, the time had come to top up our bank accounts. Yes, money doesn’t last forever and we had been travelling for nearly two years so our funds were running low. Now that borders were opening up, it made it possible for Dan to go back to work, he is a FIFO boilermaker.
During our stay here in Alice Springs Dan flew back to Western Australia for work in the Pilbara and I stayed here with the kids. This was able to be done as WA at the time were allowing travellers from the NT to enter Western Australia.
Accommodation
Little did we know when arriving in Alice Springs, that the famous Finke Desert Race and the Alice Springs show was on. As we never book in advance we were stuck with unpowered accommodation for a whole month while Dan was away at work. This was going to suck!!! And yes, it was reaching 4 degrees at night and as you may already know the tin can gets cold quickly.
But if you put your best foot forward and think outside the box you can usually get yourself out of hot water, which is what we did! We were staying at the Central Australian Transport Heritage Precinct and they were looking for a volunteer to dust the cars. So in exchange for a power and water site, I dusted cars for 2 hours and we never had to experience a cold night.
Australian Transport Heritage Precinct
The Town Centre
The town centre is quite busy and has everything that you need. It has a Woolworths and just outside the town the industrial area has plenty of glaziers, mechanics, caravan repairs and panel beaters to fix any mishaps that might have happened along your journey. We had our car serviced here in Alice Springs and we were given a loan run around car which made it super handy.
Tatts Finke Desert Race
The Tatts Finke Desert Race is the Ultimate Off-Road Motorsport Event in Australia – held in Central Australia during the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June every year. The Tatts Finke Desert Race is an off-road, multi-terrain two-day race for bikes, cars, buggies and quads through desert country from Alice Springs to the small Aputula (Finke) community. The race has the reputation of being one of the most difficult offroad courses in one of the most remote places in the world.
Tatts Finke Desert Race
Simpsons Gap
Simpsons Gap is one of the gaps in the West MacDonnell Ranges and is located 18 kilometres west of Alice Springs, on the Larapinta Trail. The gap is home to various plants and wildlife, including the black-footed rock wallaby. The best time to try and spot these wallabies is sunset or sunrise.
Simpsons Gap has a permanent waterhole, but unfortunately, this one isn’t for swimming. There is also no phone reception so take plenty of water.
Simpsons Gap
Trephina Gorge
Trephina Gorge is an 85-kilometre drive towards the East Macdonnell Ranges. Even though it is a long drive, there are plenty of stops along the way with different places to explore. So I would suggest you do this as a day trip. The drive is also filled with so much beautiful scenery.
We did the 40-minute walk along the ridgetop and it was just perfect. Not too short and not long. There isn’t much climbing and the pathway is quite flat. We had fun having a picnic and building rock piles to mark our spot. Take plenty of water and again there is no internet reception out this way.
Trephina Gorge
Royal Flying Doctor Service
This is a great place to visit if you are wanting to know a little bit more about the wonderful service we have here in Australia. This is a self-guided tour that starts with a short informative movie about the history and the people who brought the Royal Flying Doctor to life.
Our favourite part was watching the rescue video through a simulator video. There are two to choose from so make sure you watch both!
If you have any places that you have explored, please comment below with the details to help other fellow travellers enhance their experience.
Happy and Safe Travels
Kylie and Dan x
Fearless and Free Range