Day 25 & 26 Alice Springs

During the night ants had invaded our annex (tent) so we had to move the breakfast table outside where we enjoyed breakfast in the sun.

We drove back to the Lasseter highway and instead of kangaroos and wild goats this time we saw some other outback animals such as wild horses, camels and a massive snake!

Our first stop that morning was at Erldunda Roadhouse. We spend half an hour there surfing the internet and treating ourselves to some ice cream (for a whopping $10.80!!!)

From here it was 200 km to Alice Springs. Around lunch time we stopped at a really nice roadhouse called ‘Stuarts Well’. After lunch we socialised with two emu’s before continuing our trip.

Half way during the afternoon we arrived in Alice Springs. We had a quick stop at a solar power station and then drove on to the ‘G’day Mate Tourist Park’. The camping looked very clean and nice so we booked for two nights and set up camp. We freshened up and spent the afternoon relaxing.

In the early evening we drove to the city centre which was a bit of a shock. There were lots of indigenous people hanging around and we got a sense of the alcohol abuse that’s causing lots of problems in some parts of Australia. Let’s just say it was a bit of a culture shock.

We had Indian Curry at the local Indian and it was surprisingly yummy. No wonder it was packed.

 We then did some grocery shopping, drove to Anzac Hill to see’ Alice’ by night and headed back to the camp site.

The next morning it was cloudy and rather chilly. After a late breakfast we drove into the city again where we did some shopping and explored the city some more. It looked a lot better during business hours! We also drove up Anzac Hill again to see ‘Alice’ in daylight. Up on the hill we met a local who was happy to share some of his knowledge of the surroundings.

Next we visited The Old Telegraph Station where a ‘Heritage Festival’ was going on. We learned more about the history of Alice Springs and the old craft skills they used in the early days. It was very nice to mingle a bit with the locals.

For dinner we went to Monte’s Pub which we had seen earlier, what a great place! It was a pub in an outdoor setting with a circus themed atmosphere. It looked awesome and their food was awesome too. We had a platter with spicy camel and date sausages, cheese, bread, tapenade and relish. Yummy!

Before we went back to the campsite we drove through the ‘Drive-in Liquor Store’ which is very common in Australia. We wanted to get some wine. Here we experienced the impact of the liquor laws in the Northern Territory.  Local restrictions can affect trading hours and the sale of some products at bottle shops. In some areas, including Alice Springs, the sale of takeaway alcohol is not permitted before 2pm on weekdays, and there are trading limitations on weekends. In most places, there are volume limitations on the purchase of cask and fortified wines, and in some areas, beer.

So sad that alcohol abuse is such a big problem over here!