Alice Springs
Passing the Petermann Ranges at dusk, for the first time we spotted...
...wild camels (or actually dromedars). Originally imported from Afghanistan for
carrying goods through the hot and dry central regions of Australia, some of them managed
to get away and roamed the desert areas since the early days. Nowadays, Australian camels
are re-exported to the Arabian countries, especially the tamed wild ones: they are the
hardest of their kind!
Out here, rivers and creeks only carry water after substantial rainfalls, which does
not happen very often. However, their beds can be spotted quite easily. In this desert
area, there must have been a bushfire quite recently as everything is full of black ashes.
We were also covered with it after collecting firewood and camping out here, not noticing
the black ashes in the darkness in which we had arrived at this camping spot.
Dry river bed near Lasseters cave. Full of crystals.
Lasseters cave.
Mount Conner, the third landmark in line with Kata Tjuta and Uluru.
Mount Conner.
Goanna visiting our campsite at Kings Creek Station.
Kings Creek Station is, among others, a camel farm.
Cockatoo at Kings Creek Station.
Burger lunch in the middle of nowhere!
Road to Alice Springs - especially bumpy part.
Overview of Alice Springs with the Macdonnel Ranges in the background. Here is the only possibility to
get through the (Western and Eastern) Macdonnel Ranges with goods and e.g. telegraph
lines without needing to climb up and down the Ranges (which was not possible with goods
in the early days). Furthermore, there is Alice spring (hence the name) which secures the water supply,
most important out here. Once a important telegraph station on the line Darwin - Adelaide,
Alice Springs is still not a big city today, but the most important city of central Australia.
Again a dry river bed most of the time: the Todd River in Alice. This picture shows the Todd Regatta. Funny part: the management of Todd
Regatta has insurance against the unlikely case that there is actually water in the Todd
River on the day of the Todd Regatta.
Our tour ended with a dinner in the outback style pub and restaurant "Bojangles", where
we spent our last evening together with the group, chatting about our great outback
adventure. Unfortunately there was not much time to explore Alice Springs with its old
telegraph station, the Royal Flying Doctor Service central or the School of the Air
central... We had to leave them for next time, as Noosa was already waiting for us!
