In love in Alice Springs

We arrived in Alice Springs in the early afternoon, we visited the dump point so that we were 'waste free' before arriving at Michael's cousin's house.

Michael's cousin runs a beautiful B & B in town and we were going to be spoilt for the next few days. We managed to squeeze the van down one side of their driveway and were soon sitting in their kitchen enjoying coffee and chatting with some other guests.

By coincidence Margaret and Alf were off out to a dinner/show that night (Fawlty Towers) so we headed down to a local restaurant where we were soon joined by a couple of other guests,Mark and Nicola. Mark and Nicola were holidaying from North Wales and we had a lovely dinner and chat with them.

The next day we just 'chilled out' sitting in the back garden, chatting and enjoyed a relaxing swim in the pool. Sunday morning we went into town and wandered through the Todd Market. We only bought a couple of loaves but did stop at the local police 'stall' and chatted to the Assistant Commissioner, a very nice lady called Jeanette.

That evening we dined al fresco at a very, very nice Indian restaurant in town.

Then, the weekend over it was time for some serious sightseeing. Alf loaded the 4WD and we headed off into the East Macdonnell Ranges.

Our first stop was Emily Gap.

Then onto Jessie Gap.

Then Corroboree Rock, where I had a walk around the rock and then we stopped for lunch, opting to stay in the car to eat rather than share with the flies.

Then the 4 WD came into it's own and we edged our way out to John Hayes Rock Hole. This was definitely a 4WD track, lots of sand, rocks, river beds and wash aways. A wonderful spot that I'm sure a lot of locals wouldn't know about. The water level had apparently dropped since Alf and Margaret were last here in January and after the previous three spots we feeling a little tired so no one went for a dip.

Our final stop was at Trephina Gorge. I left the others sitting by the car park and wandered along the river bed (dry) through the spectacular gorge.

 I kept walking thinking that I would eventually find a rock hole with water in it, but no such luck so I wandered back to the others.

It was four tired little souls who arrived back in Alice around 5pm. That night we had a really good Chinese take out. (Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant).

The next day it was time to visit the West Macdonnell Ranges.

Alf had golf commitments so Margaret was our guide. All of the places we would visit were accessible by 2WD so headed off in her car.

First stop was on the edge of town, the grave of Flying Doctor originator, John Flynn.

Then we drove out to Simpsons Gap. Margaret walked in with us and surprised us by spotting a couple of Rock Wallabies. We really didn't think that we'd see any as it was late morning and if Margaret had not been with us we would not have spotted them.

The two were just sitting on a rock sun baking and then hopped away to appear on another rock. Delightful.

We walked into the Gap along to the rock pool, the water was really cold so none of us was tempted to go for a swim.

Then we slowly walked back, with Margaret promising better things to come. Hard to believe as it was truly spectacular.

Next stop was Standley's Chasm. We had lunch in the car park and then leaving Margaret to clear away we set off for the Chasm.

There is an entry fee here, but it's only $12pp ($10concession). We started walking along the trail but were dismayed to see what appeared to be a 'feral' camp alongside the pathway. Further along the track there were several young people hefting rocks, rebuilding the pathway. Whilst understanding that work needs to be done, we did think that this 'workers camp' could have (should have) been situated behind the scenes.

We climbed over rocks, up rocks and down rocks and then eventually made it into the Chasm.

Margaret was right – it did get better. It was amazing, spectacular, magnificent.

Well worth the effort to get there.

We finally made our way back to the car park and although Margaret was disappointed not to continue and show us more of the West Macdonnells we were both exhausted and awestruck – we headed home where I enjoyed a very relaxing float in the pool.

The last two day had been awesome in the true sense of the word, how could you better or even equal it. 

                                                Well one man could.

                                                       This man.

                                           Brolga aka Kangaroo Dundee.

One of the things on my wish list on this trip was to visit the kangaroo sanctuary in Alice Springs.

The sanctuary is open for sundown visits on Weds. Thurs and Fri. only. The only way to visit is on a tour, with a bus pick-up in town. No personal, private arrivals. Margaret had phoned and booked us in, with a pick-up from the house.

We were picked up on time, and were the first pick-up so had a tour of Alice Springs as we visited about 10 other hotels in town.

Surprisingly the sanctuary is just on the outskirts of town and we were soon there.

Brolga himself met us and then introduced us to Jimmy. And then Patti. These two are being handled by people because they are used in education visits to schools and on these tours.

The children's faces as they held these little ones was really lovely.

We were escorted into the sanctuary grounds and met a few of the inmates.

We visited the 'boys' compound, where the 'intact' males live. Roger, the star of the tv series, is still living there but is no longer number one. (His son is now, 'leader' of the mob.)

I asked what had happened to William, Daisy and Emma from the tv series. Sadly Daisy died but William and Emma were released back into the wild. Then, to my delight and surprise, Brolga called me forward. He passed me a small bottle of milk and I fed a young female, Sinead. 

She's able to look after herself but still likes to come up for a drink when the tours are on. Once the bottle was empty she hopped off – literally.

My delight was not finished. As we'd been walking around the sanctuary the two little joeys in bags had been being carried by people. Brolga asked if I'd held one and when I hadn't he got the person holding Patti to pass her over to me. I stepped very carefully along the track in the failing light, I had a precious cargo.

It was over too soon. 

We were back at the gate and it was time to board the bus and head home. I did pose for a photo with Brolga and both joeys but we didn't want to use the flash because we'd flash in the joeys' eyes – hence it didn't turn out. But I know it happened and I'm still in heaven.

The next morning we reluctantly left Alice Springs. We hadn't seen everything, there is so much to do in the town. We were actually very surprised at what is on offer. Our last visit had been, like a lot of people's, a stopover to Uluru. Thanks to Margaret and Alf's knowledge and enthusiasm we really enjoyed Alice Springs and have more to see so will have to go back.