Where the ? is Alice

Day 4

Bacon and eggs is always a good way to start the day and they cook them pretty good at the Marla Traveller’s Rest. We all had a much better sleep than the night before so we we’re up and packed and ready to go at a reasonable time.

We stopped at the SA/NT border and took some photos similar to the ones we took last time so we could compare how much the kids had grown. No sturt desert peas there this time – the place was swarming with them last time.

After a quick toilet stop at the rest area near the Finke River, which was flowing strongly, we stopped for lunch at the side of the road. It was the first time we’d had to make lunch so out came the sliced meat (salami, ham & turkey) and cheese and bacon rolls. The awning on the side of the car is fantastic and provides us with shade no matter where we are. Would recommend one for anyone with a 4WD travelling long distances.

Alice is only about 420km away on the main highway so it made for a pretty easy day. The caravan park was jam packed but we found a little corner for the group and set up for our 2 night stay.

Day 5

We had surprise visitors during the night. Matty and Sylvia had driven all the way from Adelaide to Alice to join us at the last minute and arrived about 1.30 in the morning. The group was now complete.

FREEZING, FREEZING cold in Alice every morning. Went to bed almost fully dressed and woke up several times during the night to water dripping on my face from the condensation. (Mental note – in future don’t turn the mattress sideways in the tent and put some extra pegs on the tent in really cold weather).

Had a great day in Alice. Bought and sent postcards to my Nana, Mum and Dad, our neighbour Jan and my work (Hi everyone – hope all you had fun at planning day today – sorry not thinking about work AT ALL!!! J) Spent the rest of the day buying bits and pieces. Bought some meat from the butcher (chicken, sausages and rissoles) that we had cry-vaced so that it will last for about 2 weeks in the fridge. Did a bit of top up food shopping at Woolies and Coles and bought a fold up strainer for rice and pasta, some extra pegs and a peg bag.

We also bought some shade cloth to put under the tent to keep dirt off the bottom of the tent and to wipe your feet before you go in. Hopefully that will keep the sweeping each morning to a minimum.

Had some trouble with our Red Arc Battery Management System which got a bit of a drenching when we drove along the Oodnadatta Track after the storm. Nothing would charge and one of the battery’s was flat. After a lot of mucking around we still haven’t been able to fix it, but because we took a powered site we were able to keep everything we needed with enough charge.

We had a lovely group dinner at Bojangles, and waved to everyone on the web cam. Next time must remember to ring someone up and get them to have a look and see if they can see us.

All in all a good couple of days.