{"id":3039,"date":"2022-08-19T10:47:35","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T00:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/?p=3039"},"modified":"2022-12-02T20:54:06","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T09:54:06","slug":"alice-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/alice-springs\/","title":{"rendered":"Alice Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Alice Springs<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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East MacDonnell Ranges<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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West MacDonnell Ranges<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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The Ochre Pits<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Telegraph Station & ANZAC Hill<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
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The Gap<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Wintersun Van Site<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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View from ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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View from ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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View from ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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View from ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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View from ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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ANZAC Hill<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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So… We continued our long trek up the middle from Erldunda to Alice Springs<\/a>, which is pretty much the half-way point between Adelaide and Darwin. It’s at this point that you really begin to grasp the enormity of the distances and the vastness of Australia. We suspect that had we crossed the Nullarbor instead that we would probably be learning the same lesson. And that’s a lesson that we’re yet to learn… as well as when we tackle the West Australian coast from Darwin to Margaret River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a decent tow of 275km but the daytime temperature was still relatively cool in the mid-twenties. Not a huge amount of traffic but it was beginning to become noticable that more caravans were beginning to head south with the approaching wet season in the top end.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Gap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At last we approached the ‘Gap<\/a>‘, which signalled that we had arrived at Alice Springs. It’s quite an impressive way to enter the town and splits the MacDonnell Ranges<\/a> into East and West. Our destination was the Wintersun Cabin & Caravan Park<\/a> on the northern side of town. This meant we go to see the town itself as we drove through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you travel up the centre you hear all sorts of warnings about Alice Springs<\/a> (and other places). That you need to be very careful, where to park or not park, to lock your things up, to not be in town after 3:30pm, etc. Despite it’s reputation, it’s still a pretty tidy and well kept town with good facilities and services. Plenty of green grassy areas that are well irrigated.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Wintersun Van Site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Wintersun<\/a> had good reviews and Jo was told that there had only been one break-in in the last year. Some idiot had left his van unlocked with cah on the table… so what would you expect! Still the whole park was fenced with overlapping circles of razor wire sitting atop. It was a nice clean park with decent sized sites and easy to manoeuvre into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The park boom gate and entry gate were broken for a day or two while we we there but the caretakers warned everybody that the gate would remain open for one night and to just be sensible. That said… a van across from us left their Weber BabyQ out on their table unsecured so I set ours up and chained it to the van as I do anywhere else. We still have it and the other guy still has his…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did hear on our second day there that the Coles and another store had been broken into overnight and a car stolen, which had also been recovered and the offenders caught. The ABC radio seems to broadcast a daily crime report and you also see ads on tv about making Alice Springs<\/a> a better community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other major indicator was when we visited the BWS to buy some drinks. The entrance was being guarded by three N.T. Police Officers who were screening customers through the door and refusing entry to certain locals. They were quite thorough asking where we were from and ensuring that our intention was to drink the alcohol we bought and not supply it to anyone else. We also had to provide I.D. at the cash register so they’re pretty serious about their alcohol control but were also doing it all discretely and respectfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our friends from earlier places, Barbara and Paul, had arrived in Alice Springs<\/a> a few days before us and this was the last stop before turning around and heading back home to the Adelaide Hills. So on their last night we met up for the last time at The Gap View Hotel<\/a> for dinner and to swap stories once again. Having arrived in Alice Springs<\/a> before us they gave us plenty of welcome advice on the things to see and do. It was sad to finally farewell them as they turned south and we kept our northern bearings a few days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all Alice Springs<\/a> seems to be thriving albeit with a set of serious social problems that will probably take a generation or two to solve… if they can be. On the surface there seems to be ‘will’ for it but the ‘way’ appears to be mired in political ineptness with decisions being made too far away by uninformed politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully the ‘Uluru Statement From the Heart<\/a>‘ will go some way to addressing it but symbolic politics probably won’t be enough to help the current generation.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>

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Our first day in Alice Springs<\/a> saw us heading east along the East MacDonnel Ranges<\/a>. You could be forgiven for thinking that Alice Springs<\/a> is the land of ‘gaps’, ‘gorges’ and ‘chasms’…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gaps, gorges and chasms are passages through the ranges that have been created through folding, faulting and erosion over thousands of years. Most of them have water holes of varying size depending on their geology and the amount of rain received throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbara and Paul had suggested to us that the best way to tackle the MacDonnel Ranges<\/a> (either side) was to pick the farthest point you want to visit, go there first and then work your way back towards town, Despite this we actually did it the other way around (on the east side) as things were much closer than the west side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily & Jessie Gap<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

First stop was Emily Gap<\/a> and the nearby Jessie Gap. The two gaps are thought to be named after the daughters of C<\/a>h<\/a>arles Todd<\/a> who was responsible for the Australian Overland Telegraph Line<\/a>. A monumental feat of engineering and pererverance from Adelaide to Darwin linking Australia to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Emily Gap water hole<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Emily Gap water hole<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Gum tree buds at Jessie Gap<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Wild flowers at Jessie Gap<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Jessie Gap water hole<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Jessie Gap<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Jessie Gap water hole<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Jessie Gap water hole<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Jessie Gap water hole<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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The water in the water holes at Emily and Jessie Gap was fairly stagnant and the smaller ones were thick with algae growth which turned the water a light turquoise green in colour. Quite beautiful to look at but certainly not for wading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trephina Gorge<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Trephina Gorge<\/a> is located ~55km from Alice Springs<\/a>. As our first gorge we were immediately blown away by the red rock walls of the gorge with the contrasting biege sand on the floor of the corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Water smoothed rocks at Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Undercroft cave at Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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300 year old Ghost Gum – Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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300 year old ghost gum – Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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300 year old ghost gum – Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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There was a nice hike up onto the gorge walls that provided a lookout view into the gorge as well as being able to walk along the sandy bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n

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300 year old ghost gum – Trephina Gorge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Nearby to Trephina Gorge<\/a> is a magnificent 300 year old ghost gum that towers up out of the ground with some younger smaller ghost gums dotting the landscape around it. These wonderful trees survive by sending down deep tap roots to find the ground water below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corroboree Rock<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Corroboree Rock<\/a> is an interesting rock crop that appears quite large as you approach with a dome like appearance. As you move towards one side you suddenly discover that it is very thin and even has some holes through in some places. It is very visually deceptive.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Wild flowers at Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Wild flowers at Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Flowering gum blossoms at Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Flowering gum blossoms at Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Corroboree Rock<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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Corroboree Rock<\/a> is part of a conservation area and is a very sacred men’s site for Arrernte<\/a> indigenous people. We were able to walk around it and see it from all angles. The area also put on a small show of wild flowers and flowering gum blossoms, which were really quite surprising as we were expecting the whole area to be very sparse and arid. Definitely not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ross River Resort<\/h5>\n\n\n
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Ross River Resort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We noticed a sign to Ross River River Resort<\/a> as we headed east and thought we would drop in and see if we could get some lunch there. It was a complete surprise with a large green grassy lawn area fronting a well maintained homestead,<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ross River Resort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Upon entering we found a cosy, rustic interior that also had a massive additional bar and cafe area to one side that was built from hardwood sleepers stacked on top of each other and held in place between steel support posts, covered over with galvanised roof sheeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bar area had all sorts of homestead memorabilia on display as well as some local fauna, i.e. snake and lizard skeletons. The beer was cold and the food was excellent. They provided a ‘loaner’ stubby holder for my beer and Jo decided, once again, to have calamari as far away from the coast as possible!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ross River Resort Peacock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The homestead grounds were home to a flock(?) of peacocks and peahens that wandered around endlessy pecking at the ground for tasty morsels.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>

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Mount Sonder Lookout<\/h5>\n\n\n