Scruffy the camel

Katherine Gorge
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27 October Set off on bus tour down the Stuart Highway towards Katherine (our first overnight stop). In the afternoon we went canoeing down Katherine Gorge which was amazing - really hot work, but very rewarding! We had to stop for a few refreshing dips along the way, taking care not to moor too closely to the crocodile nesting areas (which were highlighted along various banks). I didn't need telling twice!

28 October We were woken up stupidly early again to set off for Mataranka thermal pools. Considering it's so hot everywhere at the moment, the water at the thermal pools felt no hotter than the water in any of the other waterholes we've swum in so far! After this we drove on down to Daly Waters where we stopped for a pint or two in the quirky outback Daly Waters Pub - the oldest pub in Oz, allegedly!

Inside a marble
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We finally arrived at Tennant Creek, our campsite for the night. After dinner we played some wonderfully childish 'getting to know your travelling companions' games around the campfire, before settling down into our swags for the night - in our '5 million star' hotel (i.e. out in the open). We had to check over our swags really thoroughly before climbing into them, just in case some nasty creepy crawly had already decided to sleep in it for the night. Perish the thought!

29 October In the morning we went for a tour around Battery Hill (Gold) Mining Centre, before continuing on down the Stuart Highway to Devil's Marbles - a large collection of rocks & boulders that are somewhat precariously balanced on top of each other. I was only mildly worried that one might roll off & crush me!

Entering the Outback!
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We passed through the tropic of Capricorn before finally arriving in Alice Springs (some 1,600kms south of Darwin). In the evening we went out for our end of tour meal which was full of fun (& not a drop of booze in sight, of course!).

30 October - 4 November Stayed in a very nice hostel in Alice Springs, called Annie's Place. I shared a 6-bed dorm with 5 other ladies who were all very nice - apart from 'bag lady' (one of those travellers who packs each of their belongings into an individual carrier bag before placing them into their rucksack - thus creating an IMMENSE amount of noise very early every morning as they unpack, pack & repack their rucksack. Aaaarrrgh!).

Camel riding
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I managed to do quite a lot of things around Alice during my week here, although I wouldn't have wanted to stay much longer as there's not much to do in the actual town itself

One afternoon I went on a camel safari along the bed of the Todd River. There hadn't been any rain for months & months, & so the river had totally dried up. It felt really strange because it looked exactly like a river - with raised riverbeds etc. - but without any water! I soon discovered that there are loads of these dried up rivers all around Alice, but they never failed to intrigue me! Incidentally, all of the camel's had really exotic names such as Kakadu. Except for mine which was called ... Scruffy!

Canoeing beside croc nests in Katherine Gorge!
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One day I went to Alice Springs Desert Park which was really interesting. There's a 2km track you walk round which takes you through various habitats e.g. desert rivers, sand country & woodland, & you get to learn about loads of different plants & animals along the way. There was also a birds of prey presentation with eagles, buzzards, kites & falcons - where we saw them cracking open eggs, swooping down for meat etc.

The other really impressive thing I did whilst in Alice was to cycle out to Simpson's Gap & back (a natural gap in the mountains of the MacDonnell Ranges). There is a purpose built cycle path which takes you right out through the heart of the ranges - a really easy gentle ride perhaps in winter, but an absolute killer in the 40 degrees centigrade heat of the summer! Thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. I also got to witness a territorial fight between 2 dragons (a type of Lizard), which was truly incredible!