So, my 444k back to the wonderful Alice Springs was tankfully uneventfull (no storms or bush fires!) and it was a glorious day which made the 4 and half hour journey a pleasure. That was, of course, after I had got over the shock of putting some petrol in Marvin.....
Everything at the resort is expensive, you just have to go with it, they have you there by the short and curlies so can basically charge what they want. Including petrol. I put some in the day before and nearly choked when I saw the price on the pump - $2.01!!!!! Dear God!! Almost as dear as Blighty!! Considering you pay $1.38 in Adelaide that is a big jump. So I made the executive decision that I would not fill up there I would try for the next roadhouse about 150k down the road. I knew I had enough to get me there (not like the trip from Pemberton....) so off I went to Curtain Springs. And there it was. Petrol. $2.11 a litre!!! $2.11!! Well I instructed the french backpacker who was working there filling the cars up (the pumps are padlocked as everyone does a bloody runner when they see the price) to put $30 in. At $33 I told her to look what she was doing as I wasn't bloddy made of money. That $35 lasted me about and hour!!!!
Anyway, I digress. So on I trundled, enjoying the view without the smoke and rain, stopping to take some pics of the damage caused by the lightening on the way down, and finally arrived in The Springs.
It was still as strange as I remember, despite being situated in a really beautiful part of Australia, it really is a shit hole. Sorry to those lovely residents of the town, but it is. And it is such a shame. The Aboriginals are still sleeping in the square and drinking, making it a bit dodgy to walk around at night, and try as they might to make it better, the town is looking very tired and sad.
But it is the infamous Alice Springs so I made the most of my time by checking into my hotel, which was very nice if a bit dated (they are all decorated circa 1980, this had quite remarkable pink tiles......) It also had a smell about it that I couldn't place, but I likened it to a dead donkey. After coming into contact with some of the 'locals' later that evening, I realised it must be a residue of the cleaner who, although very good at their job, really needs to take a bath.
Anyhoo, after exploring what the town had in the way of shops I headed on down to the Royal Flying Doctors Centre. I went there when Taff and me came here many years ago and it really was an interesting little place. Unfortunately for me they had just closed (I have perfected the art of bad timing on every leg of this trip!!) but they let me have a sneak inside and let me buy a fridge magnet for my collection!
Then as I was wandering back to my hotel I stumbled across another place Taff and I found, a western bar called Bojangles. Back then they had a live webcam feed and as this was in the days before facebook and all that, it was a real novelty. So for old times sake I went in. And there I stayed for the night!!! Beer jugs $10 and a steak bigger than my head. Perfect.
I also met up with a lovely couple called Rebecca and Rob who were travelling in their 4x4 camping. Not too strange you may think but they had been doing it for almost a year! They had seen me at Ayers Rock the day before and recognised me so we got chatting and had a great night swapping travelling stories. Had a great night.
Back to the (smelly) room to settle down for the night, earplugs blocking out the sounds of the 'locals' shouting and fighting before settling down to sleep outside my room.........
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