Leaving Kings Canyon meant having to back track to the Lassiter Hwy and then onto Erldunda again, this meant backtracking about 600km – we had to do this to avoid going on an unsealed road – we do not have an off road caravan and didn’t feel like we wanted to be shaken to kingdom come on a dirt road.

I had seen all the same trees, flowers and roadkill, it was hard not to be bored, although there is always something to see. We would go stretches without seeing something then we would come across these birds that would play chicken with the car – they were like kamikaze birds, small flying is flocks, very interesting to watch – don’t know what they are called. We saw many hawks and black eagles feeding off the roadkill kangaroos, sometimes the eagles would be a bit slow on take-off and we would almost hit them, but they managed to escape being hit.

I have to say it was a long drive, up the Red Centre with no internet or phone service – our car speaker was playing up so we couldn’t play our music either….. still we managed counting down the mileage to the next stop.

As we were getting closer to Alice Springs, we noted the landscape was getting hilly not what you would expect, it had been dry scrubby grasslands, it was still dry but more small mountains around, when I looked it up its part of the Macdonnell Ranges which made sense. We thought it was a pretty town, it was quiet, we went looking for a camera shop (which I had googled, and there was one in town) so I could put my brand-new camera in for repair after I dropped it – I was mortified when this happened, in one spit second, it fell and I think I have damaged the lense, not even two weeks old, I was so cross with myself for days, even now writing about it, I’m devastated. Anyway, Ian dropped me off in town to find this shop, and alas it was not where google said it was – funny that. I rang the number and a man answered and said he was away for another week and there was no one else in town – so it’s still not repaired. It was now late afternoon, so we went to our caravan park we had booked – Alice Springs Tourist Park – we were only staying for 2 nights. It’s always nice to get to a caravan park, all our electronics gets charged, we have great long showers and I do the washing. We didn’t have a huge bucket list of things or places to see in Alice – however I did want to go to the Telegraph Station, my friend said it was worth going to so…. that was our main aim, plus some shopping for restocking food.

The Telegraph Station Historical District did not disappoint, it’s about 4km from the centre of town – both Ian and I are not born Australians, so it was fabulous to hear the history of Alice Springs – the tour guide was excellent and so knowledgeable, it was almost like she had swallowed a history book. Everyone says Alice Springs is the centre of Australia – however where the Telegraph Station is the exact centre of Australia. The buildings have been restored and the River Red Gum is about the same age as the telegraph line was built between 1870 and 1872 – about 153 years old. It was fascinating to hear and read about the early days of the township, the lives of the early telegraphers and their families, as well as touching on the stolen generation.

When reading the display of the history of Alice Springs, particularly about the stolen generation, it bought me to tears, it reminded me of when I first came to Australia, arriving from South Africa via ship, my mother said, “don’t tell people where you are from, they don’t like SA because of the apartheid rules” – I aways wonder how Australia could be so righteous with their “all white policy” back in the day when I was a child.

After the tour we had lunch – decided not to do a walk – however there are great walks available, we went into town for some shopping. Alice Springs has a Target, they have a good choice of shops, however we did think it was a quiet town when we were there. Another good place to go was the ANZAC Hill, you get a great panoramic view of the town, and you see the MacDonnell Ranges surrounding the town – it also has a nice walk, which I did. We also took the opportunity to wash the car, I have never used the pressure hose to wash before so this was a whole new experience for me – I did enjoy it, just as well it was a beautiful sunny day. On our way to the shops, we passed the Catholic Church, I stopped to light a candle, alas there were none, however that didn’t stop me from enjoying the artwork (first time I have seen Aboriginal Art in stained glass) and saying a prayer. We replenished our pantry, had dinner at a nice restaurant and had an early night – we enjoyed Alice Springs. Oh, I forgot after ANZAC Hill, I spotted a Hungry Jacks, and just had to have a soft serve ice cream, it’s been ages since we’ve seen fast food, of course Ian had one too.

On our way now to Tennant Creek, I did not know what to expect of Tennant Creek, as I had mixed reviews about the place – everyone has a different opinion.

Our first stop was Barrow Creek, on our history lesson at the Telegraph Station, the young lady had told us that Barrow Creek had a terrible history and were gruesome in their treatment of the Aboriginal people. Barrow Creek just had the petrol station come hotel, it looked pretty shabby – not much of a place really – there is also the Telegraph Station like in Alice Springs, but I don’t think many people visit it. I just took a picture and that was it, we did refuel, and it was the most expensive refuel – funny, I also met a nurse that I had worked with in Esperance, who is now taking a nursing break and working at the hotel. On our way to Tennant Creek we passed the Barkly Region – The rocks are called “Devils Marbels” and there are camping grounds, however you have to get a permit – so we decided to keep going – I was talking to an elderly lady who asked me to help her get a permit – I agreed, however on reading the sign the only way to get a permit was to download via WiFi – the signage said free WiFi available – however there was no WiFi, so I couldn’t help her – she said “her husband didn’t think he would make Tennant Creek”, I did tell her it was about 120km not what her thought 300kms. I said” we would carry on and stay at the caravan park in TC” – they decided to turn back to the free parking they passed about an hour ago.

We stopped for a rest stop as Ian wanted to keep driving – we both went for a walk and a chat with other people who had stopped – people are so friendly, it’s really nice.

We got into Tennant Creek just on dusk – we booked in for just one night – you can ask for a drive through where you do not have to unhitch which is nice. At Tennant Creek they offer you a service where if you want to go to dinner at The RSL Club you ring, and they come and pick you up and drop you off, no charge- we did consider it, but we were both so tired from all the driving, we had baked beans on bread and had another early night.

Tennant Creek was disappointing – we did not explore the town, we drove through, I needed the chemist and we refuelled and that was it. Some of the shops have been boarded up, a lot of shops have steel shutters protecting the windows from being broken – the town reminded me a little of Derby in WA.

On reflection, we did too much driving through the Red Centre, not enough walking or drinking of water…….you live and learn. Best advice for me was the tour guide at the Telegraph Station – she said “for all those people who take photos, when you are taking the photo and you look up, then look down for the snake” – I think of this each time I take a photo.

We were now heading for the Queensland boarder: – then Mt Isa