CAMPSITE # 90 - Dundee Territory

I was really intrigued by Alice Springs considering it was a huge town damn smack in the middle of big old Australia. 
I like to think of it as the kind of town that makes you want to go rush to the video store to hire out a copy of "Crocodile Dundee". We tried but apparently so had 3 others in the town and they were all out!! It seems that perhaps we weren't the only one in the mood for some Dundee action. Alice Springs would have been the biggest place Mick Dundee ever ventured to - before he scooted of to the big apple with Linda of course.

The town is surrounded by the MacDonnell Ranges. To enter, you drive through a pass in the ranges alongside the river which was flowing with a very high volume of water thanks to the recent down pour. We even spotted a few local kids enjoying a dip in the usually dry, empty stone creekbed. 

Overlooking Alice Springs from lookout

The Ghan was kind enough to pass us just as we sat, first cab off the rank at the crossing.

Tom quoted "Now, this is Australia" to me at least 4 or 5 times that day. And he was right. Could our visit possibly have been any more Aussie? Well just in case, we checked ourselves into the "G'Day Mate Caravan Park"... we figured that would certainly seal the deal. 

Site : "G'Day Mate Caravan Park"
Rating : 10 / 20
Facilities : Well manicured sites. Good facilities at no extra charge. Icing on the cake - it has a swimming pool!!


As we planned to stay at "G'day Mate" for two nights, we took a day trip over to have a look at the East MacDonnell Ranges. We saw some of the most beautiful gorges we will most likely see in our lifetime. Once again, Tom found himself repeating a very cheesy line but this time it was "isn't this Gorge-ous?" Damn he's original but once again, he was right. 

Aboriginal Rock Art of "Catepillars"

Ductile Deformation...

The Trephina Gorge was simply breathtaking. We took a 45 minute walk along the top of the cliffs and then made our way down towards the walking track that was supposedly along the creekbed. Only, once we had reached the creekbed, we realised that the 'walkway' was fully submerged. So, we took off our boots and waded through ankle deep crystal clear water all of the way back to the car.

I know I'm about to say this for the umpteenth time but we are SO lucky!! To experience these gorge-ous gorges with so much water and the surroundings being so green and alive... it was simply magnificent.

A Desert Pea

 4WD only access roads all of the way out to the Gorges.  One guess why...

But there is always a sacrifice. While a trip like this is a once in a lifetime experience, we are also missing out on things back home. Tom's mum's birthday back in the UK and my little nephews first birthday party. At times like these, I know both of us wish we had some magical button that we could just press and teleport ourselves back to our loved ones. Either way, there is never a good time to go on a trip like this. I guess we just had to bite the  bullet and remind ourselves why we're here.

All of the way from Alice Springs, Central Australia - Chrissie and Angus - we wish you both a very happy birthday, we miss you both dearly and will see you both again sometime soon.