A Town Like Alice

When planning a holiday it is important to be aware what time of year you are travelling and will there be a major event happening during your visit.

At Alice Springs the town was a buzz with buggies and bikes for the Finke Desert Race.

Thanks to the advice by staff at the information centre 6 months before we were well aware and had booked our camping spot at the Stuart Caravan Park.

The atmosphere was electric, everyone was having a chat, horsepower revving in readiness, WOW!

The Finke race is held every June Queen birthday weekend – it is an off road, multi terrain two-day race for bikes,

cars, buggies and quads through desert country from Alice Springs to Finke. A dirt bike competitor told us there were 460 bikes ready to race.

Continuing on the subject of speed did you know it is “open” in the Northern Territory? As we approached Alice Springs from the north the speed restriction zone reduced from OPEN to 110kph which was never going to happen with towing camper trailers.

Alice is like a turnstile for many spectacular sites such as the East & West McDonnell Ranges a photographic wonderland especially with a setting sun highlighting the red sandstone rock. There is so much pioneering history and culture it is a very special place to learn, explore and understand this remarkable remote region.

Alice is our final shop before crossing the Tanami Desert across to Halls Creek Western Australia over 1000km. Guesstimating how long it will take us or what we will encounter with road conditions, we allow 3 days and will free camp wherever there are roadside stops.

Using our Outback Travellers Track guide booklet and Camps 7 our first night is at Renahans Bore.

Fortunately the corrugations were mild and we achieved 458km by 4pm. A word of advice when stopping at roadside truck stops – follow the track away from the main road a couple of hundred metres or so. Trucks are noisy and you don’t want to be flashed by headlights late at night.

Another handy hint is to be aware of which way the wind is blowing before you set up, why? Camper trailers with pull out kitchens are challenging to cook on gas with the wind against you.

The country is looking so healthy, Spinifex seeding and natives flowering not like a desert at all.