141-142 Bitter Springs to Alice Springs (16/8-17/8)

Onwards and southwards we headed.

I'd spent many a McCafferty's bus trips on this highway between Alice and Darwin but it was really enjoyable to drive. There was something vaguely familiar about it all and yet, in a strange way, refreshingly new.

The road itself was in great condition and unlike other parts of Australia, I didn't have to keep dodging potholes and degraded surfaces. I suppose though, it's a bit easier when you really only have one tarmaced highway!

The trip down from Mataranka was largely uneventful, and a stopover in Elliot for lunch reminded me of another place I had happiliy removed from my memory. We pressed on without any inclination of staying in the area.

A quick stop to check out a misplaced plane and grab a toilet break. Ironically, didn't need fuel at this stage!

The road was as flat as I remembered. Plenty of room for overtaking if required.

And then, some 200km further down the road, and yep, still nothing much. Wasn't nearly as bored as I thought I'd be and happily kept trucking along. It's pretty stress-free driving even with the van on the back, as you've got plenty of notice of any hazards.

In the end it ended up being one of our biggest distance days to date. Without many things to warrant pulling over, we managed to clock up 670km without too much of a whinge from the cheap seats in the back.

We thought we'd try our luck at the Devil's Marbles campground but had heard that if you weren't in early in the afternoon, you'd miss out...

We didn't miss out at 5pm!

It's a strange one this campground as it's sites aren't delineated in anyway but the general convention is to park tail in, like at caravan parks to maximise the space and allow as many people to stay as possible. Hower, there were a few travellers however who thought it was OK to simply park length ways across sites taking up more than their share of space! I did contemplate boxing a few in but on finding a few vacant spots elsewhere thought otherwise.

The best thing about this campground though is that on a night like we had, it provides a brilliant attraction to walk around and get some steps into the legs as opposed to kilometres on the car. And the Marbles were far more spectacular than I ever remembered them. Perhaps another great example of looking at things from an adult perspective as opposed to a jaded teenager point of view.

It was truly a perfect evening to walk around the Marbles and watch the sunset. We've had some great coastal sunsets, but this inland desert facade can certainly hold it's own when it comes to casting evening shadows and colours.

A marble. A big marble. Possibly an acient Tom-bowla?

We mucked around on a heap of the stones, some casting better shadows than others. 

The kids mentioned that I was taking a lot of pictures but I wasn't in them. I pointed out that little did they know I was actually capturing myself in them too! One of my favourite shots this one.

And naturally, with the sun setting, plenty of pano's to be taken.

One of my favourite family shots of the rip so far. It never ceases to amaze me how these kids have adapted to travel. We'd been sitting in a car for the best part of 9hrs and they were all happy and adventurous.

A beautiful spot at any time, but magical at dusk.

Geology and history rolled into one (stone) ball.

Looking down at the campground from one of the Marbles. Our two extra children can be seen to the right of shot resting their weary tyres.

Not sure any combinations of adjectives can really describe this shot, and the shot doesn't fully capture the site we saw. As many shots as we take, they are becoming handy reminders to the perfect scenery I'm trying to store in my mind's eye.

We've tried many selfies on the trip, but this one now pips the one at Karijini NP for my favourite family one.

Next morning broke to another cloudless day after a night of wondering if the camping bikers down the way would ever turn down their music or stop burning pallets. Still, we slept well enough and ready to tackle the black top again.

It seems others are far more keen than use to get on the highway! This shot actually reminded me of the farcical attempt we had at going for a walk before setting off. Between James' extended visit to the loo, and then blood noses and empty drink bottles, B and I eventually pulled the pin on our plan walk in humerous frustration and thought we'd "better just get on the bloody road".

We weren't due in Alice until the next day so we knew that it would be a cruisy sort of a day with only 600km left to go. But where to stop? There isn't a plethora of places between here and there to camp safely on the highway. Either way, we just trusted our mantra of "see how we go" and rolled back onto the Sturt Highway.

We stopped at Wycliffe Well to check out the UFO displays and other cliche'd crap thata goes on there. It was as crappy and overrated as I remember it, but it certainly broke up the conversation. I did however find this sign detailing a sand-dwelling crab.Who'd have thunk it?

Ok, so we had a little fun...

We did chalk up this milestone though. A lazy 20,000km on the trip so far...

A highlight of the day was stopping over at a random stop to try out some mango ice cream we'd read about. Weird run down joint, but damn... yep awesome mango ice cream!

And after another successful run down the highway, we were closing in on Alice quicker than hoped. Wikicamps informed us of a rest stop at the Tropic of Capricorn monument. So... good enough for us! Here it is, with enough daylight in the day having a school lesson on the table next to the highway. 

One thing the Centre does well, is sunsets. Even at this rest area, it managed to capture our attention and camera lens. 

Classroom table reinvented as dining room. And because it's outside, it was taco night!!

And for those not in the know, that is the monument showing the tropic of Capricorn. Technically we ate and studied in the Tropics but slept in the south. It was a clean and serviceable enough stop but certainly no longer than a free overnighter required. I did enjoy walking up and down the highway at night getting some activity into the legs and watching the headlights appear over the horizon. "Car" would come the call from kids, but for once I was the least worried. 5min later the car was still coming... :)

And so it was time. After 20 long years, tomorrow I would be rolling back into the town that played such a pivotal role in shaping who I am today. It's strange to think that I had never been back after leaving for University after high school and there's no denying that I was strangely nervous but openly excited.

I was now very glad we'd made the decision to take the (very significant) detour to visit the Red Centre.