The Shake Down

We decided to have a few days on the road to make sure that The Hulk was up to scratch. We wanted to stay close to Alice so if trouble did arise we would be able to go back to town if needed.

The previous week we spent working our butts off cleaning the house and getting ready to travel, which meant packing and adding some modifications to the Hulk.  What wasn’t packed nicely was eventually shoved in, as we were a little too eager to get on the road. We left mid afternoon on Monday the 22^nd and travelled south a couple of hours to Rainbow valley.

We pulled up just as the sun was setting. We had enough time to admire the stunning rock formations, set up and get dinner cooking before dark set in. It wasn’t long before we felt like we were back to it and with a rousing game of Skip-Bo (card game) we knew that we had made the right decision to get out of dodge.

 The next morning we woke and walked around the valley and to mushroom rock. We were surrounded by flies, but strangely enough we weren’t that bothered, there was something beautiful about the place that meant that you just didn’t have a care in the world.

 Eventually we left Rainbow Valley and headed to Owen Springs Nature Reserve where we followed in Stuarts footsteps, which had become very corrugated, and explored the area. We went through sandy patches, rocky riverbeds (don’t get excited we’re still in the desert so they were dry) and some very very corrugated patches of road. This was adventure at its best.

From Owen Springs we headed west towards Hermannsburg and Palm Valley, however about 50 Kms down the road our plan came apart, or at least our back left wheel studs did and we very nearly lost a tyre(seriously millimetres away!). Several choice words later we were stuck out in the back of burke with no chance of limping back to Alice or west to Hermannsburg. We flagged several passing cars and eventually one had a satellite phone and we were able to call a towing company. Yes that’s right, our epic shake down ended in epic disaster – Our Hulkie on the back of a tow truck. Heading home with our tails between our legs we reflected that one can never be too cautious in checking the car over and carrying spares for EVERYTHING, also that being a mechanic by trade might be helpful for the rest of our trip.

Lesson of the Week:  Don’t shake it so hard it breaks!

Alice the Adventure

So our short stay in Alice turned out to be a rather long one, in total we lived in the desert for 11 months! Not bad considering the average turnover is 6 months or less. Although the Hulk didn't make it out much, it was a pretty epic adventure. We lived in three houses (one with a drop dead gorgeous pool) and lived with a total of 9 different housemates (some great, some good and well some..let’s not go there). I worked two jobs:

The Office of Children and Families NT – Child Protection, which underwent four name changes and almost a full turnover of staff whilst I was there. This was a terrific experience as I worked in two different settings: The Residential Care Team and The Safety and Assessment Team. Both had their challenges, but allowed me to work closely with children and families to create safe and sustainable change. Well mostly. Granted there was a time where my case load was above a hundred and things were darn right mad. But you do what you got to do, and at the end of the day I poured my heart and soul into this job and I’m proud of my work and think that I did a good job.

On-Call for the Sexual Assault Referral Centre – I think the name says it all. This was a difficult but rewarding job.

Michael worked at Harvey Normans for a time as a warehouse/delivery person, in the beginning he saw it as a gym he was payed to attend, but by the time the summer heat began it was time to bail out. He then completed a three month internship in Wollongong for BOC.

 Yup, you heard it we lived apart for THREE WHOLE MONTHS!  I managed to survive the full heat that Alice had to offer over summer, which for one week was all above 46 degrees. It was hot, and out bush sitting in the red dirt was even hotter, but I got by knowing I had my glorious pool to return to.

Alice was never a dull place. There was always events on or people to go and visit. We met a bucket load of new people and made friends that we will keep for life and attended the following events (plus many more):

The Camel Cup – A day dedicated to camel racing. NB - Camels are not the same as horses and will not always go in the direction you want them to, will also spontaneously buck, sit down or spit.

Alice Show -a public holiday is called so the town can eat fairy floss and go on rides – Awesome!

Cracker Night – The one day of the year where fireworks are legal and lethal. Eg we met our neighbour for the first time that night because they lit our tree on fire with some of their $2000 worth of gear.

The Todd River Race (Henley-on-Todd Regatta) – A dry river boat race. My parents were lucky enough to visit when this was on and splendour at the weirdness that is Alice Springs.

Black and Bling Ball – A ball in the middle of the outback. In dresses, suits, ties and dust.

our mates Charlotte, Ivana, Caragh and Laura heading to the ball.

The Masters Games – imagine the Olympics for old people and you have the masters games, granted we didn’t actually watch any of the sporting activities, however we sure did attend the opening ceremony party (rocking out to Vanessa Amarosi), mid week party (Plastique-random 80’s cover band), and closing ceremony (good old Icehouse played) anything for a crazy wild night good cause.

West and East Macdonnell Ranges – We explored the ranges on our own, with mates and with our families when they came to visit. We cooled off in the waters of Ellery Creek Big Hole, drank on the balcony of Glen Helen Gorge and climbed the rock at Ormiston Gorge.

Kings Canyon – We went to the Canyon initially with Michael’s parents and did the massive rim walk, which was spectacular. I was lucky enough to return with a car full of the ladies for a fun filled weekend.

Uluru – what a spectacular place. I never realised how big the rock really is. On our first visit we were blown away by the beauty of Uluru and the Olgas with Michael’s parents. I had the opportunity to return a few times to this site as a result of work and gosh did I lap it up. It doesn’t get much better than getting payed to stay in a resort and work in communities where Uluru is your back drop!

We also attended a demolition derby, celebrated Guy Faulkes night, Went to a crazy Halloween Party and attended several hundred farewell parties!

We had several nights out on the town. Surprisingly Alice has a great night life (which I wish someone would have told me when I packed for the town). We hung out at Montes, the Rock Bar, Uncles, Bojangles and you knew it was a good night if you ended up at the casino. A restaurant come night club, a very classy establishment.

There were too many events and memorable times to list, but basically we loved it and are glad we took up the opportunity.  If you ever get a chance I suggest you visit Alice Springs, because there is truly no other place like it! However all good things must come to an end, Michael’s internship is finished, I’m exhausted from working my butt off, the wet season is almost over, our kitty is sufficient and I fear if we don’t leave now we will never get on the road... So the time has come to pack up and continue our merry adventure. Thank you Alice Springs it’s been wonderful.

Lesson of the last 11 months: It's the people that make the place.