Day 23: Devils Marbles - Alice Springs

Today is Michi's birthday. When he returns from his morning photo tour, Samuel is excited to be able to wish him a happy birthday. We decide to have a birthday breakfast outdoors. Blowing out the candles on the birthday cake is taken care of by the wind. We enjoy the sun and the pleasant temperatures. Samuel is very sad because the cows are no longer here.

Today, we have another long drive ahead of us, about 400 kilometers. We want to go to Alice Springs. Before we head towards the highway, we use the free wifi for our blog, emails... We start our drive at 11:30 am. The kids are already tired and quickly fall asleep. Today, both take pretty long naps (Samuel 1.5 hours and Maxima 2.5 hours), which is perfect for the journey.

We make a stop in Wycliff Well to refuel. The station is pretty crazy because apparently UFOs land here.

We continue to drive the kilometers. Michi is pretty tired and I dare to get behind the wheel of our Maui for the first time. The left-hand traffic and the automatic transmission take some getting used to, but with the simple roads and hardly any traffic, everything is pretty easy. We take a break and buy ice cream. Then it's time for the final stretch.

In Alice Springs, we stock up on the most important groceries for the next few days at Coles. Of course, a visit to the Bottlestore is a must as well. We really like the Australian Steamrail beer, despite the higher price of 15 euros for 6 bottles.

We check in at the MacDonnell Range Holiday Park. We are assigned site number 9, which is perfect for us because it is right next to the playground. We quickly run to the pool. Unfortunately, the water slide is only open until 6:30 pm, so we only get to slide once. The water in the pools is quite refreshing and there is also a cool breeze.

For Michi's birthday, we bought something special for dinner. Today, we have kangaroo steaks. I prepare everything while Michi and the kids spend time at the playground. We use the barbecue grill at the campsite. When checking in at the campsite, I was already told that there are other Austrians here today (apparently not so common) and as luck would have it, Michi meets the couple while grilling. The world is small because they are from Walding. We enjoy the kangaroo steaks with potatoes and salad under the open sky. In our opinion, the steaks are a mixture of beef and game - very delicious. That calls for a repeat!

November 15, 2016

Accommodation: MacDonnell Range Holiday Park (1 night for 39 AUD, huge, very well-kept site, all facilities top and clean, cool pool, long water slide, great playground)

Weather: sunny & windy in the morning, 32 degrees Celsius

407 kilometers for the day out of total 2,449 km