Longer than planned in Alice Springs

Today is Saturday, 17.09, and we arrived in Alice Springs 2 days ago. Actually, we wanted to continue the next day and explore the Red Centre. We decided to drive the Red Centre Way or the Mereenie Loop. You pass everything important and if you drive the loop, which includes a part of an unsealed road on Aboriginal land, you don't have to drive the same way to Uluru or Kings Canyon and then extra back to Alice Springs to the MacDonnell Ranges. We wanted to drive the loop counterclockwise, so it would take a few more days until we reach Uluru, because yesterday was a full moon and it is so bright that we probably wouldn't have been able to see the great light installation properly.

We made all the planning on Thursday evening after we were at the Visitor Information Centre. That's where we met a really unmotivated woman for the first time, who just said: You can find information about the sights in the brochures back there in the rack. Well thank you very much. The next day we wanted to go a bit into town and then to the MacDonnell Ranges. For sleeping, we found a campsite that cost only 11 AUD per vehicle. Normally, the places always cost per person, but here you could come with 5 people and still only pay 11 dollars. The place was called Gap View Hotel Campground and the funny thing was: when we wanted to ask about the payment in the hotel, we were pretty confused because we only found a bar. And then it was actually like that, they don't have a reception, but you pay at the bar :D The hotel consists basically of a bar and behind the building there was even a liquor store drive-thru. The campsite was behind that, there was only a meadow, no pitches, the cooking areas and the toilets/showers were pretty run down and the washing machines/dryers were probably from the 80s. Nobody ever repairs anything there. The price is no longer surprising :D Nevertheless, there were also some permanent campers there. They had powered sites, which meant that they simply plugged their cables into the sockets near the kitchen. So everything is not so mega. But one thing made up for everything: the hot shower the next morning. That was soooo nice because it was so cold at night and we only slept on free campsites without showers the days before. And if you shower in the public showers in town, it already costs 5 dollars per person, so we made a good deal with the campsite for 11$.

Yesterday we looked around the city a bit, were in the pedestrian zone with all the Aboriginal Art Galleries (such beautiful pictures, but so expensive!) and the botanic garden. There we climbed a rocky hill and had lunch with a view. From above, you could also see the gap very well, the gap between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, after which our campsite is named because it is nearby.

Then we went shopping for our trip. After all, the loop alone is 1500 km long and we expect to be on the road for at least 5 days. You have to plan what you want to eat. After shopping, it was already so late that we wouldn't have made it to the first free campsite on the route before sunset, so we decided to just start driving the next day and spend the night at our 11$ campsite again. So we got a six pack of cider and enjoyed it with our chili con carne. While eating, it suddenly started to storm and rain. We quickly stored the essentials in the car and then took refuge under the tent of the kitchen with our food. It was really disgusting! It got really cold and the wind even blew the rain under the tent. Thank god it eventually stopped and we could go to the bathroom and bed, somewhat dry.

This morning, after breakfast, we drove to Desert Dwellers because the gas hose we bought the day before as a replacement had a leak. But we were able to exchange it easily, the guy remembered us. Then we went to refuel and fill up the canisters. And then we started to the first stop, Simpson Gap. When we arrived there, it was raining lightly, but after not even 2 minutes it rained heavily. Really intense. We waited in the shelter where the 20-minute walk to the gap starts, hoping that it's just a shower. But it didn't stop. Stupid. Our weather app had announced thunderstorms for the day, but we thought that they would be just showers and then it would stop. But the clouds were really hanging in the mountains and there was no light on the horizon. With that weather, we obviously didn't want to hike anywhere, so we decided to drive back to Alice Springs until we had internet reception on our cell phones and could see what else we could do. We stopped at Flynn's Grave, which was only a 10-minute drive from Simpson Gap and about halfway between the gap and Alice Springs.

First, we thought about going to the cinema and watching "The Secret Life of Pets", but then we thought it would be more sensible to just start driving. And to simply change the loop in the other direction because the weather app said it should be nice at Uluru. Waiting another day and then starting to the ranges wouldn't have really achieved anything because it's supposed to rain there again on Monday. So we just changed our plan. Well, and when we wanted to start the car, it didn't work. Even after trying several times, opening and closing the hood, looking, pushing, trying again, nothing worked. Very annoying. That was the moment when our RAC Membership with Road Assistance was used for the first time. I called there, gave them all the necessary information, and then someone should be with us after half an hour. During this time, we had our leftover chili for lunch, because we had nothing else to do anyway and it was already lunchtime. After about 40 minutes, someone actually arrived, with the tow truck. He tried himself and when nothing worked, he brought the battery jump start boxes. We had hoped that it was just something with the battery, but because the car didn't make a sound and the brake was so oddly blocked, it could also have been something worse... In the end, he was able to start our car and it was actually the battery. He said that it was probably 3-4 years old and needed to be replaced. In Australia, car batteries don't last long due to the large temperature differences. In Central Australia, they usually only last 2 years. We could continue driving with the old battery, but he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't fail to start again. And of course, we didn't want to take that risk when we're on our way to the Outback. Thank god this happened at a place with cellphone reception! So our next stop was "Supercheap Auto" in town, where we bought a new battery. Fortunately, there was a promotion that weekend where automotive club members save 25%. So instead of paying 155 AUD, we only paid 112 AUD for the battery. Really good! And our RAC membership paid off for the second time that day :D The installation of the new battery would have cost us 15 AUD, so we just googled it and tried it ourselves. It worked pretty well, it's not that difficult. Andi also had some prior knowledge from home. We could simply return the old battery to the store.

Since it was already afternoon at half past 3 after this super great and meaningful day, we finally got going. We are currently on the road and the next stop will be Rainbow Valley where we will also spend the night. I'm excited and looking forward to the next few days! :)