Week 3 Roadtrip Center

In the night, it rained a little for the first time, and since it was also windy, I woke up at night. There was also a slight thunderstorm, but no, I didn't wet my pants out of fear :D
In the morning, we headed towards Alice Springs. Luckily, it was a bit more pleasant there. But one thing that immediately stood out is that there are a lot of Aborigines walking around there. In the cities, they are mostly like beggars and sit drunk in some corners. We went shopping, withdrew money, and equipped ourselves with brochures at the Visitor Center. I bought an Australian flag there to have everyone I meet and spend time with on my trip sign it. I've been here for a while and it occurred to me very early, but better start now than never. Since Ayers Rock is not just around the corner, it will be on the agenda for tomorrow. Luckily, there is a campground in that direction, so we drove there to end the evening. In the restroom, I saw a slightly bigger spider for the first time. It was just sitting comfortably on the toilet seat. I didn't feel disgusted or screamed out of fear, but calmly went to the other toilet. :D

Before heading to Ayers Rock in the morning, there are a few other beautiful national parks along the way. We first went to Watarrka National Park and went for a walk. This time each of us went alone because Dominik wanted to take the difficult path. It was also nice to take photos and enjoy nature in peace.

We briefly visited the 'Olgas' and then went over to Ayers Rock (Uluru). We didn't stay long at the Olgas, just drove to a viewpoint and suddenly there was a whole flock of Asians. You see mostly Asians at the typical tourist attractions. So we got back in the car and headed to Ayers Rock. You could see it from a distance and it was already impressive. It's indescribable, you just feel that you are in a special place. Of course, our typical photo session started first.

Once all the photos were taken, we took a short hike right next to Ayers Rock. It's simply huge! Just in time for sunset, we drove to a viewpoint and I was ready for THAT PHOTO. It was cloudy all day and Ayers Rock only glows at sunset when it is illuminated by the sun. But it won't happen with dense clouds. However, at that exact moment, the sky cleared slightly in front of the sun and Ayers Rock glowed. As quickly as the sun appeared, it disappeared again and we didn't have much time to take a good photo. But that's exactly what we did!
Now we went back to a campsite. Happy and bitten by mosquitoes, we went to bed. This time with a blanket because it's getting cooler at night again.

We didn't have to drive far the next day to cross the border to South Australia. Every time, it means a new time zone and eating all the fruits before the border, as you are not allowed to take them across due to quarantine regulations.
The next city was Coober Pedy. Far in the middle of nowhere and apart from a few hills, there is hardly anything to see. Everyone is looking for opals here. Some residents live underground because it's really hot here, and of course, it gets even worse in summer. We were greeted at our caravan park by the owner. He told us a bit about the history of Coober Pedy and opals. He also gave us some small opals as a gift. You can find them everywhere here because no one is interested in the small ones. They hardly bring in any money. There is a church nearby that is underground and we wanted to take a look at it.

It is definitely more comfortable in there than outside. The owner of the caravan park recommended a restaurant in town, where we ordered pizza or salad and a beer. We enjoyed the evening a bit more and after a shower, went to bed.

The next day we headed to Port Augusta. On the way, there was nothing to see for miles. Just before the city, there was a botanical garden. I think it was more like an Australian garden, as everything looked like in the Outback. So we went into the city. Of course, we first bought some ice cream again. At the visitor center, we stocked up on brochures again, and I bought an Australian hat. Among the brochures, there was also a tour to the filming locations of McLeod's Daughters. This is an Australian series that also aired on VOX in Germany. I loved this series, and it is one of the reasons why I love Australia and wanted to come here. So for me, it was clear that I would take this tour. We had dinner at Subway. By the way, it was my first time at Subway. I don't know why I hadn't been there earlier. It's much better than McDonald's. Then we headed to the campground, which is already on the way to Adelaide. Since there is a place called 'Laura' nearby, we naturally had to visit it the next day. It's a small, cute town. We were at the visitor center, and I wanted to take a brochure about the history of Laura, but unfortunately, they didn't have anything like that. It could have been that the founder of 'Laura' named the town after his beloved. :D
It wasn't far to Adelaide, and you could immediately tell that you were back in civilization because there were more than just 1 car on the road, and we had radio reception all the time.

When we arrived in Adelaide, we went to a hostel where we can sleep in the car in the backyard and use the kitchen, toilets, etc. for $10. We walked around the city and went to the Central Market, where we bought a Vienna sausage. Almost like at home. 
I find Adelaide very beautiful, the architecture, many green spaces, it's almost like Europe. Maybe that's why I like it so much. Many Germans are supposed to live here too. At least there are a lot of German cars here. 

Our road trip has now come to an end after 3 weeks. Considering that we covered about 9,000 kilometers in such a short time is quite intense. Originally, I only wanted to go up the west coast, but now I've already seen half of Australia. We plan to stay in Adelaide for a week and then head to Melbourne.