Alice Springs Again

On the tenth day after leaving Alice Springs, we arrived back there after our Red Centre Tour. We wanted to stay for a few days before continuing to the East Coast and Cairns to take care of some things and to recover. First, we went to the discount pharmacy and I got some tablets for my cold. I had had it for 6 days now and wanted to finally get rid of it.

Then we sat in the library and worked on our CVs and researched jobs on the East Coast. It's pretty overwhelming and we sat there for hours. Funny enough, Danielle suddenly came in, whom we met on my birthday at the campground in Katherine and had been in contact with on Facebook for exchange of experiences. But we didn't know that she was back in Alice Springs, we thought she had gone to the East Coast to work and were accordingly surprised. But we were really happy to see each other again. By the way, she also went to the library to work on her CV because she wanted to find a job in child care in Alice Springs.

In the late afternoon, we went shopping and then went to the cinema. We actually wanted to do that before our tour, but we couldn't because of the battery problems. "The Secret Life of Pets" was showing at 16:30, and we watched it. It was quite expensive, as we paid 31 AUD for 2 tickets with a student discount, but we wanted to treat ourselves. And the movie was really cute and funny! There were 3 families or mothers with several children, and other than that, it was empty. Very relaxed. Going to the movies was somehow a piece of normality and it felt really good.

Afterwards, we went to the well-known 11$ campground. We had a small dinner there (we weren't very hungry because we had already eaten late lunch) and then went to bed.

The next day, the weather was really bad and we woke up to rain. The day before was already cloudy, but now it was also raining and quite windy. So, we had to rearrange the bed to have breakfast in the car again. While having breakfast and showering, we also did some laundry. It was really necessary and we did 2 loads each for washing and drying. Before, I had already washed two pairs of socks by hand because I didn't have many with me and I ran out of them. I didn't expect to wear socks every day for over a week because we need sturdy shoes for hiking every day. But it worked out and everything was nice and fresh after washing. Mhhh.

For lunch, we went to Coles and got bread rolls, herb cottage cheese, pepper cream cheese, and stuffed antipasti mini peppers. It was such a delicious lunch because it felt like we hadn't eaten cream cheese in yearsssss. It goes bad so quickly without refrigeration. So, we really enjoyed it and ate quite a lot :D

Afterwards, we went back to the library, and in the evening we met Danielle and went to a light festival. It was called Parrtjima and had to do with indigenous art. Near the Desert Park, there was a small area where illuminated art was exhibited, paintings were projected onto the ground with light, and as a highlight, the West MacDonnell Ranges were illuminated with colorful lights, effects, and lasers over a distance of 2.5 km. There was a small show with music every half hour, which was really beautiful, and in a box, you could even get hands-on and create your own lighting. Of course, I had to try it out and so I created my own light show on the MacDonnell Ranges! Mega cool :D

After about 2 hours, we left again, quickly bought some bread, and had a little snack at the campground. Then we went to bed.

The next day, after breakfast, we drove into town and strolled through the souvenir shops again. At 12:00, we met up with Danielle in a café to say goodbye because we were planning to leave for Cairns the next day. There, Andi and I each had a hot chocolate and a walnut chocolate brownie. Quite delicious. Danielle then told us that she had applied to a kindergarten by simply going there, handing in her CV, and asking if she could work there. She had met a young mother in a pub a few days ago who had her child there, so she already had a contact. The next day, we found out that she got the job. Totally cool!

After the café visit, the three of us went to the library again. Andi and I still hadn't finished our CVs, but then we decided that we could do that in the car during the drive, and we preferred to go shopping for the road trip so that we could leave around noon the next day. We just felt like driving so that we could get to warmer regions from the really wet and cool Alice Springs.

In the end, we probably won't even need a CV for now because I called Alan and he might have a job for us depending on when we arrive on the East Coast. Alan is the former boss of Nici, whom we met in Katherine together with Danielle. Nici gave us his number because she worked for him in Bowen for 3 months, had a great time, and said that they always need people there. So, I contacted him and he said that they currently need people for tomato picking. But since we were still in Alice Springs, we should call again when we know when we will arrive on the East Coast. Then he can tell us if they need people. Pretty cool, actually, because it's so flexible. We then decided to drive directly there, near Townsville, and work for 3 weeks if something is available. After that, we can go up to Cairns. If Alan doesn't need anyone right now, we'll go straight up to Cairns and ask again on the way back south if there is work available. So, that's the plan, and it would be really cool if the job works out!

On our last evening in Alice Springs, we made burgers. They were sooooo delicious! We had homemade patties, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, and cheese. It was amazing. And we still had some left for the next day, so we were already looking forward to having burgers again :D

Thursday, 29.09. was our departure day. In the morning, we dug up our spare tire again and checked the item number and air pressure. The pressure was great, and we found that the item number is the same as on one of the rear tires. That means that someone probably bought new tires and instead of putting two 106s on the rear and putting the 104 as a spare tire in the trunk, they put a 106 and a 104 on the rear and put a 106 in the trunk. But we can't just put the spare tire instead of the 104 because the current tires are quite worn out and the spare tire looks very new. So, we have to see what we can do. I don't know how bad the uneven tires actually are because it has worked so far.

After the tire check and breakfast, we went shopping for some fresh groceries and then we left Alice Springs. The distance to Cairns is 2420 km, so we have quite a journey ahead of us. The first camping stop is already planned with the Devils Marbles, but after that, we'll see how well we progress. It will probably take a few days until we arrive! :D

Here's a P.S. because there are two things that I noticed on our travels and that I want to remember:

1. You rarely look in the mirror. Most roadhouses don't have mirrors in the toilets (for whatever reason), and when you stay at free campgrounds, there are also no bathrooms with mirrors. So, you only look in the mirror twice a day at most (for putting in and taking out contact lenses) and you don't actually know what you look like. But because it's not that important, you don't even notice how little you look in the mirror. Or rather, you notice how often you used to look in the mirror at home :D

2. The date and time hardly matter anymore. I usually never know which day of the week it is or the date. And it doesn't matter either (except if you want to buy something in a shop other than a supermarket, as they are not open on Sundays). Besides, the time is no longer determined by what hour the clock displays, but rather by when the sun rises, when you get hungry, and when the sun sets again. You can make use of the day, and by 6 pm at the latest, you should be at the campground so that you don't have to drive at night and it's still somewhat bright for making dinner. Usually, you get up in the morning when it gets light (around 6 to half past 6), and your mind doesn't tell you: oh my god, it's so early, I'm tired, I don't want to get up. Instead, you look forward to a new, awesome day. It's somehow a really cool experience. And it only works because when camping, you live in and with nature. There's no television in the evening to keep you awake for hours, so you can go to bed early and get up early again. It's fascinating that I voluntarily get up at 6 am :D And when the alarm goes off at 7, I'm sometimes even awake earlier...