A Town Like Alice

Oh my god how much do I love Alice Springs? I didn't think there was anything to do here but Toni and nothing to see but drink and... wait a minute... swap that over...

I only even came here because it was cheaper than Darwin and I was over picking watermelons, I didn't expect to have such an amazing time although I haven't blogged much in the 5 weeks I've been here because as much fun as it is, drinking so much that your brain seeps out of your ears and you're found sprawled on the floor around various parts of the hostel isn't exactly blog worthy.

I've loved living at Toddy's, the crew are awesome and they made my time here memorable. Well, the bits I can remember anyway. I love the feel of Alice and I love Bojangles. Oh stop rolling your eyes, its brilliant there, its cheesy as fuck, knows it and doesn't care and you also get that smug sense of self satisfaction when you manage to open the toilet door the right way whilst completely inebriated and anyone whos ever been to Bo's will know exactly what I mean by that.

Even after Toni left I still had a good time, no sooner had I gotten over the shocking realisation that the world doesn't actually revolve around me, Loody, Jean and Becky rocked up under strict instructions to keep me entertained.

Me And Irma

Jean, Karl, Loody, Bex And Me

We did the usual Alice things, they headed out on a three day tour to Uluru and when they came back we decided to head into the McDonnell Ranges. I passed through the West Ranges last year when I was up here with Heading Bush and me and Toni went into the East Ranges for a day trip a couple of weeks previous but I wanted to take Becky, Loody and Jean an all so we duly stocked up on potatoes and goon and headed out.

Our first stop was Standley Chasm which is the only attraction you have to pay for in the West McDonnell Ranges. They say that the best time to view it is between 11am and 1pm when the sun is high and the steep walls of the chasm glow a firey red.

Bollocks.

We rocked up at noon on the dot, I don't know what was more insulting, the fact we paid $8 or walked for 15 minutes to see it. It's definately not the Ranges proudest moment but hey, next stop was a Ellery Creek Big Hole, I'd been there before and it's wicked. It's the closest thing Alice Springs has to a beach, its just a short drive from town and has all kinds of exciting things such as water and sand and too many people, just like a real beach.

Standley Chasm

Ellery Creek Big (Cold) Hole

Swimming in Ellery Creek is a challenge, its freezing cold and I mean freezing. You can swim all the way to the other side but about half way it gets easier because the hypothermia starts to set in and you go numb. Seriously, there should be some kind of medal for Doing Ellery Creek. I still love it though, its a beautiful spot and I have an addiction to fresh water swimming holes and the sunshine soon brings your nerve endings back to life so you can punish them again in the next water hole.

After that we just drove as far as you can in a 2WD up to Glen Helen and another gorge then it was back on ourselves to Ormiston. The West McDonnell Ranges are brilliant, you can just hop from one water hole to the next, chill out, relax. If you're peckish you can stock up on pies at Glen Helen Resort, just be aware that it aint Mrs Macs! When will we ever learn that if its not Mrs Macs not to bother?

Big White Arses At Ormiston Gorge

Best Free Camp View Ever

And we had the best free camp ever in one of the roadside stops, it's a lookout with an amazing 360 degree view of the ranges, awesome at sunset. We're not too sure if you're allowed to camp there but nothing said we couldn't so we did. Ooh, walkin' on the wild side, us.

It is compulsary even on mini road trips to consume as much grease as possible which meant the first stop the next morning was the BBQs at the Ochre Pits for bacon and egg and a nice cup of tea before heading back towards Alice to refuel via the rest of the pretty rocks such as Serpentine Gorge and Simpsons Gap. Yes, we did do the obligatory Look Like The Simpsons tourist photo. I have to admit, I don't make the best Lisa in the world on account of the whole Not Being Yellow thing I have going on.

One Night In The Bush And Look At Us

Trephina Gorge

The East McDonnell Ranges are loads smaller than the West, you can do them in half a day easily unless you spend god knows how long painting yourselves up like Aboriginals in order to take amusing photographs. We'd done the same walk that me and Toni had done around Trephina Gorge, chilled by the dirty waterhole, had a bit of a dip then BBQ'd some spuds before breaking open the paint and going tribal.

Tribal

You can tell we've all spent too long in the bush. So easily amused.

written by  Koala Bear on September 30, 2007 from Alice Springs, Australia
from the travel blog: Sod Off Great Big Mission Round Oz
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