A bit lazy on getting going for another long day. We drove into pretty stiff headwind today: it increases the fuel consumption quite dramatically and makes the van dance around. It's flat and red most of the way. The trees are typically just small wiry things and there's not much grass. I don't recognise most of the plants now. We pulled up by the side of the road to put fuel in the tank and there were the biggest ant holes in the ground, with an opening about 6 inches wide in a mounD about 12-18 inches around the outside, lined by bits of grass the ants had put there.

I'm very glad we stopped at the Devil's Marbles on the way past. Just amazing natural rock formation of enormous boulders that sit up above the landscape. J & C found a way to climb to the top of some large ones and gave us a bit of a surprise. Some boulders are balanced in such a way that they look like they would fall over if you leaned on them.

And we made it to the Alice late in the day! Alice Springs is a town of legend that I have wondered about my whole life. I remember watching a TV show called "A Town Like Alice" back in the 80's when I was a kid on the farm and wondering what it was like. And here I am. Turns out it is a small modern city with all the usual services. We even found a nice Indian takeaway for tea. The town is nestled in a narrow valley between stark rocky red outcrops. A dry creek bed, the Stuart highway and the Ghan railway line run right through town. I think we might stay here a bit longer than originally planned.