Yes we are now camped at the showgrounds at Alice Springs having crossed the border into the territory, spent a few days camped on the Lassiter Highway which leads to both Uluru (the rock) and Kings Canyon. So this entry will have Bert and Fran's experience at Uluru and Tony and my experience at Kings Canyon.

The day Bert and Fran went to the rock we stayed and looked after the vans. They took off just after breakfast and spent the day touring the rock, the resort and taking some magnificent sunset photos of the ever-changing colours of Uluru. They then ventured back to the campsite.

The following day Tony and I headed to Kings Canyon and started the canyon rim walk about 8.20am. It took us just on 3 hours to climb up the canyon and do the walk. We were pretty exhausted at the end but very satisfied with out photos and the experience. We have done it twice before so we knew what we were in for.

I did neglect to mention that it was 36 degrees when Bert and Fran went to the rock and it was 35 degrees when we walked the canyon.

On Tuesday (29th April) we free camped at Stuart Well, a roadside stop about 70 kilometres from Alice Springs. That night we had the most fantastic thunderstorm and about 12 millimetres of rain. There were a few anxious moments when we considered we were camped on red dirt and we weren't sure if it was going to turn to a muddy boghole. But we needn't have worried and the next morning we packed and took off to Alice.

Today we have been wandering around the town shopping and taking in the sites. Of course it would be remiss of me not to mention our little adventure at the Alice Springs Airport. Fran and I have been chasing some really lovely Aboriginal Prints and had found out that they were only available at the airport shops. We didn't tell the boys why we were going out there so they were a bit curious. We sauntered (that's Fran, Tony and I) through the security however when Bert passed through the xray machine all the bells and whistles went off and he was made to sit until an officer took him aside and ran the wand over him. Well everywhere the wand went the buzzer went off (Bert still had his watch, belt and the caravan key on him......) but he kept pleading his titanium hip. Anyway he finally was admitted and we found our prints and departed the airport with a story to tell.

Tomorrow we head out to the West MacDonald Ranges into the National Park for another 3 days of camping and taking in the spectacular sights that the Red Centre has to offer.