Alice Springs is a town like any other however it is flanked on both sides by the McDonnell Ranges, which makes it pretty special. We stayed in a lovely big 4 campsite with a lovely pool which is needed as it is hot here as well - must be still around 36 degrees. On the Sunday we had a free pancake breakfast courtesy of the campsite. The record for the most pancakes eaten in 1 hour is 12 for men and 8 for women. We were asked to line up with our plates and wear a sticker with our name and where we came from to instill a sense of 'getting to know you' within the group of guests. Max thought we were too old to line up (I reckon it's because the Dutch never queue for anything however he was tempted given the Dutch love anything that's free) but 2 plates in hand I went to get the pancakes. We both managed only one!

After a quiet day by the pool reading and relaxing, we spent out second day visiting the West McDonnell Ranges. They are very beautiful. We drove about 150 km west of Alice to see Helen Gorge, Ormiston Gorge and then to Standley Chasm - all were impressive. We saw lots of new lizards. One Monitor Lizard must have been a metre long! Max got close enough to get some good photos, I observed from a distant as they can rip your legs open with their nails if they get spooked!. We then came back to Alice but there isn't much to see...and you need earplugs in the street to avoid the usual aboriginal screaming and shouting in the street. . The next day we woke up to clouds....YEAH! there was even a nice cool breeze and I wore my hoodie. We haven't felt this for months!

We packed up the car for the journey to Uluru, 450 km from Alice. It's a nice journey as you pass Mt Connor which is actually bigger than Ayers Rock and after checking in to the Ayers Rock campsite, we went to see The Olgas, a massive pile of 36 weathered rock domes, estimated to be 500 million years old. Their name means 'many faces' in Aboriginal (Kata Tjuta) - they were impressive - apart from the flies. OMG, they were everywhere, in your nose, ears and eyes, so out came the fly nets for the first time and apart from looking like I was going to a funeral with a black veil over me or like I was wearing a loose fish net stocking, they worked a charm. We had a short walk and took some photos before heading to Uluru for the sunset viewing.

We waited about an hour with the rest of the crowds, for the rock colours to change and it was worth the wait. We then headed for something to eat but there were only expensive restaurants so we ended up having baked beans instead! Not the way we planned to eat tonight.....it was also cool, I would even say chilly when we went to bed and we woke up at 5am the next day to go see the rock at sunrise. By 5.15am we were on the road, again with the crowds and again, it was impressive but it is amazing that so many people get up in the middle of the night to see a big rock change colour! We had brekkie with a great view of the rock before heading for the 780 km trip to Coober Pedy and our first stop in South Australia.

To sum up the Northern Territory, it is dry, super hot and super humid, with death all around you from dry river beds to miles and miles of arid bushland, but it also has some beautiful national parks, a tropical feel and gives you a feeling that you have been somewhere well and truly different than what you have experienced before.