Last leg of the drive to Alice Springs and a chance for us to head up to the WestMacDonnellRanges, which we've heard are spectacular, before Tam arrives.Journey was uneventful.Had a stop at Aileron to top up on fuel.A very largeAboriginal statue on a nearby hill towers over the roadhouse, which is a tidy land friendly little place.We were persuaded by the roadhouse staff to take a walk up to see the 'Big Man', and standing between his feet looking upwards he certainly is a big man - see photo album.This is another aspect of the Stuart Highway route - things are a little out of the ordinary.Soon after leaving Aileron we crossedthe Tropic of Capricorn again, this time heading south into more temperate climes, and within twenty minutes had arrived in Alice Springs to fill up with fuel at the Woolies Caltex.Alice has got a decidedly better look about it than we expected and we're looking forward to returning in a few days time.The road up to the WestMacDonnellRanges and Glen Helen, where we were planning to stay, was certainly beautiful and probably the most attractive scenery since Tasmania.Actually, the first part looks so like the Salisbury Crags.As we got further into the Ranges there were real mountains with rounded tops, crags and steep slopes, the first we'd seen since the Stirling Ranges and Bluff Knoll in south west Australia - Mount Sonder dominates the skyline in this area. Glen Helen was lovely. The red/orange colour of the towering cliffs really have to be seen by the naked eye - unfortunately the camera just doesn't bring out their true colour as it changes and glows as the sun moves across the sky.There isn't much to do except take a walk down to the waterhole and watch the birds (although some mad European tourists did brave the freezing water for a dook).For the first time we saw flocks of wild budgies, whose green colour is beautifully iridescent.They are fantastic fliers, swooping and diving with great skill - and all landing together in the trees in perfect time and harmony - wonderful to watch.The Glen Helen Pub/Restaurant reminded us so much of the Glenelg Inn or the Ceilidh Place in Ullapool.In the middle of nowhere they're providing good food, beer, wine and entertainment in a wonderful natural setting.We therefore decided to take advantage of their happy hour (not quite the same as at Daly Waters) and we ate in the restaurant.We were also treated to some good live music courtesy of Tim Rickards from Sydney.Eric was most impressed with his finger picking and we got regular compliments for our 'backing tracks'.Heading back towards Alice, and certainly the most impressive, was Ormiston Gorge where we camped for a couple of nights.There's a circular walk of just over four hours which takes you up over the crags into a large natural bowl called the pound.The walk involves crossing the dry river bed a number of times and eventually takes you through the gorge itself with its amazingly coloured high towering walls on either side.We didn't come across much bird life on this occasion but were treated to really good sightings of the rare and very shy black footed rock wallaby - see photo album and, hopefully, the videos.