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Day Sixty Nine - September 13th, 2013 (Friday the Thirteenth!)
Daly Waters to Alice Springs via Devils Marbles
Phew! Today was a big one. We thought we'd only get to Devils Marbles, but here we are in Alice. The roos were bounding past our tent around 4am, and we could hear them ripping up the grass around us late into the night, but we slept well. We were up and on the road by 7.30am, and with only a quick stop in Elliott to call Elliot's mum to wish her a happy birthday (just outside the midnight UK deadline - sorry!) we were en route. We were held up a little when we bought the phone card as we realised we didn't know what to use as the international dialling code. We knew we needed to use +44, but there wasn't a + on the pay phone, so we were stumped (money well spent on two BSc's...). We asked at the kiosk, and were told to try over the road at the 'information centre'. It was little more than a room with two aboriginal ladies sat outside with a little girl playing at their feet. They looked at us as if we were the first to ever visit an information centre in a place where no one would ever choose to stop. However, looks can be deceiving and they turned out to be extremely friendly and helpful. The failing code found (001144) we got through to England and continued on our way! The roads feel much emptier now that we're coming back, with the holiday peak season over. There's hardly anyone about and I had just remarked to Elly how eerie it felt, with the clouds covering the sun for the first time in months, when we saw a man walking towards us, barefoot on the opposite side of the road with 4 puppies and the mother trotting along behind him. We slowed down to see if all was well, but he turned his back on us. All very odd...and it did nothing for our sense of unease!
We finally hit new territory at Tennant Creek where we filled up with fuel and bought a magnum ice cream each for lunch (the day has been long and very bad for our health). It was a bit dodgy to say the least, and we felt like we wanted to get out of there pretty sharp-ish. Devils Marbles wasn't far away, and we had planned on pitching up at the camp site there (despite having read on Wikicamps that the long-drop toilets are among the worst in Aus, and I've seen some pretty bad ones!). There's no missing them: it really does look like someone has scattered a huge bag of giant marbles all over the side of the road, which up until now has been extremely flat. It was amazing to see them all perched precariously on top of one another, looking like a careless flick from God's finger might send them all tumbling down. The aboriginal people believe they are the eggs of the rainbow serpent, and it is a very spiritual place for them. Their stories are kept secret, and only told to appropriate members of the tribe. The site is known as a 'dreaming' area, where shadowy people can take children away forever. More spooky stuff! We checked out the campground which was dusty, with no shade and the ominous loos lurking in the background. As it was only 1pm, we didn't much fancy hanging around with the flies until sunset. We knew the marbles would look glorious, but bit the bullet and decided we would press on, and wait for our moment when we get to Uluru, and see it come to life at dusk. I still loved the rocks though - a great game of marbles on the flat planes.
We passed yet another site to put us off - Wycliffe, Australia's UFO capital, campsite complete with human sized alien figurines. Moving swiftly on.
We committed to the trip to Alice Springs, knowing that in total we would drive 900km, and be in the car for 11 hours. It was hot and dusty but felt great to be covering the miles. There really is very little out here - the flat grounds and one straight road just stretch out endlessly in front of you. I was praying we wouldn't break down or run out of fuel, because out here, there's not much help. We eventually saw civilisation rise up ahead of us just after we passed over the Tropic of Capricorn. The mountains come out of the ground first, altering the landscape so fiercely that it is hard to take in. Then the city comes, with hustle and bustle and a sense of purpose. It is all newly built and has good order to it, and we found our campsite easily. We had found it on Wikicamps with rave reviews, and it hasn't disappointed. The manager/owner is so lovely and friendly, taking time to show us personally to our site, giving us a shady plot on grass (yippee!) and letting us use the electricity to charge our appliances for free! We are paying $28 a night (unpowered rate) and have booked in for two nights, but will most probably extend. The amenities are up to date and spotless, and the camp kitchen has everything we need. We bundled all our food into the freezer for a few hours to try and cool it down. The block of chocolate we bought was squished into one corner of the packet - liquified. Even our water was HOT. We only had noodles for supper (no fresh food as we thought we'd be at the marbles) but improvised with a warm old carrot and a tin of sweet corn. After a welcomed shower to wash off all the dust, we ate our now frozen chocolate and drank cold squash by the light of the candle mum brought out for me from Manhattan Beach with my favourite scent - bliss! I could stay here forever! Alice has so far turned out to be a winner, and definitely worth the long slog in the car.
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