We left Kings Canyon early, about 60 klms down the road we saw a group of about 6 camels. Unfortunately it wasn't safe to pull over and to get a shot.

We arrived in Alice Springs early afternoon and used the rest of the day to start restocking food, fuel and water, also carrying out laundry duties. The other 3 couples had decided to travel via the Merinee Loop and arrived about 3.30pm.

Whilst in Alice Springs we had to get the car serviced so we were stuck at the caravan park for majority of the day. The following day the other 3 couples headed off for the Birdsville Bash and Jo-anne and I did some sightseeing. First was Anzac Hill where you get a 360 degree view of Alice Springs almost from the centre of town. Next stop was the Aviation Museum, which I found interesting but Jo-anne found boring. We went to the School of The Air, which was very interesting and which educates children via the internet up to 1700klms away and only up to year nine. Three times a year all the children come together in Alice Springs. The school commenced in 1951 and originally was done by radio.

We left Alice Springs and headed further north to the Devils Marbles. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, which meant warmer weather. No more cold nights, as Alice Springs was hitting lows of around 1 degree. Along the way we came to a place called Wyecliff Wells which is the UFO capital of the world. This place has had numerous visits from our alien friends spanning the last 40 years and is just a servo with a caravan park also, so maybe the aliens come there to get fuel. We didn't see any aliens when we pulled in, so just took a couple of photos and then hit the road.

That afternoon we arrived at the Devils Marbles. These exceeded my expectations and we were suitably impressed. I always thought that these were a couple of big rocks stacked on top of each other. That's sort of what they are, but there are lots and lots of them. It was great to walk around them, on top of them and amongst them. They're scattered across the landscape for acres and acres. That night we stayed at the Wauchope Hotel which had a fantastic meal and a very inviting beer garden encompassing pool and green grass.

Back on the road north, next stop was Banka Banka station, very rustic. This is a working cattle station which covers 1500 sq klms. The camp grounds were great, with green grass due to the 12 springs which supply virtually unlimited water. Again time to take on 200 litres of water, as we had heard the water quality further north was crap. We stayed here 2 nights and met heaps of people all doing what we are and enjoyed an evening around the camp fire with a country/blues singer to entertain everyone. The campground had 62 vans/campers in that night, so she is a pretty busy place. Rumour is the property is currently owned by Gina Rinehart.

We are currently staying in Daly Waters and visted the iconic Daly Waters Pub. This pub has featured in many movies and to be honest is interesting but a bit of a dump. The walls and roof are covered in memorabillia which include business cards, bra's, currency, badges, number plates, thongs, caps etc, etc.

As we push further north it's getting warmer. Everyday is clear vivid blue, blue sky.

Tomorrow we head off to stay at Mataranka.

PS - Jo-anne has become my editor. I write the original copy and then this is proof read and altered by my new editor.