Vanessa and Troy are champions - they shared the driving across the desert on a loooong journey from Yulara to Alice Springs via King's Canyon, safely from the crack of dawn to just before sundown. This is a huge feat! We all vigilantly scanned the landscape from the car wary of wildlife, and we did in fact have 2 crazy sightings; a HUGE camel that ran across the road several hundred metres in front of us, and a dingo! We were dumbfounded about encountering both of them, and incredibly grateful that they crossed far enough in front of us that we were able to avoid them.

The King's Canyon rim walk was definitely on our to-do list, but we were unsure about being able to fit it in on the way to Alice Springs. The trail gets closed at 9:00 am if the temperature is scheduled to be over 36C, and although we arrived at about 9:15 am, luckily the temperature was a few degrees lower, allowing us to squeeze in the walk. We celebrated finishing the walk ahead of our proposed schedule with copious amounts of water and sports drinks, then jumped back into the car for the incredibly flat, barren, and hot journey to Alice Springs.

It's a long way to Alice Springs and we were really only there for one activity - visiting The Kangaroo Sanctuary, a centre that Clare put on her "must do ASAP" list a couple of years ago. Baby kangaroos are rescued out of their mothers' pouches after they are tragically killed by traffic, and brought to the centre where they are provided with the necessary food and care in lieu of their mothers. It was incredibly emotional to hear about this all too common occurrence on the roads here, and hold the wee orphaned babies. They need to be held and cuddled in pillowcases and bags so that they can sense the warmth and protection of a mother's pouch. Brolga, who runs the sanctuary, is incredibly passionate about and devoted to his kangaroo crew, and it was heartwarming to walk around and see the huge space that he has created for them. We learned that the dry summer is a difficult time for kangaroos in Australia because they are drawn to the greener grass by the roads - it receives the most moisture from the exhaust of the cars. Brolga told us that an advancement of the electric car could possibly have an impact on the situation. Just one more reason for some more forward thinking regarding our transportation choices?