Day 18 – Glen Helen Gorge to Alice Springs

Today started at a chilli 6 degrees at ~7.50AM. Not even 10 minutes later, the sun was out and it was now 17 degrees, what a quick turnaround. Anyway, I left Glen Helen with the intention of visiting a few places on the way back to Alice. First stop was The Ocre Pits which were quite nice, but next stop was Elery Creek Big Hole, which was absolutely awesome. Next time I am back here, I must make a point of spending at least one night here. Stunning!! Next stop was the John Flynn Memorial again, as there was a cache at the top of the nearby mountain which looked like lots of fun to climb. It was almost a 2.5 Hour Return journey, but well worth the effort.

I spent the remainder of the day at the Alice Springs Desert Park which was very entertaining, eapecially the birds of Prey demo later in the afternoon. Well worth a visit if you are in the area, and a $20 entry including a free audio tour seemed quite reasonable.

Next job was to find some accommodation, I decided to stay at a different place this time, still quite nice, but just not as polished.

I headed further north to the tropic of Capricorn, just so I could say I had been there, and to find a cache of course, but when I arrived, there was a big group of Aboriginals running amuck, not sure why, so I left pretty quickly without the cache. I did find some along the road on the way back, and also stopped along the road at a cairn marked the highest point between Adelaide and Darwin. Another milestone today, I have hit the 5000Km Mark. Woo Hoo

I have decided to start heading back tomorrow, as I am still not confident my car is 100% and I would rather break down much closer to home. I intend to drive 2 long distances the next 2 days, Coober Pedy, then Either Port Augusta or Port Pirie the next night.

Distance Driven: 231.2km (5098.3km total)
Geocaches Found: 6 (4 Trad, 1 Multi, 1 Earth)(??? Total)
Caravan Park Rating: 7/10 (cheap and cheerful, I have compared it to the other Alice springs Van Park @$38 a night, this is a bargain @$16)