Aloha from Alice Springs,

I was underway (without breakfast, subsequent to a huge porterhouse steak for dinner last night) after refuelling around 7:15, continuing down the Stuart Highway. There had been light rain overnight, and the sky was mostly overcast, with some patches of blue breaking through. The temperature was 20 degrees (and didn’t get over 22 for the rest of the trip).

I was at the Devil’s Marbles about an hour later; they turned out to be very photogenic. I was a little disappointed that the rays of sun that were illuminating them as I approached were gone by the time I arrived.

I had a late breakfast/early morning coffee (of left-overs from yestedays provisions) further down the road, ’round 9. A couple of hours later, I refilled the only half-depleted fuel tank at the Ti-Tree Roadhouse (I didn’t want a repeat of yesterday’s fiasco). I had intended to grab some lunch there, but the place was overrun with three tourbus-loads of teenagers. Instead, I grabbed a bite at the Aileron Roadhouse, 60 km down the road, and consumed it at a rest area 5 km further on, at about 11:45.

I arrived at Alice Springs ’round 1:15. Here’s a panorama of the outskirts:

I headed for the Todd Mall, to do a little grocery shopping, and to replenish my cash supply from an ATM. The crowds of people, aimlessly milling about, was a little hard to take!

The motel room, 3.5 star @ $80, is fantastic value compared to the often exorbitant prices that I’ve been paying for lower quality accomodation in the smaller towns.

Today leg was 520 km; here’s the route map on Google Maps:

Cheers,
Julian