We flew from Cairns to Alice Springs, the "capital of the Red Centre of Australia". We were surprised but there is quite a few shops in the departure hall of the small airport of Cairns and we could keep ourselves busy while waiting for our plane. After a short flight we arrived in Alice Springs and noticed the difference, still very hot weather but dry, no more humidity, much better! Also looking around we realised why this region of Australia is called the Red Centre, the soil is made of red sand/rock, so the dry landscapes are very red with just a few trees to add a touch of green. For a change, we did not forget to change our watches to the right time, there is half an hour difference between Queensland and Northern Territory. To get to the centre of the town we caught the shuttle bus (AU$14,50 each) which dropped us at the rental company to pick up our campervan. We rented a Britz Nomad for AU$59 a day with Getabout Oz (see picture). We did our food shopping for the next couple of days, filled up our little fridge, and then drove towards the West MacDonnells. The 133km road to Glen Helen Gorge is very scenic. Next to the gorge there is a small resort with a shop, a petrol station and a campground. As we wanted to camp for free, we did the short walk to the gorge (20min return from car park, nice) and then drove to the Mt Sonder lookout, 1km further. The views at sunset were stunning and we decided to set up camp for the night.....even if you are not supposed to!
