So in the end first meal of “real food” was steak and chips and salad in the restaurant at the hotel. Exhaustion pretty much prevented us from venturing anywhere else that first night and the next morning we went to the buffet breakfast and ate and ate and ate. I don’t think either of us had realised how hungry we were and our step on the scales revealed that I had lost 7kg and Sarah 4kg!
While we were hiking we didn’t feel hungry and exhausted but as soon as we stopped we certainly collapsed in a heap of inactivity (apart from washing and eating)
Hilariously on our first day we walked 3km into town and back!!! But I think it was probably a good idea to keep the legs moving a bit and without the packs on a it felt like we were floating on air! Also the lure of pizza was too great and on our second night we met up with Jess to eat pizza and swap more stories about the trail, we really were buzzing about our experience. In fact I think it will take a little bit of time to realise that we have in fact just hiked 231km.
We ended up relaxing in hotels for 6 nights as we had to wait to take our Ute in for a service to fix an oil leak that had begun just before we left for the hike. Luckily it was a quick fix unluckily it cost a bit but at least we would be able to get back on the road.
Our initial plan was to head north west from Alice Springs along a dirt road called the Tanami highway. However heard a few reports that there wasn’t a lot to do and that we had to be careful about where we camped. We weren’t able to really quantify any of this as it was never clear as to whether anyone offering their opinion/advice had actually been along the route we had planned. In the end we realised that it was going to take us a long way out of our way so we decided to head north (to get warmer) and then cross east along the Savannah Way from Mataranka to Cairns.
So after enjoying our time around Alice mountain biking and walking around soaking up the atmosphere that we both actually really liked we headed north with the plan of making it as far up as we could.
The first thing we noticed as we headed up the highway was how busy the road was. Caravan after caravan heading both north and south. Our first stop was a station/caravan park called Banka Banka and while it was incredibly busy we enjoyed being back in the camper trailer in our own bed.
It was warmer but not warm enough so we just did a one nighter and set off again and ended up stopping at Daly Waters pub/caravan park. The reviews were saying to arrive early to avoid the disappointment of not getting a spot. We weren’t particularly early and the place was so packed!!! There was a guy in a golf buggy showing everyone to a spot and by my estimation this guy could have squeezed a thousand vans into the area. We actually scored a nice space behind two other vans and next to a shed.
The thing to do here was to go to the pub (the oldest in the Northern Territory). It was very gimmicky and the live music wasn’t the best but it was probably still worth the stop.
Again though it wasn’t warm enough so after just the one night we headed north. This time we stopped for a quick break to walk around Larrimah (podcast fame that we were listening to on the way to Alice)
Afterwards we decided to find ourselves some space for a camp and ended up at a disused runway about 2km off the highway. It was actually pretty good. We found ourselves a spot and relaxed in a bit of peace and quiet and solitude. It is amazing how busy this bit of the road is and I am not sure how much I enjoy being packed into cramped caravan sites. It’s one thing if the sites are spaced out and busy but the last few weeks have had the policy seems to be to squeeze as many people as possible in. This results in everyone just being on top of each other and is certainly a little tiresome.
Anyway we now had a whole 2km long runway to share between about half a dozen other campers all with the same idea of peace and quiet.
It was also warmer which was great.
Due to our acquisition of Starlink and with it the ability to get internet anywhere we decided to stay a couple of nights and watch sport and enjoy a fire under the stars. It was great and we even managed to fit in a bike ride exploring the paths leading off around the runway. Not a classic stay but one we both very much enjoyed. T