Saturday, February 27th. We found a relocation to go to Alice Springs, the only "big city" of the center of Australia, "close" to famous Ayers Rock (or as well named Ulruru, the big red stone as you know all that!) there is all the same 450km between Alice Springs and Ayers Rock, but well it is close all the same! Our relocation is a kind of campervan: it is a little as a 4WD, but inside there are 3 sleeping (wooden boards which display at the top of the vehicle, which makes 2,8mètre of top, and below, with pillows above), a refrigerator, a tap, arrangements, everything to cook and eat inside… So cool ;-) all that we need! For only $5 by days and paid $300 of fuel. It is good the relocation all the same! On the other hand this campervan is manual, that means that it will be necessary to cross the speeds with the left hand and to re-become used to put into gear… Fortunately the driving to the left hand side of the road is now ok!

We have to leave from Steve at 9 am, because it leaves too and has to take a plane. As he goes to taxi at the airport, he suggests us settling to the rental agency. Thank you! We arrive too early seen that it opens that at 10 am (normally, but that opened a little earlier) One filled with papers, look at a DVD to explain to us a little how works our vehicle. At 11 am, we have keys and we can leave! We go back at Steeve where we left our bags (simpler than to carry them up to the agency!) then we drive at first to the North of Cairns (contrary to our road towards Alice Springs!) to go to Palm Cove, a magnificent beautiful beach at 30km of Cairns. We saw so beautiful cards of this beach, and as the weather is finally beautiful (yes, we have to take the car and it is not raining today, so frustrating…) we decide to make a small round trip see this famous beach. We do not see so many lineages of palm trees as what we see in photos, but it is all the same not bad!! Along the way opposite, we stop making big shopping in a supermarket: from the moment we shall sink into the Australian outback, that will be completely lost and we shall not find more than little shops, which are more expensive. And as we have a refrigerator, we buy of what to eat for our 5 days.

This is it, we are on the road: 5 days, 2420km. With not much to see between both!

It is already more than 1 pm when we leave Cairns, and the exit of the city is long (full of lights and traffic circle) We make approximately 470km this first day, and we stop on a highway station to spend the night. We take out the gas to cook (that works well!) not easy on the other hand, it is already dark! We eat in front of a small movie, then go to bed at the end of the movie. There is sleeping bag, pillow, towel in plastic bags tidied up in the campervan, and we don’t know if we have the right to use it or if it is necessary to pay to the end … So we open cleanly a bag each, just to use the pillow. We sleep both on the bed of the high (double bed), but there is not much space on the highly-rated and above us, it is necessary not to be claustrophobic!

Sunday, February 28th. We wake up early, we not really managed to sleep … We are going to be able to drive a lot today! In addition now we are limited at 130km/h, cool;-) on the other hand what we consume a lot with this vehicle … It is still almost raining all day long by irregularities. We who believed that the outback is dry and that it will rain more (finally it is also what we had said to us!) well, today we roll up to Mount Isa, that is more of 780km. We arrive a little before the sunset, then we go to the point of view indicated in Lonely Planet. Not very exceptional … We saw on the city and what there is all around, but seen that there is nothing, we do not see much … Then we want to find of what to connect our computer. Because we have a grip in our vehicle, but our adapter does not pass above, and we cannot thus use it … So we go to Mac Donalds (like that we shall have the WiFi at the same time!), but there is no grip… It is not possible! The KFC is closed … The subway stays. Then supper there low, where we stay almost 2 hours, the time to reload a little … We take back then the 4WD up to the first rest area after the city, where we settle for night. In this case Anaïs tries the bed from below, that will make more place for everybody!

On Monday, March 1st, the night was a little better it is not still that! As we drove a lot yesterday and as we are almost in half until Alice Springs while we have another 3 days, we decide to drive a little less today, and to stop in a campsite to have shower and electricity. We drive approximately 470km (all the same but we did not find a city before!) up to Tennant Creek. When we arrive, we see good that we arrived to the country of the aborigines: most of the inhabitants whom we see in the street are black!

A propos aborigine and outback, our first impressions on the Australian outback: it is really deserted! When we drive, we never see anybody in our direction (max 2-3 trucks a day), and we cross not a lot of people in the other direction! That often manages to pass 20 minutes (our record being 30 min!) without crossing anybody! And cities, that exists hardly. There is on average a gas station which also makes campsite, hotel, and small store everything 250km … But this is it! It is better to calculate when to take some fuel! (But we have 2 reservoirs of 75L thus OK!)

Other small bracket: on the road we often meet "floodway", it is parts of road that are flooded … Thus if one not slowed down not a little before, we can make a beautiful aquaplaning!!

Here we are, thus to Upholder Creek we settle down. There is nobody in the campsite! We decide to take back the car to go until the point of view of the city. We see not much once again ^^ Just the "city" and nothing all around!! Return in the campsite. Nap for Anaïs (she is a little sick, so she is tired) and computer for Nadège. Then shower, cooking, movie and dodo.

On Tuesday, March 2nd, breakfast then we take the car for 100km southward and we stop seeing the only attractive thing to be seen on all our road: Karlu Karlu (or "Devils Marbles"). They are numerous big red stones round off by time. Very beautiful! It is also an aboriginal crowned site. Beautiful front gout of Uluru! Then we continue our road southward and we stop in a rest area before Alice Springs, little before 4 pm. We shall have less of 100km to make the next day, cool! Computer, postcard, journey diary, movie, cooks time flies before going to bed!

On Wednesday, March 3rd, by getting up, we tidy up our stuffs in the campervan, and we wash it a little bit. We arrive at Alice Springs at 11 am that leaves us the car another little while before returning it at 3 pm. We go at first to a hostel (no host from Couch Surfing found in this city) and we reserve our beds for evening. We can settle down that from 1pm. We are thus going to make a walk in town (there is only a single interesting street!), in the center of information to take some brochures, then we return to take our vehicle to go to make our shopping for the next 5 days. Because it is necessary to know that we have the second relocation of Alice Springs to Adelaïde who begins the next day, and we plan to go to see Ayers Rock with (we asked to have an additional day, which we pay to normal price on the other hand) to leave us the time to visit these beautiful aboriginal sites. We shall thus have the new vehicle 5 days still, and we have not envy to waste time to make our shopping, we prefer to be allowed more time in Uluru! We land later in the inn with business heights! To make simpler we park our campervan in front of and we tip out our staff little by little. People have to wonder what we have to eat because are needed several round trips for the kitchen to take everything!!

Having left all our stuff, we take the empty winnowing basket, we top up, and we return it to Britz, to 4 km of the center. It is going to need to make the same road on foot tomorrow morning to come to look for our new vehicle, and later to return … It is long!! (But there is no bus) We return the vehicle with no problem at all, we get $300 for the fuel. Then we speak about our relocation of the next day and it is the same vehicle!! Then we have the right to keep it and to leave at once with, that makes spare time to everybody! But it is especially too good for us. It is a pity we already paid our inn … Finally that will make for us sleep on a real bed for once, what is not of refusal all the same! We are great satisfied, we can also get up later tomorrow! And we already know how to change the gear with this van (because it is necessary to become used, some pass with difficulty) Return in the hostel, the small walk in town to buy some cards, showers and internet (we still have no positive answer of couch surfing in Adelaïde) Cooking, movie and well deserved to go to bed!