Vikings in Australia - Víkingar í Ástralíu

2^nd of October

We woke up late and had our brekkie. I then noticed that Ralph and co were packing, so I went over there to have a chat. I just wanted to grab a photo so I can prove that we ran into each other. Australia is such a small place! As it turns out, they have an 80 series cruiser like us. It’s only a couple of years older and has been fitted out with drawers and similar stuff as ours. So great minds think alike! They were heading out to the East McDonald Ranges and then on-wards to Kings Canyon.

Once everyone was ready we headed out to the Australian Desert Park. It’s only a few kilometers from Alice so it was a very short drive. Once there we went to get our tickets and proceeded to the entry gate. This is where they give you this small hand held digital MP3 player. It has a numeric keypad. You simply type in the number that is scattered all over the park and it will play back information about that area. It’s pretty good as it’s like you have your own private guide. We all got one, except Kylie so she wasn't impressed! The one Sibba got ran out of battery three quarters through, so she shared mine.

The Australian Desert Park is an outdoor park that has been themed to present the different conditions in the red center. There is a woodland area, deserts river area and a Sandy Country area showcasing the different styles of landscapes. You then walk through these areas and receive the commentary based on where you are. Also scattered throughout are large aviaries which one can walk into with native birds flying about. They also have a Nocturnal house where they showcase many of the animals you normally don’t see during the day. We spent several hours going through the park. It’s a very impressive and informative park, so it’s certainly one that is not to be missed!
Close to the entrance we saw this fantastic quilt. It was so complex and beautiful. It depicted the desert park with almost all the type of plants growing in the desert park. It took a team over 600 hours to complete! So if you are into quilting, this is one of the things you can put on your agenda!!
Kylie also had a great day. She met all these different animals and had us take photos of her with them! We simply didn't have the heart to tell her they were stuffed like she was!!

We saw lots of birds, both free and within the aviaries so the camera was working overtime to try to capture them as much as possible!

In the afternoon, we headed back to Alice to do our last minute grocery shopping at Woollies. Chris needed some screws to fix one of the window awnings on the camper trailer, so we walked over to Kmart to check if they had any. Sibba asked me to buy a couple of single flat sheets while there. Given the high temperature overnight, they would suffice for sleeping in the tent. On the way we stopped in Jaycar (Electronics Shop) as it is next to Kmart. By the time we headed into Kmart, I had completely forgotten about the sheets. On the way to Kmart, we came across one of the locals that was pretty rugged. He asked us what time it was, which we happily told him. Then he asked us what day it was! So, I can only assume he had been on a binge for some time!

Kmart didn't have the screws Chris needed to so we headed back to Woollies empty handed. Sibba wasn't impressed, no sheets!

Once back in camp, Chris and I went to Home Hardware. There Chris finally found the right screws. He only needed a handful, but had to buy 50 in a pack. On the way back I asked him to stop at Kmart so I could get the sheets. It was a bewildering exercise, but I did manage to located and buy the right sheets!

Sibba was quite happy when we came back, as she hadn't expected us to go to Kmart. The rest of the afternoon and evening was pretty relaxed. I managed to finally upload the images for the blog. Adding text is easy, but getting the images uploaded is simply a nightmare. Sometimes the blog domain simply always times out. You then try again a few hours later and everything zooms up! I’m not sure why that is the case.