We spent some time in Alice Springs in the swimming pool of the campsite to teach the kids in swimming (Fiona paddles proudly in her swimvest in the pool, but she has not enough propulsion). We cleaned up the fridge and the storage boxes and we met Wolfgang and Jacqueline (a German couple who are touring around Australia since a moment, and we met them some days later again at Ayers Rock). Markus received his birthday gift: an Awning with a flynet (see photos) for the Crocomobile. He had to mount it himself – at 40°C in the sun next to the shop where we bought it. We stocked up on food in the supermarket, visited the desert park and learned there a lot about the plants and animals in desert areas.

Afterwards we headed on to Ayers Rock/Uluru – 443 km of boring tarred tourist route. The following day we slept in and crawled a bit along the rock in the heat of the day and went to the visitors centre. On the second day we struggled out of our sleeping bags at 5am, closed the rooftop tent (disadvantage of this kind of tent) and arrived just in time for sunrise at the viewing point where we were queueing with the masses of tourists to have the best view. After some souvenir photos we were heading directly to the Olgas (Katja Tjuta) to do some hiking before it got too hot at noon. Anyhow Nora and Fiona reached the second Lookout – on the backside of the lookout (Daniela did the whole circuit) were only lots of flies and it was even hotter.

The days after we continued towards the Oodnadatta Track. We spent the first night at Kulgera Camping (with resembled more a parking or construction site than a campsite). There were a lots of guests who filled their tanks on us and leaved their sucking points (Mossies). On a gravel road, we drove to Finke (Old Ghan Track) with a stop-over for an ice-cream and some information concerning the next kilometers at Mount Dare before continuing to Dalhousie. This campsite is often used as a start- or endpoint of a Simpson-desert trip. There is an artesian Spring flowing into a 39°C-warm lake (unfortunately like the temperature of the air…) – almost too warm for a swim during day-time. Amazingly the ducks could stand the hot water the whole day long.

On bad roads, the trip went to the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta where we spent the night after eating their famous Burgers and visiting the painted desert situated west of that town. The Oodnadatta Track follows the old Railwayline towards the south and the next day we drove until Coward Springs (where one of the springs is collected and is led into an artificial pool). We visited source of the springs the day after, but swimming was prohibited.

On this campsite, we noticed the first flat tyre – not surprising after these bad roads! After a cold drink and helpful informations at the hotel in Marree we spent the next night at Muloorina on the way to the Lake Eyre – a huge almost always dry lake, which we visited in the morning. We continued our journey in southwards, let the flat tyre repair in Copley, did some shopping in Leigh Creek and stopped finally at Parachilna to eat in the restaurant the famous feral plate with Emu, Kangaroo and Camel.

After a night on a nice free campsite in the Parachilna-Gorge we entered the Flinders Ranges National Park from the north via Blinman. The Campground at Wilpena is a good deed – finally hot showers, good drinking water, cooler temperatures and almost no flies! About the tourists with flynets on their heads we were only laughing after our suffering in the desert.

We shooed our kids the next day by foot up the Mount Ohlssen Bagge – and they were quite motivated especially at the the rocky sections where they had to climb.