NT Rally - Day 6 - Alice Springs

It was a very fresh morning in Coober Pedy, which I only realised once I walked outside of my underground motel room and immediately returned for a jacket!  Suitably clothed I headed for the kitchen and grabbed some cereal.  Eating breaky I was eagerly anticipating crossing the border into the Northern Territory and ticking off the final state/territory I hadn't visited.  That and the fact that I was so excited about another day on the bike.

We got away about 7:30 am.  A few of the group who had been up the centre before decided to take off and head straight to Alice Springs.  Those of us who were first–timers decided to stick together and hit all the tourist stops.  Our first planned stop was Marla for fuel about 250km up the road.

Leaving Coober Pedy all I could see was opal mines for days.   I thought to myself, this was an incredible town that I will visit again.  Once the mines disappeared the red earth and spindly bushes returned.  The landscape out here is like nothing I have ever seen; so desolate and yet full of so much life and beauty.  Cruising along I felt such a peace to be out here; it was incredible.

Marla was just a patch of red dirt with a fuel station on it.  There was literally nothing for 250km in either direction.  We all fuelled up, grabbed a snack, and jumped back in the saddle.  Next stop was the NT border roughly 200km away.

Arriving at the border you could feel the excitement in the group.  The second someone's helmet came off all you could see was a huge smile.  We all gathered as best we could in front of the border sign and got a photo.  Soon after, we were off again heading for Kulgera, "The first and last pub in the NT".

Kulgera was a great pub.  There was even a clothesline out the back that just had old shoes hanging off it.  Quite funny, really.  After a good giggle I filled up the bike and headed into the pub for lunch and a good chat.  Man it was good to finally be in the NT.  The mood of everyone was just buzzing.  Now with full bellies and full bikes we made our next run to Stuarts Well, which is only 90 odd kilometres out of Alice Springs.  Fuel here was the most expensive so far at $1.85 a litre for premium 95.

At Stuarts Well, I found a couple of penned up emus so obviously I had to go tease them.  Turns out one was a male one and it appeared to be threatened by my impressive emu impersonation.  The bloody thing chased me up and down the fence and tried to bite me when I go close enough.  I almost lost my ice cream in the encounter! Pretty sure there is a video of this encounter floating around somewhere...

The final leg into Alice Springs was amazing.  Cruising along the ranges was incredible in the afternoon sun.  Thankfully, we all arrived safely at the Hilton and started the "great unpack".  Tonight we planned to head to the casino for a feed, a couple more beers and plan our day tomorrow.