Alice Springs Camel Cup

Saturday 14th July was the annual Lasseters Camel Cup at Blatherskite Park Showgrounds.

Although I spent most the day eating and drinking, the camel racing was better than expected. We had a great day and camels are a lot more unpredictable than a day at the horse races.

Camel Burger at the Camel Cup

Our favourite was obviously camel toe :)

Alice Springs

Me and Chris came to Alice Springs at the end of February to find work after we had to fork out a fortune to get our car fixed after we got in stuck on the beach in South Australia. Don't drive on the beach if you don't know what you're doing! Its 1500km from Adelaide to Alice Springs and we did it in 2 days to try and get work as soon as possible. We were both really lucky and got a job as a hotel receptionist, full time including free accommodation and meals on shift. We started at the beginning of March and plan on working 6 months until September to save some money for when we go to Asia.

We couldn't believe our luck when we got this room. Considering we had been living in a car travelling like normal backpackers we were over the moon when we got a nice place to stay for the next 6 months whilst we work and its included in the job! Bonus!

 

Pool and Spa

 Anzac Hill gives views over Alice Springs and is great to visit if you're in town for a day.

A perk of being a hotel receptionist is the freebies and discounts! We got to go on a hot air balloon ride and champagne breakfast after a few weeks on the job. It was an early start at 4am but that meant we were in the air for sunrise.



We spend most weekends going out with the guys at work. The usual places are the Casino, The Rock Bar, Bojangles and Montes. We have quite a few nights and weekends around the BBQ area by the pool at the hotel. We had a Mexican theme party for my birthday and had a great time drinking Corona, Tequila, wearing moustaches, pinata and eating lots of Mexican food. Most weeks me and Chris venture into town to try to different restaurants. Our favourites are Soma, Sports Bar and Hanumans.

Montes 

The Rock Bar

Casino with the NT footballers

Sunaras Bar & Restaurant

Mexican Day

My Birthday

A few weeks ago myself and the girls from work went to see a Didgeridoo show in town. It was a really good night out and another freebie for working at the hotel :) Me and Chris brought an awesome Didgeridoo last week from the guy who does the shows as well as a boomerang. There's loads of aboriginal art shops in town and we brought a pretty cool painting too.

Didgeridoo Show



West MacDonnell Ranges

A few weeks ago me and Chris had half a day off together so decided to spend the morning exploring a few places on the West MacDonnell Ranges. Our first stop was Ellery Creek. Its winter here now so its pretty cold but we thought we'd brave it and go swimming. I've heard people get hypothermia here in the summer and when we got there we decided it wasn't a good idea! It was freezing!! I reckon had it been summer we'd have gone back for a BBQ and a swim here but we'll be leaving Alice Springs in September and still won't be warm enough to get me in there! Still, it was a lovely spot and has camping here.

Ellery Creek

We only had time to stop at Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm as time was ticking on. Both we're really nice spots but you have to pay to get into Standley Chasm. It was only about $10 each so we thought it was worth it.

Simpsons Gap

Standley Chasm

I'm glad we went to see some parts of the West MacDonnell ranges whilst we're living in Alice Springs, although I much prefer the East Mac's.