Gem Tree to Alice Springs .

Thursday 27 August 2015

What a great meal we had last night. Roast beef, potatoes,  pumpkin, broccoli cheese , cauliflower cheese and the cook's secret gravy - all cooked in the camp ovens. We were taken on a tour of the camp kitchen and introduced to the staff - some were foreign farm exchange workers plus the owners and their parents. Kate and Aaron, who are the owners of the station, won the Northern Territory Tourism award for the way they have set up Gem Tree for tourists. Each Wednesday and Saturday night they cook dinner in their camp ovens for the park guests. They can cook for 300 guests. Aaron is a quiet behind the scenes husband/worker from New Zealand while Kate who is the PR lady is the 5th generation of one of the families who settled in the pastoral region of the Northern Territory. She is proud of her heritage and after dinner showed us a video of what life was like back in the 40's for the pastoralists. Many tourists will drive the 70kms off the Stuart Highway just to have a meal and spend some time at Gem Tree.

 

The drive into Alice Springs was on sealed roads which we are really appreciating.   We stopped at the junction of the Stuart and Plenty Highway for the usual photos, after all we are still tourists, just disguised in a lick of khaki paint. Next stop was at the Tropic of Capricorn then a "quick" run into AS. We're camped at the equestrian centre in a grassed area with a mile hike to the toilets and cold showers. Poor facilities considering what they charge. Had better in very remote areas in the outback.