From Alice Springs (NT) to Sydney (NSW)

G’day!

Right now I am at Alice Springs Airport, waiting for my flight to Sydney. So is Smurf. The tour through the Red Center (Smurf has made his presence known in various pictures) turned him into a Red Smurf ;). But after a good washing up, he is as good as new and exited to go the Sydney (just like me).

I decided to take a cheap shuttle bus to the airport. Disadvantage of this cheaper service was that I would be at the airport way too early. Ah well, I can handle that. I can now write the first part of my blog here, in the Northern Territory. Oh, I just heard that my flight is delayed, so it seems that I will be in Alice Springs for a little longer.

About my last night in Alice Springs.
I am am not so sure anymore about the hostel I stayed at. Luckily, everything was clean (dormrooms, toilets, showers, kitchen) and breakfast was included. This is also one of the few hostels in Australia that provides free internet. When I arrived on Thurday evening the atmosphere was great. Spent a couple of hours talking with two German backpackers and one backpacker from Taiwan. Yesterday though, there was practically nobody at the hostel ( the majority was probably on tour). Not much of an atmosphere this time.
More about the downsides to this hostel. The dormrooms are ridiciously small and dark (there was only lightswitch which barely worked). I had a lot of trouble with packing, repacking and packing my suitcase the last couple of days . It was hard to find your way around a room in the dark, especially since it was such a small room (with no tables and cabinets to put your stuff on). By now, I am quite sure that I have misplaced some things in this chaos :(.

The owner was ok (although he could have given me more time to get my luggage ready for storage, had around 15 minutes last Thursday, quite a challenge to do that, especially in dark conditions). He did book the airport shuttle for me and gave me directions to the nearest grocery store.

The roommates I had during my two night in Alice Springs were so-so. My American roommate, of the first night, was cool. But the others, ah well, let’s just say I preferred sleeping under the Aussie skies in a swag :D.
This morning my alarm was set at 7.30 am. I decided not to sleep in, because I still wanted to see a little bit of Alice Springs. No better way to see a town than through a nice run. I ran towards the city center, climbed Anzac Hill, which is probably the nicest place in Alice Springs (from the top of the Hill you also get a beautiful view of Alice Springs and its surrounding area). Continued a little further through Alice Springs. After running for a little more than half an hour, I returned back to my hostel. Got myself ready for the trip to the airport. And that is where I am now. Waiting to get to Sydney. Delay is now half an hour, could have been worse. Weather forecasts for Sydney are pretty good . Forecasts for my next stop, after Sydney, Hobart are awful though. 13 degrees and rain. Brrr, that is Dutch weather!!!

A couple of hours later. Arrived safely in Sydney. Had a bit of a delay in Alice Springs (because of a mechinical problem on the plane :(). Met up with some of the people of the EMU Run Tour I took through the Red Center. We were all flying to Sydney. Eventually, with a delay of about half an hour, our plane left. Just hoped that the mechinal problem was solved ;). It was, luckily. The flight to Sydney was pretty uneventful and took actually shorter than originally anticipated (in the end, our delay was just under 30 minutes). The final approach to Sydney Airport was wonderful. From a distance I could see, very clearly, the skyline of Sydney. The famous Opera House included. What a marvelous sight.

Arrivals in Perth and Alice Springs were pretty cool too, but this one will be hard to beat :D. After arriving in Sydney, I met my friends from EMU Run again (we sat in different sections of the plane). We decided that it would be cheapest to take a cab together to Sydney Central Station. Cab ride costed us only ten dollars a person, that is cheap! We each went our seperate ways from Central Station.

For me, it was just a short walk to my hostel Bounce. So far, this hostel seems to be a good choice. Room (which I share with seven girls) is spacious. What a luxury compared to the room I had in Alice Springs. Hostel is only one year old, so everything is in perfect condition. Had a meal at the hostel pub. Such a big portion that I have a lot of left-overs, which I was allowed to take “ home” in a doggy bag. With a little bit of salad, tomorrow evening’s meal is also taken care off :D.

I am now waiting for the washing machine to finish my first load of laundry. Second load will go in first thing tomorrow morning. Have already, sort of decided, on a to-do list for the next couple of days. Tomorrow, I am going up to Manly for a 10 km walk. Then on Wednesday, I will do another walking tour, this time through the Sydney center. It is a guided one, but “free.” You are required to give the guide some sort of tip at the end. But this is still cheaper than a normal tour of course. For Wednesday evening, it is finally time for Mary Poppins. Keeping my fingers crossed and crossed that a certain person will perform that night :P.