a town called Alice

The best part about Alice Springs is the mountain that sits right outside of the town and is mildly picturesque.

German girl Aline and I walk around town (boring), over the Todd River (dry), and through the Pink Olive Botanical Gardens (mostly dead). The upside is that there is so little to do that we can have a real conversation and eat lots of quality junkfood. Aline will be on my Uluru tour for the next three days so it's a good thing I like her. (Even if she is German and I swore to Hendrick that I would not make friends with any more Germans.) Aline bought a lot of cookies and treats for the trip. I bought chocolate and marshmallows to roast on the fire.

We also met Dutch girl Marjolein who will be on our tour and she passed the cool test. Three other girls, Caroline from Vancouver, Emilie and friend from Quebec City, did not pass the test. They are going to be loud and obnoxious and probably complain about stuff. (Ed note – Emilie turned out to be awesome but I can't say the same about the other two.)

Australian things of the day: Lamington cakes, which are supposedly a Brisbane thing, and are really just white cake dipped in chocolate frosting and covered with coconut flakes. Pretty tasty, and very filling. Also: Tomato and carmelized onion flavored tuna. DELICIOUS. Will definitely be purchasing this again. Also: Frozen coke at McDonalds. I'm pretty sure we have this in the US but I'll mention it here in the interest of full disclosure. Also: Crispy fish wrap at McDonalds. I am overwhelmed by how good this tasted and how it was only $2.95. I have eaten more fish and more McDonalds on this trip than I have in the past year at home. Also one more Australian thing or maybe Dutch thing that my roommate Marjolein fed me: rice milk with bananas. YUM I WANT TO EAT THIS FOR BREAKFAST EVERY DAY. Sweeter than horchata, thinner than rice pudding.

I wonder if I can bring cans of tuna past US customs? How about 'roo jerky? Does anyone know?