Kremmen
Nov 23, 06, 11:26 pm
The Northern Territory government is going to bring in nonsensical (more than 2/3 (http://blogs.drive.com.au/NT_toll2.gif) of NT's fatalities are in areas with speed limits), expensive ($9M/year (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20758196-28737,00.html)) and largely unenforceable open road speed limits sometime in January. They are so disorganised that having announced the changes early this month, they still don't know when in January the new laws will commence!
So, yesterday I flew up to Alice Springs to have a fun drive on the Stuart Highway while it's still legal and stress free.
http://s92838523.onlinehome.us/stuart1sm.jpg (http://s92838523.onlinehome.us/stuart1.jpg)
QF796 MEL-ASP 73H 10A 23/11/06 0845-1005 (actual 0907-1000)
Lack of competition means that flying to Alice costs way more than flying to Perth. It costs only 2/3 the frequent flyer points, though, so I used some Qantas points for the trip. Surprisingly, I only booked last weekend but almost every day of the week was available for the next few weeks.
Had to get up at arghhhhh-o'clock, but at least that meant traffic wasn't too bad. Breakfast on board was a small pastry and some cereal. I was glad that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (http://imdb.com/title/tt0383574/) wasn't as good as the original, as that made it easy to catch some more sleep.
I grabbed my Commodore from Budget and headed up to Alice Springs (the airport is about 15km south of the city) and onwards. Out from Alice, they don't bother to signpost when the 110km/h zone ends, no doubt a deliberate measure to confuse visitors. (Once you get to the first highway intersection with no speed signs at all, you get the idea that you're outside the 110 zone.) Continuing at a leisurely pace to take in the scenery and see what the road is like, I saw an unusual square-ish structure and stopped there, discovering that it was Ryan Well (http://www.about-australia.com/travel-guides/northern-territory/alice-springs/attractions/building-structure/ryan-well-historical-reserve/). Further on, I grabbed a Paddle Pop at Aileron Roadhouse (http://www.aileronroadhouse.com.au/). (Bloody amazing that even they have a web site, eh!) When I commented on the new speed limits, the proprietor grumbled in disgust: "We'll all be doing 50 over the limit."
That seemed like a good turning point, so I set off back to Alice, setting the cruise control at 160km/h. And, yes, I pushed the Commodore to see what it'd do and, well, it's crap. (On a downward grade with the A/C off it'd only just stuggle past 200.) Olive Pink Botanic Garden (http://www.opbg.com.au/) seemed like a good place to sit and eat my lunch, amongst the aroma of eucalypts.
QF797 ASP-MEL 73H 8A 23/11/06 1620-2025 (actual 1621-2018)
Qantas served a decent enough pasta on the way home, while showing My Super Ex-Girlfriend (http://imdb.com/title/tt0465624/). Back in Melbourne, I dropped in on friends who live near the airport before driving, relatively slowly, home.
So, yesterday I flew up to Alice Springs to have a fun drive on the Stuart Highway while it's still legal and stress free.
http://s92838523.onlinehome.us/stuart1sm.jpg (http://s92838523.onlinehome.us/stuart1.jpg)
QF796 MEL-ASP 73H 10A 23/11/06 0845-1005 (actual 0907-1000)
Lack of competition means that flying to Alice costs way more than flying to Perth. It costs only 2/3 the frequent flyer points, though, so I used some Qantas points for the trip. Surprisingly, I only booked last weekend but almost every day of the week was available for the next few weeks.
Had to get up at arghhhhh-o'clock, but at least that meant traffic wasn't too bad. Breakfast on board was a small pastry and some cereal. I was glad that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (http://imdb.com/title/tt0383574/) wasn't as good as the original, as that made it easy to catch some more sleep.
I grabbed my Commodore from Budget and headed up to Alice Springs (the airport is about 15km south of the city) and onwards. Out from Alice, they don't bother to signpost when the 110km/h zone ends, no doubt a deliberate measure to confuse visitors. (Once you get to the first highway intersection with no speed signs at all, you get the idea that you're outside the 110 zone.) Continuing at a leisurely pace to take in the scenery and see what the road is like, I saw an unusual square-ish structure and stopped there, discovering that it was Ryan Well (http://www.about-australia.com/travel-guides/northern-territory/alice-springs/attractions/building-structure/ryan-well-historical-reserve/). Further on, I grabbed a Paddle Pop at Aileron Roadhouse (http://www.aileronroadhouse.com.au/). (Bloody amazing that even they have a web site, eh!) When I commented on the new speed limits, the proprietor grumbled in disgust: "We'll all be doing 50 over the limit."
That seemed like a good turning point, so I set off back to Alice, setting the cruise control at 160km/h. And, yes, I pushed the Commodore to see what it'd do and, well, it's crap. (On a downward grade with the A/C off it'd only just stuggle past 200.) Olive Pink Botanic Garden (http://www.opbg.com.au/) seemed like a good place to sit and eat my lunch, amongst the aroma of eucalypts.
QF797 ASP-MEL 73H 8A 23/11/06 1620-2025 (actual 1621-2018)
Qantas served a decent enough pasta on the way home, while showing My Super Ex-Girlfriend (http://imdb.com/title/tt0465624/). Back in Melbourne, I dropped in on friends who live near the airport before driving, relatively slowly, home.