Leaving Uluru behind us we continued on the road north to Alice Springs, passing endless desert and the occasional roadhouse for pit stops. After spending a few days camping in the outback, Alice Springs seemed like the height of sophisticated civilisation, the perfect place to restock our dwindling supplies. With fast-food joints and typical Aussie brand shops it felt like any other Australian town, just thousands of kilometres from anything like it in every direction.
Surrounded by cattle farms and isolated communities, Alice Springs pioneered some now famous public services to help people living in remote areas. We paid visits to both the ‘School of the Air’ and the ‘Flying Doctors’. The school used to broadcast lessons by radio to students who’d communicate back using their own pedal-powered radios. P.E and Maths at the same time! But in the 21st century they only use live video streams over the internet. Check out the Rolf-a-roo on the wall, classic Harris.
We saw a lot more Aborigines in Alice Springs, probably half of the population. Quite a contrast to virtually every other place we’d visited in Australia so far and a refreshing sight.
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3 comments so far
May 4th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Not quite what I expected after reading “A Town Like Alice”
It’s a Bank Holiday today so instead of going clubbing I am stopping in and scraping the wallpaper off the bedroom walls, still I don’t want to excite you both too much as it may spoil the rest of your holiday!
May 10th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I don’t remember Dinky the singing Dingo in Alice in Wonderland?…..or Rolf!!
Looks really interesting the School of the Air & Flying Doctors………..must be the easiest way of not doing lessons….just to stop pedalling
You look really professional Mark at the controls of the aircraft
May 11th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Ever the professional I landed that plane in the simulator too and safely delivered a set of virtual plasters to the remote orphanage.
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