A Town Called Alice

 

Google Maps of Australia - so I know where I've been!

Time is meaningless on the Ghan. The only time signal is the panting of the huge diesel as it mutters to itself "only another 1000km and I can have a comfort break".  Life continues as we the "Cocooned" wake up, ablute and are fed and watered. 

The Ghan is a microcosm of society - stratified. I and my ilk are in the carriages closest to the engine and farthest away from civilisation - the lounge, bar and the dining car. We are Gold Class, then there's Gold Plus - they dine with us but know they're superior. At the top of the pile: the mystical Platinum guests. We know they're there because we hear wonderous tales of the luxury they travel in; but we never mix. They have their own lounge and diner: encrusted, bejewelled with gems. Their tables in the diner are set with fresh flowers and the staff are all dressed in silk!

The Ghan breathes a sigh of relief as we are told we're approaching Alice Spring - we had crossed the South Australia/ Northern Territory a while back - there's a marker showing you that. Alice is in the geological centre of Australia, its existence due to the telegraph relay station linking Australia to the rest of the world. We're given a choice of activities to do while we stop at Alice. "Off Train Experiences" they're called, as mentioned in the previous bloggette I had signed up for the Trail Bike Cycling but decided that not having ridden a bike for near 30 years I'd pass up that experience. Instead I went on a Tour of Malice   Alice.

It is Monday 21st July and we arrive middayish. Alice is a small town, some 20 odd thousand, but loads of roads and vehicles. The A1 goes through Alice on its way from Adelaide to Darwin. The streets are lined with low rise homes with corrugated roofs, car ports and acres of ground surrounding most of the houses. There a real mix of old frontier town small homes, possibly with a veranda, and ultra modern homes. Solar panels are everywhere as are water butts to collect the precious liquid from the sky. In between the rows of homes would be shops and loads of garages - the car is ubiquitous. Reminded me of the 1974 Peter Weir film "The Cars that Ate Paris", set in a small Australian township.

Our tour was selective. We visited the Alice Springs School of the Air (ASSOA). Looked around the studios and were given two talks about the founding of the school in the early 1950's, its students and the far off, isolated places the school serves. Rather than go into any detail here's the website address: www.schooloftheair.net.au 

The service is government funded but they run a shop to increase their income and are happy to accept donations. School mural, bit like a seaside fun photo booth where you can insert your head and be part of the scene.  

We next paid a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service exhibition and shop in Alice Springs. Set up in the 1920's through the efforts of priest it's now a fairly extensive service covering most of Australia. It's a not for profit organisation so relies on sponsorship, sales and donations. Whilst there we saw a very professional film about the organisation's history, services and "real life" emergencies. Again, like the ASSOA they had a gift shop with a multitude of gifts tangentially linked to flying, doctoring and health. The service's website is Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT | Royal Flying Doctor Service

Finally, we visited the Reptile Centre Alice Springs Reptile Centre - Home  directly opposite the Flying Doctor, and just down the road from the hospital.  Here we were regaled by stories of snakes (mostly poisonous and deadly) and crocs (very, very, deadly). The owner was a natural entertainer who cleverly scared the living daylights out of us and made us laugh at the same time. 

They rescue snakes in peoples houses etc and release them back into the wild. The number is considerable - he showed us a barrel full of them collected over just a couple of days. All would be released or treated if hurt before being released. They also rescued crocodiles. We saw one saltwater crocodile. It had been captive for 20 years and was trained to obey a number of commands like "Let go of that man": ""I told you not to eat the child" and other fascinating commands. the creature was very impressive, a picture of power and stillness. But no pic of him just two smaller harmless critters.

After that it was back on the train, a brush up, drinks, dinner and onwards to a stop at Katherine and  the run in to Darwin. But that's for the next bog