I have wanted to see the Outback of Australia ever since the first I read Nevil Shute’s “A Town Like Alice”. I have read it many times. We flew over the red landscape and landed. I am really here!
We rented a nice little SUV so we could fit all five people and our luggage with some comfort. Laurel volunteered to drive as she is a Melbourne girl and most familiar with the rules of the road. I became the navigator. We found our way very easily to the Desert Palms Resort. It really is an oasis in the desert landscape – startling green of the grass and palm trees set off by the tropical colours of the flowers and birds. The women looked forward to the pool at the end of each day’s adventure. Dan enjoyed the quiet of solitude! We had two villas, one for myself and Dan and one for Lynne, Laurel and Thea. It worked out very well. It was wonderful for Lynne to have both her girls together again!
For our first day, we decided to tour the town and do some chores. We needed to cash traveller’s cheques, get a few groceries and get the feel of the area. It is a very short drive from the resort across the Todd River to the CBD (Central Business District).
The Todd River is normally a dry river bed. Every year it is the site of the Henley-on-Todd Regatta. The boats are a little different. They have no bottoms or tops! Contestants stand inside their vessels holding them waist high and, at the sound of the starter’s gun, race along the course - hopefully without tripping over each other or collapsing from laughter or exhaustion. While we were there, there actually was a little water in the bottom of the riverbed. A good thing it was not race time!
Alice Springs is a small town of 28,000 people living over a large surrounding area. The CBD is about 5 blocks square. We wandered up and down looking into shops as our interests dictated. We picked a nice place for lunch, the Red Ochre Grill. It is known for its presentation of “Bush Foods” or meals made with local ingredients. We decided to have a typical pie and a pint. Well, Dan had the pie and pint, I just had the lamb shank and vegetable pie. It was very good! So good, we made a repeat visit later in the week.
All that city life made us glad to return to the serenity of our Oasis and the pool! We met up for happy hour on the lanai and each group made a simple dinner in their own kitchen. A very relaxing day!
It was not as warm as it can be in Alice but we had a low of 22 C (72 F) and a high of 38 C (100 F) daily while we were there. Very pleasant! The clear, bright skies turned me browner than I ever get, even with 30 SPF sunscreen!
We started out early on Day 2 to take advantage of the coolness of morning. We had a full agenda. We started at the Alice Springs Reptile Center. We were greeted by Frank who has the run of the property. Watch out for Frank when you open a door – he may try to make a break for it!
We timed our arrival so we could take part in the Reptile Talks. My part was filming but the others learned how to hold the small dragon, a blue-tongued skink and a python!
From the Reptile center we crossed the street to the Communication center of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This was more my speed! I really appreciated the map with all the pins representing private runways in the vast outback territory. Yellow pins for strips with landing lights, blue for those that would be daylight only, pins for the planes on duty and for their current location. There were displays of medical equipment from years gone by and some that would still be current. Some were familiar to me from my days as a Lab Tech. Some would be illegal now such as Dr. Poppy’s Wonder Elixer with Canabis Extract. It supposedly relieves any number of symptoms and leaves you with a pleasant feeling all day. I’ll bet!
We liked the look of the menu in the Flying Doctor’s restaurant so we stayed for lunch. They were out of the items we particularly wanted to try, but they did have Sticky Date pudding with Butterscotch Sauce. Yum!
That fortified us for the afternoon’s trek through the Alice Springs Desert Park. We strolled through an amazing display of flora and fauna in the park’s 75 sun baked acres. There are three desert habitats represented, Desert Rivers, Sand Country and Woodlands. We saw birds of all kinds from a Black Cockatoo to the little Kookaburra. Who would have expected such a big call to come from such a small bird?
Lynne and I strolled along leaving the others to keep to their own, much slower, pace. I particularly enjoyed the colours; the red of the soil, the greens and browns of the vegetation, the bright colours of the flowers and birds. The distant reds and blues of the MacDonnell range formed a backdrop to it all.
We all met up at the Nocturnal House and then divided again. Dan and I followed a path taking us back to the entry and settled down with cold drinks. I was feeling very tired and losing interest. Lesson one: carry water! I was suffering from dehydration. I could not seem to get enough liquid, I was so thirsty! After a few minutes, I was ready to go again. Unfortunately we were running out of time. My close encounters with emu and kangaroos would come another day.
It was time to check out the pool and take time for Happy Hour once more. We have a really early start tomorrow!
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