Alice Springs

We were excited to move on to our next Outback adventure, Alice Springs.  Also, we were excited to possibly have a decent meal, as we had been living on deli chicken meat and cheese--the food here is definitely not what we expected.  The good news is we are probably losing weight because of it!

With one last view of Ayers Rock, we head to Alice Springs.

Alice Springs was bigger than I expected.  They even had a Kmart and a Target!

Downtown Alice Springs:

The flight was only half an hour so we were checked into the hotel by noon.  We visited the Old Telegraph Station, which was the first white settlement in Alice Springs.  It was very interesting to see a volunteer at the station use the telegraph machine--so crazy to think how far technology has come. 

The next day we head out to the Desert Park.  It was interesting to see how the Aboriginal people use the variety of plants for food and medicine.  Glenn loved the nocturnal house, with the lizards, snakes and other creatures.  Not my favorite!

We ended the day with a visit to the School of Air.  From this location, they broadcast lessons for students from preschool up to 9th grade for students in the outback who don't have access to a school near them.  It was a really neat set up with 2 classrooms.  They provide all computer equipment, video capability and satellite dishes to the students.  One student is so remote that the driveway to the cattle ranch he lives on is almost 50 miles long!

One of the classrooms:

That evening, we finally had a fairly decent dinner at Red Ochre Grill at our hotel.  Even though kangaroo, crocodile and emu was on the menu, I decided not to try it. 

Off to Perth for half a day layover before heading to Exmouth for some snorkeling.