Let me tell you a little bit about our stay in Alice Springs, it's certainly different. We have been lucky with the timing of our visit. Alice has had quite a lot of rain recently so it's much greener that you would normally expect, just before we arrived the Todd River was in full flow and bursting it's banks, now it's dry as a bone again. We were being looked after by David and Mary Evans, Mary collected us from the airport after a trouble free flight from Adelaide. The weather was warm and dry, clear blue skies, light breeze, I am already beginning to fall in love with Alice Springs. You immediately notice the presence of Australia's first citizens, the Aborigines are a unique and interesting race and it was our first sight of them in their home territory. Alice has grown in size over the years to cope with the tourists, but compared to the other cities we had visited was compact and easy to get around. We had a relaxed and pleasant afternoon with David and Mary, Mary took charge of our dirty washing and I sat down with David to watch Arsenal on the Telly, just like home. I won't go on about the concert, but it was another memorable evening, the venue was a small auditorium in St Phillips College, we had about a hundred friendly folk, who joined in, sang and laughed all evening and we all had a great time. Special thank you to Scotty Balfour on the Sound, Ian for running the bar, and David for his excellent organisation. On the day after the concert we managed to find a few hours to walk around town, I posted some excess baggage back to UK and sent off a few postcards. Jane took us up to see the Anzac Memorial which overlooks the town and provides spectacular views of the surrounding hills. here you see Vin and browning our legs in the clear blue skies. I In the afternoon Scotty Balfour came out to David and Jane's to collect us for a trip our to Nature World a dessert attraction on the Outskirts of town. On the way out we stopped at the memorial to the founder of the Flying Doctor Service, here are Vin and Scotty pretending to be tourists. Vin and I were fascinated by the Desert Park Outback Attraction. (When Vin told me about the Outback Attraction I didn't realise he meant the traditional Aussie dunny!) It was very cleverly done to show the various landscapes of Central Australia, there were lots of interesting birds, Red Tailed Black Cockatoos, Raptors, such as Whistling Kite, Black Kite and Brown Falcon, Vin told the handler he was a Talon Scout! We saw deadly snakes lizards and Kangaroos. It's amazing what grows and lives in this dry arid land, if you stop and take time to look around. The last thing we did before leaving was watch a short film about the Australia Outback, when it had finished the screen rolled down revealing the landscape in all it's glory, breathtaking.
Later that evening we sat down with our hosts for what turned out to be an exceptional meal cooked on the Bar B Que, our starter was grilled Crocodile with a chilly sauce (and a snappy dressing), followed by Emu Sausages, Camel Burgers and Kangaroo Steaks, fresh salad and boiled potatoes, what a feast, the best meal we've had in many a year. (Vin thought a Camel burger was second in command to an Austrian Lord Mayor. I would recommend Alice Springs to any world travellers as a must see destination, even without a trip to Ayers Rock this place is well worth visiting, there is lts to see lots to do, it's full of friendly faces, good food and the pace of life is slow and easy. Put it on your list of things to do before you die, I always like to finnish on a cheerful note. See you in the tropics of Darwin.
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