1st – 6th June

Hello again, this time from Alice Springs.  We had arrived here expecting to stop for only a few days but alas our plans have changed again.  Change is coming to be our second name.

The journey from Clifton Springs was an easy drive.  The roads here are quite flat and fairly straight.  The speed limit on the Stuart Highway is up to 130 klms / hr for much of the way but we travel a bit slower than that.  Alice was looking forward to visiting her city.  Her name is on almost everything here.

The city (approx 29000 people) is quite a modern city and very well kept.  We were not quite sure what to expect because we have heard so much bad press coming out of the area but we have been pleasantly surprised.  The local council has done a great job beautifying the city precincts and there is very little visible vandalism.  We can see that some people have not been so tidy but it is clear that there are processes in place to take care of that quite quickly.

Alice Springs CBD from Anzac Hill

 The southern entry to the city is through a narrow gap in the very red MacDonnell Ranges.  These ranges are visible as a close back fence to the city and contain some beautiful features to the east and west.

What we did not expect was the way we would spend the next few days.  After a day of rest and some household duties Alice began to experience some aches & pains.  Overnight the pains went across her chest and the doctor sent her immediately to hospital where she spent a night in emergency.  She was then admitted for the weekend while they monitored her condition.  By Monday morning the cardiologist was fairly certain that her heart was OK and suspected a virus in the lung initiated by the recent pneumonia instance.  He does want Alice to undergo a stress test however and this cannot be undertaken until this coming Friday.  A failure in this test could require a trip to Adelaide for an angiogram.  Time will tell our future plans again.

Alice’s stay in hospital opened up an opportunity for us to catch a glimpse of the difficulties that this community faces and the amazing job that hospital staff do in facing these difficulties.  The homeless indigenous population in Alice Springs is quite significant and is apparent almost throughout the city.  All levels of government have undertaken a number of initiatives to assist in this area with a great deal of success but there is still a long way to go.  Alcohol sales have been strictly administered and restricted and fuel sold has special additives to restrict petrol sniffing.  Unfortunately there are great cultural differences here and some of the most notable results are in health and hygiene as well as policing.  Alice saw at first hand the amazing manner in which medical professionals dealt with these issues showing dignity for all parties.  The sad thing is the hopelessness that is evident in the faces and actions of many of the indigenous people here.  On the other hand there are many Aboriginal people who are really making a success of life and seeking to help their own along the way. 

The other side of the medical picture is the manner in which the medical needs of the area are met here.  A significant percentage of the medical staff have been sourced from other countries particularly Asia.  As was expressed to Alice the more specialised services are met from Adelaide so transportation to and from is necessary.  As an example in radiology the testing facilities are available in Alice Springs but the formal interpretative reporting of the results is achieved by flying a radiographer from Adelaide twice per week.  This is all a part of living in remote areas.  The level of attention that Alice received in hospital was outstanding and we want to commend them for it.  In Australia we are really blessed.

 As mentioned earlier the area surrounding Alice Springs contains some really beautiful features and we want to share them with you.  Here are a few to give you a glimpse.

Simpsons Gap

While visiting Simpsons Gap there was a young French student playing the didgeridoo in the gap.  As you look at this photo I invite you to hear the melodious tones of this instrument reverberating off the walls of the canyon?

This has it all for me

And we love the wildlife too

The hills here are great



Standleys Chasm

White gums against red hills at the chasm

The reality is even better

The other interesting about these remote areas in Oz is the services available to small communities.  In TV for instance the area receives all the channels that capital cities receive.  They do not however have the local content as much as the big cities.  In the major channels the news presented is from Queensland which is good for us but only the ABC presents a NT news broadcast. Also there are not enough advertisers to support the increased number of channels so when there is a commercial break and insufficient advertisers we receive a travelogue of special areas across this great country.  It certainly beats the screaming ads for Harvey Norman and the like.  So there are some great benefits for living here.