Part 3 of Our Trip, Alice Springs to Tennant Creek

Our first full day in Alice Springs and we were on the coach by 7.30am, to head to the Alice Springs Desert Park. Our guide, Renata, showed us around and explained the various plants and their uses. Indigenous People, look at the bush and think about how they can use the plants. They use them in one of three ways, for food - supermarket;  tools - hardware and medicine- pharmacy.

The park has several aviaries and a nocturnal house and this cute chap, an Australian Bustard was keeping and eye on us.

Part of the park.

We also saw a Birds of Prey show and using my phone I managed to capture the Wedge tailed Eagle 'catching' food. It is such a magnificent bird.

From the park we went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base and listened to an informative talk on both the history of the service and how it works in the 21st century.  This is such a vital service for those living in outback Australia.

Next stop was the Old Telegraph Station , established in 1872. This line stretches over 3000kms from Adelaide to Darwin, a vital part of our history with the relaying of messages down the length of the country.

Peter took us down to the river bed and started digging for water. About a meter down he found some along with a couple of frogs. Tossing the first run of water, the next one is suitable for drinking, as it is clean.

Paul and I standing in the Todd river.

We had free time and Paul and I went into town and I visited the two quilt shops and the book shop. We had afternoon tea and then headed back to get ready for the evenings dinner, at Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre. The Falzon family run this and Dan gave a fascinating talk about the different constellations and used a laser pointer to show us where they were. I learnt how to work out where the South Celestial Pole is and can now find more constellations, than before. We also enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal.

The next morning we went to the School of the Air. This school covers and area of 1.3million square kilometres, servicing children in these areas and giving them access to public education. As it was school holidays, we watched a recorded lesson, viewed a video and saw how the children's lesson packs have changed over the years.

Peter and Phil gave us a quick stop at the Rev John Flynn's grave. He was the person, who started the Royal Flying Doctor Service. 

Today we said 'good bye' to 19 of our fellow travellers. Most were returning home, whilst some were flying onto Darwin. We are now down to 30 intrepid travellers, to continue the journey to Darwin.

First stop, the Tropic of Capricorn, 25kms north of Alice Springs, for photos.

Lunch was at Aileron Roadhouse and a chance to see the Aboriginal statues. Very impressive.

Then onto Wycliffe Well, where Paul and I made some new friends.

This area is the UFO capital of Australia and the roadhouse has displays of UFO things. A bit of fun.

The Devil's Marbles was our last stop, before arriving at Tennant Creek.

These rounded granite boulders are  scattered on an otherwise flat plain and are very impressive.

We also met a local, trying to keep cool.

 On into Tennant Creek, in time for dinner. Tennant Creek, established in 1872 as a repeater station, for the Overland Telegraph Line, with gold being discovered in 1930. There is still some mining in the area.

Bye for now,
Lilian.