Alice Springs began its modern history as Stuart, a telegraph station on the Adelaide to Darwin line, and the end of the Ghan railway. Government Surveyor WW Mills, whilst exploring the Mac Donnell Ranges during the construction of the Telegraph line, came across a waterhole which he named Alice Springs after the Superintendent Sir Charles Todd's wife Alice. This name remained until 1930 when the dual naming created such confusion for administrators in Adelaide that on 31 August 1933 the township of Stuart was officially gazetted, Alice Springs.
Flight time from Sydney to Alice was about 3.5 hours. The flight was uneventful and the views out of the windows would have been fabulous except for the crazing on the window pane. But the red of the desert was stunning. The photos are not brilliant, the best I could get looking through the scratched glass.
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| Sydney |
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| Alice Springs |
With the temperature a pleasant 27° and a gentle breeze, it was a pleasure to walk around the town. The plane landed at midday and a shuttle bus took us to the motel. Unfortunately, our room at the hotel not ready until 2 pm so we had some time to kill. A Subway was found for lunch and then a stroll back to the motel to sit in the air-conditioned room to wait. Sure enough, at 13.55 we were given the key. Then with nothing else planned for today, it was off to the pool to while away the rest of the afternoon.
Plans have been made for the day trip to Uluru on Wednesday. A very early pickup, 5.45am, and a long day ahead as we won't be returning to the motel until after midnight. As for tomorrow, we may well go on a 4WD trip. Still to be arranged.
Oh nearly forgot to mention the SuperCell that hit Sydney and surrounding area last Saturday. Hailstones as big as tennis balls caused a massive amount of damage including my brother's car bodywork and the roof tiles. The insurance claims are said to amount to 31 million. My brother has already put in his claim.
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| You can just make out the dents in the bodywork |
2 comments:
Can I suggest you walk to the old telegraph station and the springs. Also, you can get a good view of Alice Springs from the top of ANZAC Hill. You will have a long day tomorrow as Ayers Rock is approx 400km from Alice. I remember the naive German couple taking a taxi! :-)
Yes, we had already earmarked a walk to the telegraph station. ANZAC Hill will now also be included. Thanks.
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