Getting to know Alice...

I have now been here 2 weeks. Not having a car makes getting around a little difficult. So yesterday I thought I would do the hop on/hop off bus thingey that we have all done in London/Paris. Yes..they do have one here in Alice. It was good to get my bearings and visit some of the out of town sights.

One place I really enjoyed spending time at was the Telegraph Station.Those of you who know me well know my love of old buildings.These ones are in a pristine condition.They were built in 1872 . All the building materials, furniture etc was brought 500kms by camels from S.A. Horses were kept for transport on the Station, and for the linesmen who tended the line. The line was a single wire and stretched 2000km form Adelaide to Darwin.The enormous Red River gums all around the buildings took my eye, they were planted in the 1870's and are spectacular. The buildings are made from local stone, with very thick walls to keep out the heat.

There were a lot of people employed here, and it became a popular stop.There are still stables, blacksmith's forge, school house, staff barracks and a huge 'battery' room.The battery room powered the Alice section of the Telegraph Line. Messages telegraphed along the Line were boosted by huge wet cell batteries.

The Station Master became the local post master, he held court at the Station, and even acted as Doctor via instructions telegraphed from Adelaide!!

The buildings were built with defence in mind, but the local aborigines were peaceful...
As you can see I enjoyed my history trip, I hope you have too. I had no idea all this history existed.

This is the Alice Spring-it has great significance with the Aboriginal people. It also became a very popular watering hole for travellers and their camels.

The rest of my day I spent meeting these critters, and I can also say I have "cuddled" a snake!!! They are quite soft. The geckos and frogs fascinated me. The colours/patterns on each one is unique. Some wonderful proof of camouflage(?spelling).

Here endeth today's bulletin from the Outback.

I am heading away over Easter down to Uluru...I am really looking forward to seeing it.Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, at least I will know where to go when some of you come over to visit me..........

I hope the NPS trip to the Otago Peninsula goes really well. Rod has put a lot of time into the planning. I look forward to some images from you all. I will be with you all in spirit.. ( a G &T thankyou Stephen ) :-)