There are some rather unique places in this world. One of them is Alice Springs. Located in the desert in the middle of the driest country in the world, it is an interesting city to visit (which is saying a lot after some of the other places we've been). It was founded by John Stuart who was the first white man to make it across the centre of Australia from south to north. He had located a waterhole which he named Alice Springs and soon it became a central telegraph station on a line that connected Adelaide to Darwin so messages from Great Britain could travel to Australia. The line included an undersea cable from Java, Indonesia to Darwin to connect Australia to the rest of the world. Since then Alice Springs has had its ups and downs but it now has over twenty thousand inhabitants who make this remote city their home. It takes a different kind of mentality to live in a place that is two days drive from anywhere else but we found it to have lots to offer. The people we stayed with (Mick and Bernadette) gave us a real insight into what makes Alice Springs tick and shared lots of possible tourist ideas with us. They informed us that many of the most fascinating rock formations are near Alice Springs but are overlooked because Uluru (four hours drive away) gets all the attention. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to take them in. We did drive up Anzac Hill for a view of the city and visited the original telegraph station beside the waterhole named Alice Springs. The waterhole was all dried up but there was a kangaroo working hard to find some water beneath the sand. Alice Springs is home to the School of the Air which helps isolated children get an education. The Todd River runs through the centre of the city but is dry for most of the year. Elaine visited Alice Springs years ago when the river actually flooded parts of the city. It is hard to believe that this parched part of the world can experience such severe flooding but it does happen.
One of the saddest sights is seeing the Aborigines on the streets of Alice Springs and wandering up and down the dry Todd River bed. The story of these indigenous people is similar to that of native Americans but it is even more depressing. They have lived on this dry continent for over thirty thousand years and have learned to survive almost anything by adapting to the conditions of this harsh place. None of those skills has helped them survive the arrival of the white man. Bullets and disease have taken their toll and their culture hangs by a thread. Some groups have adapted but most have found it very hard to function in a white man's world. (It was legal to shoot an Aborigine who was on your land well into the mid 1900's. They didn't get citizenship until 1967 even though they had been in Australia a lot longer than any white person.) The fact is that their culture is built on interdependence so they can survive while the white man's way is to take care of yourself. The irony comes in that in order to survive in a white man's world, they need to learn selfishness and greed. In their nomadic lifestyle, there is no need for accumulation but that is something that is necessary in the new world. Their bodies cannot handle our fast food after spending years eating what nature gave them. Diabetes and other diseases have shortened their lifespan considerably. There is no family structure left after the government schools spent years taking away children to have them reeducated (sound familiar?). In Australia this is referred to as the 'Stolen Generation'. Alcoholism runs rampant and abuse is endemic. We had some enlightening conversations with various people who are working with Aborigines to try and solve some of the problems. We were quite disheartened to hear that very little progress is being made and many people have given up hope. On a more positive note, Alice Springs is the home of Aboriginal Art and there were plenty of galleries showing off the talents of these amazing artists.
After a few nights in Alice Springs, it was time to head back down south to Adelaide to return to the more populated part of Australia, the coast.
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