I intentionally arranged to stay in Alice Springs for four hours so that we can experience this small town. Kristin chose to stay at the airport and I explored the town alone.
Alice Springs is a small town with the population of 25,000, but it is the gateway to Uluru. I took a shuttle to go to the town's Central Business District and dropped by the Visitor Center. From there, I walked over to the Reptile Center and saw the types of reptiles you can find in Australia.
On the way, I saw many dark-skinned Aboriginal people, or "Black Fellas" as they call themselves, on the street or under the trees. They account for about 16% of the population of Alice Springs. It was in the morning and many were drunk. I was not sure if their drunkenness was due to their own fault or to Western influence. It was saddening.
At 11:00am, there was a show and many children were able to get close to some reptiles, including a Python. A little children were not afraid of it at all. Yikes!
I also checked out Royal Flying Doctor Service just across the street from the Reptile Center. It was established in 1928, so in 2018 they are celebrating their 90th anniversary. RFDS is basically a flying Intensive Care Unit, offering services for people in the remote areas of Australia through 70 planes serviced by 145 pilots. They take care of 250,000 patients a year. Alice Springs, located at the center of the island continent, operates 7 planes to serve the people in the outback. Its history showed a progress made over almost a century from camels and cars.
It was a short detour to Alice Springs, but at least I left my footprints on this little town. - Jeffrey
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