Things we've done in Alice

Well while we have been here it hasnt all been work, work, work. We have managed to get out and about and see quite a few sights. If you go to Anzac Hill,(you can drive right to the top) it gives you the most fantastic view of Alice Springs and the Gap. Its a great way to get your bearings. We have done lots of day trips here and there so i'll tell you about some of them.
The Royal Flying Doctors Centre: This was great to see, the area that they cover is bigger than england and i think europe. They service mainly aboriginal communties and cattle stations. Alot of these have their own airfields, and are in contact with the doctors by radio. You were able to see the actual workings of it as they showed you thru.
The Reptile Centre: Oh my god, as you guessed i was not fussed on this one, but i did like it in the end, very interesting. They seated you in a room where they display snakes and lizards, then they get some of them out so you can hold and touch them(very scary). Mike loved it. I didnt hold any, but i touch everything they showed us while Mike held it. I liked it better that way. So i got to touch Dragons, Lizards and Snakes. And they have a crocodile there, didnt touch that but man i liked seeing him. Oh and to our surprise we got a private viewing of 2 goanna's doing it while no one was suppose to be watching, ha ha ha.
The School of the Air: This is said to be the biggest classroom in the world. It shows you how the kids of the outback cattle stations are schooled. It's all done over radio and computer. The parents have to set up a classroom for the kids(it cant just be in the house somewhere). And 4 times a year the children have to attend a week in alice springs meeting there classmates and teachers. This is to gauge how well they are doing at their school work, most children have higher than average learning than a public school in town.
The west and east McDonnell Ranges: The east has not alot to see and offer, we stopped in at the Jesse Gap and the Emily Gap. This was good, we got to see rock drawings from years ago depicting the callepitar dream time movement. The west ranges were a bit more exciting, we saw Standley Chasm, and big water holes(not so many here in the desert), and Imerston Gorge. The gorge was beautiful and it had water in it, ha ha ha. We stayed the night at the Mount somner lookout. It over looks a huge valley and in the back ground is the mountain, it was fantastic. On this trip we saw a goanna that was about 2 feet long crossing the road. But it was hot.
Adelaide House: This was a house built as a hospital as the Alice was first being born, it has its own unique air conditioning system, with tunnels under the house and sacks hanging to cool the air and filter dust as it is taken up thru the house to cool it. John Flynn was the man with the idea for a hospital out here and you hear alot about him. He worked for the church and had alot to do with the construction of the hospital and Royal Flying Doctors.
Botanical Gardens: Big let down, no roses and flowers blooming, no it was all about the desert plants etc, which to be honest totally bored me. Flowers, im sure, just do not exist in this part of the world. So when the locals walk around complaining about hay fever and sinus's it just cracks me up. They wouldnt have a hope in NZ