Alice Springs and West MacDonnell Ranges

After the tour I still had 3 days and a half in Alice Springs before my train to Darwin. Alice is a pleasant town but there's not that much to do apart from visiting its astonishing surroundings or hanging around doing nothing in particular. I found the latter a very good idea, the only problem is that during the day it's really hot and after 10 minutes walking in the city you're sweating like a pig. I was lucky to meet my second couchsurfing host (after Nathalya, in Apollo Bay), David, who picked me up at the hostel where I was staying and drove me around, including to the Anzac Hill, where I watched the sun set behind the mountains. The next day, however, David was working, so I walked around by myself: it was 34ºC and I regularly found refuge in some shops and (very nice!) cafés.

Alice Springs sunset

I walked to the former Telegraph Station following the Todd River, which at this time is completely dry, there was not a drop of water (but this can change to the point of the river flooding the city). When I was going back to the city it was already cooling (meaning, the temperature was in the 20ºCs instead of 34ºC) and I saw a few kangaroos, they go out to eat at that time.
 

Todd River (YES, river)

Near the Telegraph Station

 

It was Saturday evening but the centre was empty except for the Aborigines who hang around the whole time. Several friends asked me by email what I think of their situation. I think they are clearly a nomadic people not adapted at all to life in a city leading a white man lifestyle. Many of them, if not the majority, are unemployed, and there is a serious alcohol and substance abuse problem. So they just hang around the whole day in an environment which is not theirs. Because of the boom in Aboriginal art in the past few years, some of them try to make a living from painting or by producing some artifacts. I visited several galleries selling paintings for more than $1000 (or even much more than that!) but I wonder how much those galleries pay to the Aborigines who paint those works?...

The next day I left early for a day tour to the West MacDonnell Ranges with the same company that had taken me to Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. This time we were only 5 people. More stunning scenery, amazing gorges and at the end of the afternoon we went for a swim in a waterhole between 2 mountains, it was marvelous. It's crazy to think that if you live in the area these beautiful places are like your playground, you can just go there for a swim in paradise whenever you like... In Europe if you want to unwind you have...gyms! Or a municipal swimming pool…

 

 

The next morning it rained a little bit, though it was still very hot. David wasn't working and we drove to the Botanic Gardens, where some kangaroos seemed to be enjoying the rain. Unfortunately they didn't enjoy our company, as soon as they saw us they jumped away! I've been in Australia for several weeks now but I still love spotting kangaroos, I just love them!

David works in Alice Springs hospital and he shared some stories with me, namely involving Aborigines. For instance, Aboriginal patients can't stand being between 4 walls for long, they get even sicker, so the hospital has a sort of semi-open ward to allow these patients to be as much outside as possible. When I said that I was surprised by the fact that Aborigines are always shouting at each other, even if their interlocutor is standing 1m away from them and there is no noise around, he acknowledged this is true but said that he also noticed how they're capable of communicating by only a few movements and using no words at all. For instance, an Aboriginal patient would make 2 movements with his hand and an Aboriginal visitor would say "He's saying that tomorrow it will rain [after no rain for months] in region X". Sure enough, the next day it rains in region X. This intuitive knowledge fascinates me, I still believe that people who possess it must be profoundly happy – or would be profoundly happy if their connection to the elements and all that goes with it hadn’t been disrupted by the white man.

After our visit to the Botanic Gardens David dropped me off at the railway station, where I boarded the Ghan again, this time to Darwin.

I was sitting with Jiayin, and we made a friend during our long 24 hour trip. He was always smiling:

We arrived in Darwin at 5:00pm, half an hour earlier than foreseen.