Anzac Hill, Reptile Centre, Todd River, School of the Air, the Telegraph Station and Adeladide House - Alice Springs

The first photos are from Anzac Hill and as you can see Alice is surrounded by mountains and desert beyond. The most prominent land mass being the MacDonnel Ranges. Such a changeable landscape dependng on the time of year, so hard to imagine it flooded and the Todd River with water in it (the photo of the boys on the sand waving is in the Todd River). The school of the air was really interesting, what an amazing resource for kids living in isolated towns and properties, some over a thousand kms away. Once a term they get together for sporting carnivals and to get to know the voices and faces they see and hear on line. School work packs are flown out fortnightly the completed work being returned for corrections as well as online lessons. They all have a home tutor as well who also receive work packs to help support them and the kids. Most tutors are the parents but some have paid tutors. The Telegraph Station was the first white settlement in the outback of Central Australia and of course was part of a 3000km hand made telegraph line that linked Adelaide to Darwin and thus linked us to Indonesia via an underground cable linking us with the rest of the world within days instead of weeks. It was intially used via pedal powered radios and morse code. We rode our bikes to the station and on the way back followed a beautiful bush track vai the Todd River. The last photo is of Adelaide House, the first hospital set up by John Flynn (the man on our $20 note and commemerated for good reason. An enterprising man with a generous heart) The hospital had a very clever first of its kind air conditioning system. Air travelled in via ducts in the cellar and travelled through wet hesian bags to cool it and then through other ducts up to the hospital rooms. It then continued up and out the vents in the roof as it warmed up again. The original building still stands as do the interior rooms and the cellar etc. There was also a diary and photos on line from the first 2 nurses to work there who travelled for over a week via train and horse and cart from Melbourne. It was very different back then just surrounded by dirt!