A town like Alice

Our theory when we visit a new place is to be positive and to always try to appreciate its best features. Alice Springs tests our theory.

It is, after all, just a mid-sized country town, 1500 kms south of Darwin, surrounded by deserts. It looks rather unloved. We had seen TV ads at Uluru about a shopping paradise called Alice Plaza. Sadly it is very underwhelming with about a third of the shops vacant. We were particularly sad to see a Dymocks store closing down – the demise of a bookshop is never a pretty sight.

Worse is to come when Richard, in search of lunch, inadvertently drives in the wrong direction in a car park and encounters the wrath of a ‘security’ guard who obviously has too much time on his hands. Lunch is secured at a bakery that appears to be rather upmarket. This shop, however, could justifiably earn the title for Australia’s Worst Pies. With pastry the consistency of stale cardboard and filling that resembled dog food, the pies were very ordinary. Where have all the country bakeries gone?

On a positive note Alice Springs must be the only town in Australia where you can buy a tourist T-shirt emblazed with a portrait of a Presbyterian minister. Rev John Flynn was the founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and their Visitors Centre is informative. Equally interesting is a visit to the School of the Air. Surprisingly it was Flynn’s work in establishing an outback health service and communication system that allowed the School of the Air to reach hundreds of isolated children and to set up an education system that allowed them to be part of the largest classroom in the world.

A walk to Standley Chasm is the highlight of our day. Located on private Aboriginal land, the $10 entry fee is small compensation for the privilege of exploring this small part of the West MacDonnell Range. This range, along with the East MacDonnell Range, provide a stunning backdrop to the Northern Territory’s second largest town.

We couldn’t actually bring ourselves to buy a John Flynn T-shirt but we did like the quote on the back …“ Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers but for powers equal to your tasks."