Alice Springs

Places of Interest - Australia

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introduction

Alice Springs is a small community lying in the heart of Australia, also called the red center and very isolated from the rest of the civilized world. Alice was created in 1871 when a telegraph station was built between the cities of Adelaide and Darwin. The river (bed) was named Todd next to the employee in the station worked and the adjacent water source Alice to his wife. The town, originally called stuart, grew very slowly.

Until WW2 there were only gravel roads to the town. The MacDonnell mountains extend to both west and east. The city is known for the presence of the Flying Doctors and its proximity to Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon and The Olga's, the big tourist attractions.

highlights

Royal Flying Doctor service base:

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (the RFDS) base arose from the religious conviction to provide the people from the Outback some kind of medical care. People came up with the idea to get the right care at the right time with a system of communication and airplanes.

In the building of the RFDS you can get a guided tour (every hour), take a look at a video and a look in the active control room that gives a picture of how the service works. There is also a museum with historical information, an interactive cockpit of a Flying Doctor plane and antique medical devices. Finally there is a tearoom and a small souvenir shop.

Other attractions:

The Telegraaf station historical reserve and Anzac hill.

tips & advice (2004)

Alice Springs airport is located 15 km south of the center of the city. There is a shuttle bus. A bit to the west of the city center is the train station while the bus (McCafferty's / Greyhound) leaves at the corner of "Gregory Ice" / "Railway Tce" (near "Coles" supermarket).

Alice Springs - Darwin: there is a night bus every day that leaves at 15:30 and arrives in Darwin the next day around 11:30.

Bojangles is a bistro in the center (Todd St) of town located in a colonial style bar with a reasonably good and cheap menu. Dishes include camel pie and kangaroo fillet. In the evening the bistro turns into a wildwest bar with often

"live" music.

Name: Melanka backpackers

Address: 94 Todd St

Price: 42 AUS $ (double) / 16 AUS $ (dormitory)

Phone nr. : 1800,815,066

Email: backpackers@melanka.com.au

Content:

Melanka is a typical case of a real party hostel. It has a big bar, restaurant and a decent pool in the yard. You can stay in a single, double or in one of the small dormitories that have all air conditioning. It is large, professional but very impersonal.

Alice Springs

Places of Interest - Australia

introduction

highlights

tips & advice (2004)

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