4th March 2009

Today has been a very long day. We were picked up just after 8.30 am and did not return to the hotel until 5 pm. Our first call was to Anzac Hill where there is a monument to the soldiers of Australia and New Zealand who fell in the two World Wars and other various conflicts, including Vietnam. Today was a lot cooler than yesterday; a mere 28C instead of a giddy 40C so sightseeing was much more pleasant. We then went to the grave of John Flynn, who we mentioned earlier was the founder of the Flying Doctors. This was followed by travelling to the Western MacDonnell Range and walking to Simpsons Gap. We then went to Standley Chasm which is a narrow cleft in the ranges and can only be reached by scrambling over sand and rocks.. The day was concluded with an afternoon visit to the Desert Park, a most fascinating place which attempts to show three different habitats and their flora and fauna. Desert Rivers showed mainly birds, Sand Country is the land of thorny devils, lizards and termites and Woodland is everyone's favourite – kangaroos.

Alice Springs summation – hot with lots of flies. The 4 of us invested in fly nets and although we felt a little foolish wearing them, it was easier than having to constantly swish them away from your face. To live here we feel you need to be a little mad – where else would you hold an annual regatta which involved carrying your boat down the length of a dry river bed and where else would you find that this same regatta had to be cancelled because it had actually rained the day before and the river level was too high to carry the boat?!!