Here’s a rare sight.

Now I might get found out by one or two people (Sam?) but at this particular spot, the Todd receives a boost from some storm water run off. Other areas were trickling along though.
Anyway – all I’ve ever seen in the Todd is ….sand.

It was still raining after the Transport Museum extravaganza, so the plan to ride out to the Old Telegraph Station was abandoned. Instead we opted for the bakery lunch (indoors) and a drive to the Telegraph Station. It’s only 5km from the centre of town, and also the site of a start and a finish for the mountain bike race we hold here each year. In all those 6 visits, we’ve never taken the time to browse through the serene buildings (the very first white settlement in the Central Australia). So today was the day!
They could communicate with London in about 8 hours!
Here are a few photos of this beautiful place.



And here’s a photo of the boys at the weather station. And guess what the manual recording was? RAIN.

Just south of town is the Old Ghan Museum. It has the biggest collection of memorabilia I think I’ve ever seen. Now I’m no train buff, but it really was very interesting. They had everything from photos of building the train line, to old tickets, timetables and menus, the original plates, cutlery, linen, staff uniforms, training manuals – even the dinky shampoo and soaps for passengers. Truly a remarkable collection. These train fans sure do hoard their stuff.
Right next door is the National Road Transport Hall of Fame Museum (with the added bonus of the Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame). Who would have thought there would be such a thing? I took a look in the door and saw a large number of old trucks, and left to get a coffee. The boys have all gone in for a look. That was an hour ago. It’s still raining.
They loved it. There must be some genetic connection between diesel and testosterone.


They took MANY photos in there, but I won’t bore you with any more.

It rained all night. Then it kept raining when the sun came up. The RA staff who were here in May for the event will know what I mean – non-stop rain. Only this time, I’m camping. No warm dry rooms to hang out in.
Here’s how it looked on the radar when we got up.

Alice Springs Reptile Centre was first on our list for today. It is a privately run, and houses heaps of venomous snakes, lizards and even a crocodile.
The displays were really good, and almost all the reptiles were easy to see.

They do a great demonstration with a goanna, Blue Tongued Lizard, Bearded Dragon and an Olive Python. Then we all get to hold the reptiles!

We also went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service Base where they have a great display of the history of the service. There were some old medicine packs that were issued to outback stations which contained quite a lot of pharmaceutical history that I found quite interesting.
There’s also a display plane like the ones they use in the field, and a huge screen showing all the RFDS aircraft in Australia and where they are at any time, updating every minute or so.
Next up was the School of the Air. Here you can see the studios that the teachers use to give their lessons, and a huge display of historical info about School of the Air since it started in 1951, using the radio system that the RFDS started with. Things have come a long way, and now it’s all done using satellite internet connections, with web cams making a virtual classroom. They even have aerobics and Zumba classes on line as their PE ! The Alice Springs School has 140 students across 1.3 million sq. kilometres!

I think you could say today was very educational! And to celebrate two weeks on the road, we went out for dinner! It had nothing to do with the heavy rain and freezing temperature. No, nothing.