Australia > Nothing to do in Alice Springs

Today we have a free day in Alice Springs. We only head to the airport in the afternoon for the flight to Darwin. There isn’t much to do in Alice Springs, and according to the weather forecast, it could reach 44 degrees Celsius today. We have breakfast in our cabin and pack our luggage. Around ten o’clock, we have to check out of the room. We can leave our luggage at reception. The plan is to walk through the Botanical Gardens to the Telegraph Station. The Telegraph Station used to serve as a relay station for communications between Darwin and Adelaide. The station is located on a hilltop outside Alice Springs. After walking for about half an hour, we realize it’s too hot to climb the hill. We adjust our plans and head into the center of Alice Springs. The center consists of three large department stores with various shops. Inside one of these stores it’s cool — a good place to get a drink. Because it’s summer vacation, Alice Springs doesn’t have much to offer. Many museums are closed until the new year. This includes the museum about the Flying Doctors. The doctors who serve much of the outback have their headquarters in Alice Springs. At the Reptile Center there’s also a sign saying they are closed until early January. The streets are deserted around midday. Nobody dares to go outside in the high temperatures. I wander a bit through the streets. To return to the resort, I cross through the dry riverbed. It’s hardly imaginable that water ever flowed here. On the other side, the wide riverbed suggests that this area can flood dramatically during heavy rains. I come out on the opposite bank and walk on to the casino. On the terrace, I order a cold cola. While I’m sitting there, other travel companions come by for lunch. I order a nacho platter. This terrace seems the best spot to wait for our departure to the airport.

Australia - The old prison of Alice Springs

The airport is fifteen kilometers away. It doesn’t seem very busy at the airport. There’s one flight to Adelaide and one flight at 6:40 pm to Darwin. When boarding, I am one of the first to walk onto the plane. There are two airplanes. Which one is the right one? I don’t see “Qantas” on the plane. The plane from Alliance is apparently used by Qantas. I am warmly welcomed on board. At 7:00 pm, the small plane takes off for a flight of one hour and forty-five minutes. With a beautiful orange glow, we enter darkness. When we land in Darwin, it is completely dark. Ann is waiting for us in the arrivals hall. She will be guiding us in the coming days and is also the bus driver. Just outside the airport building, I feel the oppressive heat. The temperature in Darwin is “only” 35 degrees Celsius, but the humidity is high. My glasses fog up immediately when I walk outside. In twenty minutes, Ann drives us to the Travelodge hotel in downtown Darwin. To operate the elevator, you first have to scan the room key. However, I enter one elevator, and my roommate with the keycard enters another. Nobody in my elevator needs to go to the third floor. I stop on the first, fifth, and second floors. I decide to get out here, but even with the stairs, I can’t reach the third floor. What now? I go back down and call my roommate. The problem is quickly resolved. It’s ten o’clock at night. The receptionist helps us with an address where we can still have a beer. He recommends “Charlie’s of Darwin.” When we arrive, the entrance looks sketchy—a stairwell full of graffiti and half-finished walls. On the first floor, however, there’s a nice café. With a beer in hand, we look out over the street through the open window. It’s still warm outside.