Day 5: Exploring the sights of Alice Springs and Palm Springs

We had to think quickly to rearrange our schedule. A bus was arranged to get us to Uluru and Kings Canyon. We had two days in Alice, so one was spent locally and the other to Palm Springs. Around Alice Springs we visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which was and still is an important medical service to the far flung regional settlements of the outback.
flying doctor service.
The telegraph station provided an important communication service in this remote area.
telegraph station.
A visit to Alice Springs desert park was interesting. It was fascinating to get an insight into the foods of the desert that 'modern man' simply has no concept of (ie we would and did starve !) .
native foods demonstration

Perhaps we were just tired from the walk and drive back from Ellery Gorge, but it just didn't seem worth it to go to Palm Valley. This trip involved a lot of driving on both the paved and four wheel drive dirt roads just to see a bunch of palm trees at the end of it. The scenery of provided via our walk on the Larapinta trail surpassed what was offered here.

The Hermannsberg  side trip however, was interesting. The museum had paintings by Albert Namatjira and depicted settlement history showing the role of the Lutheran church and the Aranda people. I like his paintings a lot, and bought a few prints from the museum.

The village was a bit tired and run down though, I am guessing that there isn't a lot of money nor interest in its upkeep. The church, however, is a shining icon in town.

Hermannsberg church.
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