Alice Springs- but it's winter here...

We were off to the Melbourne airport again this morning, though it was much calmer this time around. Our tour director led the group to the luggage check in, then through security, where I wore shoes and my belt right through the metal detector. It was all good. 

I don't even remember a time when walking into an airport was that simple. We didn't have to show a boarding pass or any ID- we just walked straight in. 

They finally asked to see a boarding pass before they let us on to the plane. The whole process seemed pretty relaxed. 

When we got to Alice Springs today, we went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and toured their facility. In the early days of settlement, there were lots of people in far flung areas, but little or no access to healthcare. They started with camel drawn carriages, they they got a car, and finally, they got their first airplane. It's a pretty big deal, now they have tons of planes all over the country to care for people in remote locations. In the early days, they used a radios with what looked like bike pedals to generate the necessary power. That's how they found out where they were needed. 

 

 We also went to a sort of correspondence school that used to operate by flying materials to kids in far away places. They appear to use the Internet, now 

It became a little aggravating after a bit, as every place we went asked for donations, and try seemed to do it in a manner that really rubbed me and Cas the wrong way. 

We finally went to the Alice Springs telegraph station. It was quite an impressive operation back in its time, but rather than spend a full hour checking out the telegraph station, Cas decided we should climb this: 

 

So we did. It was a lot tougher than it looks in this photo. Enjoy this rocky hilltop selfie: 

 

We're going to enjoy a bit of time at the hotel pool tonight and turn in early, since we've got an appointment with a hot air balloon tomorrow at sunrise. I can hardly wait.