Friday

Friday

We woke at 8.00 this morning and after showering we went for breakfast.

It was another beautiful clear day but very cold, about 4 degrees. The days here are very nice with clear blue skies but they are also very cold and they do get lots of frosts. The annual rainfall is 2 inches! We wold all like that in the UK, wouldn't we? However, Darryl told us that due to the heavy rain in Australia last year the area around Uluru is greener than it has Ben for more than fifty years.

We checked out of our room and paid the bill - very expensive but no choice here! We went down to have a look around the Square but there was nothing much, bank, post office, supermarket an a few gift shops. I don't know how people live here for more than six months at a time, it would drive me crazy once the novelty wore of.

We did see a job for a school cleaner advertised for $25.30 an hour! That is very good for a cleaner.

We set off on the road to Alice, what can I  say? it is long, straight and boring and after another 4.5 hrs we still didn't see a kangaroo but we did see another dingo! We saw lots of the 53.2 meter road trains and I can tell you overtaking them is very scary! I drove for a while as I wanted to drive in the Outback! Lol!

We stopped for gas once and we stopped for lunch other than that we drove. We saw Mt Connor which looks a little like Uluru but not so big.

We arrived in Alice and I was disappointed it did not live up to my romantic idea that I remember from The Flying Doctor days!  It is very big.

We found our motel which is basic! Clean rooms but nothing plush.

We went back into the town to go to the Cultural Centre only to find hey close t 4.00, it was ten past! We walked around the gardens and saw some lovely birds but we also saw groups of Aborigines who were drunk and walking round with crates of beer and bottles of wine. One group were having a big argument before getting into their car! I had heard there were big problems with alcoholism and the Aborigines.

We drove into town and had a cup of tea before going back to the motel and catching up with email which we now have for free but it i very slow.

The owner here said there was a club down the road we could go to or dinner which saved us the drive into the city.

We walked down he road and heard shouting coming from cross the road  which was a park. A group of young Aborigines came out of he park shouting at each other and carrying bottles of wine and beer. They are very intimidating and we kept our heads down and walked faster. It is sad they have such a problem here and it is not jut young people in fact more old people really. In over four years in NZ I have never come cross anything like it with Maori.

The club was like a working men's club, a bit rowdy as it was Friday but the food was good and we just needed to eat and get back to the motel. On the way we came cross another drunken group - glad I don't live here I would prefer to take my chance with a snake than these people.

Back to our room and Jon decided to re arrange the furniture. The double bed is next to the wall on
the side he sleeps so no bedside table. As he likes to see a clock - he likes to know how many times he has woken- he decided to sleep in the single bed but had to move it so that he had the bedside lamp, too. He is a creature of habit!

Hopefully we will both get some sleep.