SVEN-HANSEN.DK - Mit liv - Mitt liv - My life

ENGLISH VERSION 5

Mid-June 1987.

Work is now in a very small space in my head and I am thinking more about experiencing now. The result is that I declare myself a tourist instead of an immigrant. Fine! Now the head is full of ideas and new thoughts again. It is now far better than sitting and finding a job that does not exist. Now considering if I have not just wasted time, now that I have been through the whole work process, to be able to settle in another country. But, then you have tried it too and do not go to bed curious.

I had to get answers on what they drew me over to this great country. I simply had to try it before I calmed down and found out what I am: An ingrained Dane for brown sauce and potatoes, but with travel and adventure in my blood that tells me it's better to see things and places today, instead of waiting until tomorrow when you may not be able to anymore.

I'm just happy to be so lucky to live in a reasonably democratic society, where we as citizens can largely make our own decisions and not be forced to do what some dictator decides under duress and threats.

Possibly you could also have chosen to save up for prosperous old age, if you do not suddenly become ill and become dependent on the help of others. No! Then I would rather go out to see our big world before it's too late. I will wholeheartedly try to experience as much as possible while visiting the earth before embarking on the last great journey without a return ticket.

Well, but back from thought to reality. So I can now be called a tourist and therefore think I would rather behave like a tourist. Go to "Greyhound" to arrange some bus trips and book into some hotels and the like around the country. What a job putting together tours so most of mine want to come along. But after many headaches, the bus plan is going to look sensible eventually.

Now there is no need to continue the lease on the house on Lilly Street anymore. Now I would rather spend the remaining money on seeing as much of the country as possible before I return home to Denmark. So I wanted to see if I could find a cheap hotel with storage space for my suitcases. The box with tools and mir contents, I quickly get packed and sent to a shipping company that can arrange the transport to Denmark.

I was incredibly lucky to get all my security deposit on the rented house back because I happened to be chatting with a guy at the Public Bar who was missing a place to stay here in the neighborhood. So it was only to contact the landlord and change the lease. Sometimes you are allowed to be more than lucky.

And I could be luckier? Jooo, Vibeke and Peter who lived in Holland Park, immediately offered that I could borrow a room from them until I had to return to Denmark. No doubt I owe them a lot of thanks for not having to stay in hostels or the like during the time I traveled around to "discover" the country before leaving for Denmark.

And then it would probably be wise to have bought a ticket to Denmark so that it is in place, so I also avoid spending that money before. Then down to "Thai International" to buy. KEEP UP – what high prices !! It was not exactly what I had expected, for the most direct journey without stopping along the way, ran up to almost 2,200 Australian dollars, which is about 10,000 Dk.Kronor. It was something of a wet cloth in my head and I could see that my stay was about to expire, very soon.

But the boy behind the counter turned out to be Danish and he gave me very good advice. Just 100 meters away was a small discount travel agency that sells exactly the same ticket, with only a bit of uncertainty about the day of departure and time fit. I thanked him and went and bought a ticket to Denmark, with floating departure date for only $ 1100 equivalent to approx. 5000 Danish kroner. And even better – there was also a week's stay in Bangkok included in the price. So now I was at the top again.

July 1, 1987.

With these things in place, I whizzed down to the Greyhound bus office and found my bus, which departs at 1615 north. It gets dark quickly here, reasonably close to the equator, where the sun goes out at 6pm, in a relatively short time, so it's dark until the morning around 6am.

Well, but Brisbane is a mammoth city and it takes almost an hour just to get out of the city. Well out that the city before dark falls on and it goes briskly away with up to 120 km / h, which seems pretty fast when you sit on the 1st floor of the bus where it sways a lot. The bus' video system shows "Champ", but after half an hour yesterday there is a band salad in the machine. So it will be a bit of a half-sleep in the night before we arrive in the town of Mackay, with the sunrise in the east. Where else should the sunrise be? Has gradually accustomed me to the inverted world, here south of the equator, where as a "resident" from north of the equator, you have a feeling that the sun is rising in the West instead. Hard to turn to the inverted world.

With the sun ahead is also the sight of a very different landscape than the one I had in and around Brisbane. This is similar to the Australia from all the travel brochures and the many books about the country I have read. Bushland and endless sugar cane fields, well mixed with forest and livestock in the gigantic sizes we do not see in Denmark. There are no urban waterworks as we know them in Denmark. But the rainwater is collected from the roofs, which from there run out into large tanks for later use. There are also wind power water pumps in the well boreholes.

Breakfast is served in the town of Proserpine. Most people eat breakfast at a restaurant, but my curiosity takes me around town just to see a bit of it all, so I buy myself a bunch of bananas (No jokes, thank you) and a yogurt from the local food king on site. Nice city here.

Well filled with bananas, the trip goes further north before we leave the bus for a little rest. A little look around the holiday paradise "Arlie Beach", which is a small sanctuary by the sea, overlooking a few small islands at the "Great Barrier Reef". Walk around a bit and enjoy the place and have a quick chat with a young girl who lives on the spot until the bus continues north, now that we just need only a good 3 hours drive before we reach Townsville. The tour goes through a landscape that is the first taste of Australia's outback. The trees are lower and there has been longer between the grazing animals. And those who are here are trying to find some shade under some half-withered small trees.

The cities here have also changed in appearance and are not like the big cities, with stress and densely built houses. Here there is a long way between the houses and the streets are wide boulevards.

The Greyhound bus terminal in Townsville, we reach after 21 hours of travel. from there a taxi to my hotel and a much needed shower before setting out to explore the city. It is very hot now, with more than 30 degrees in the shade. Well it's winter here. But we are also in the tropical area, where all the activities are turned down to low flame, so it is certainly not as stressful as in Brisbane City.

From my hotel, there are good views of "Magnetic Island", located a few miles out in the Pacific Ocean. It looks like there is a fire out there because there is a big smoke development on the island and it is also being mentioned on TV. Well, but my time is not to look at fire, so I go into town and find a ticket agency that sells travel to "Magnetic Island". Yeah, why not? So I've been there too!

It only takes 20 minutes to sail out there in the catamaran boat that shoots a good speed. On the trip, there are also people from the "State Emergency Service" on their way out to the island to fight the fire. I'm just on the island for a few hours and manage to catch the boat back to Townsville before nightfall. I can see nothing of the fire. I have nothing to do there either, I'm not a firefighter. And I think they would rather have peace for me and even fight the fire!

Well, I have my own little firefighting as the cafeteria lady quickly gets my Gigantoast turned into a lump of coal. But it now tasted very good anyway. After the meal, I walked around for a few hours and saw many things and got to take some pictures, without really noticing what I saw, it was just an ordinary cozy journey without goals. So back to the boat and return to Townsville, where I sit down to explore the nightlife because there seems to be something to celebrate. Thinking of honoring an inn with my visit, but wisely enough, I decided to be hungry instead of thirsty. Another wise decision.

Well, I bump right into a sausage cart that unmistakably looks like one of Steff-Houlbergs from Copenhagen. And 4 hot dogs with it all, with a taste for 5 Michelin stars. All in all, a really enjoyable evening, which could have been much longer. But I have to get up early for the bus already runs at 0530. So I go to bed fairly early and find a nice little bouquet of dried flowers on my pillow. Nice!

It's very hot here so the air conditioning is running all the time so I do not have time to completely melt away. Can see from the balcony door that the fire on "Magnetic Island" has gotten bigger and I hear on the radio that it is now a veritable forest and bush fire or "Bush-fire" as they say here, where it all burns because of it drought, which can also develop on an island. But I think the good firefighters got it under control in open at night, for "Magnetic Island" is also there in the morning when I must continue my journey.

The town of Townsville is a very nice place to visit. No high-rise buildings, but new and old houses go well together up here. The city is no bigger than you can see most of it in a short time. City life is concentrated around the pedestrian zone and the Mall (shopping center) and a great mix of shops and entertainment, just as there are many bars throughout the city, so the risk of thirst is not imminent here. Within walking distance of the city looks like the desert and you will see advertisements and the modern city with the harbor, so all wishes are fulfilled here.

After a good night's sleep, I drive the Greyhound west through central and northern Queensland along the 'Flinders Highway' through cities like the 'Charter Tower', 'Pentland' and 'Prairie' with small stops along the way, long enough for me to see fast on life here. The first "authorized" food stop is found in "Hughhenden", which is a large city with boulevards and wooden sidewalks and what belongs to it. Unfortunately, I have to leave town again, even though I discover there is a rodeo tomorrow. But it's not really something to do, as my bus ticket can not be changed without the rest of the trip having to be canceled and my cartoon boy is not up to it.

As fast as it goes at high speed to keep the schedule very tight. So it's with the accelerator down all the way and yet we are constantly delayed. Had hoped for a little more time so the small towns could be explored just a little bit. But off it goes and we move quickly through the bush, which is at once both very dry and very lush. There are many Mulga trees at 2-3 meters in height that fill up along with a bunch of shrubs that receive water from the groundwater in the inland land area.

The driver must be constantly awake. He warns in the loudspeaker that we must be aware that about 25 wild horses choose to cross the road at full speed and elsewhere 3 bulls have decided that the grass is greener on the other side of the road, just as we must be vigilant opposite Dingoes (wild dogs) sitting by the road waiting for the Bus to fix dinner for them. Ding Orna often seemed to be just as curious about the other side of the road and driving right out in front of the bus. Unbelievably, it does not go wrong for the Dingo several times, but luck is with them. But in return, there were 2 times where a kangaroo decided to end his life out in front of the bus. Quickly out in front of the bus because they seem to think it's safer on the other side of the road.

Everywhere there are large termite nests. These several meter high brown columns are found thousands of throughout the catchment area and You get the idea that the whole country is a giant termite nest. There are no 2 alike and the most incredible shapes can be found and one is bigger than the other. You hardly dare think about how many termites live in this area.

By evening we drive into Mt. Isa, who I will return to at a later date, to be here for a few days. But otherwise it's Friday here and there seems to be good life in the city. My neighbor on the bus seat, Frank, has to get off here. He is "Stockman" as a Cowboy is mentioned here. Frank tells me that every Friday, hundreds of pig breeders come to Mt. Isa to spend the entire entire weekly wage at the pub. A shame that I have to continue, because I hear it can go quite wild here, when the many "White Fellows" and "Black Fellows" meet, often with some giant fights to follow later in the night. The whole scene here is like taken from an old movie from John Wayne's Wild West.

Well, but I had no plans to fight today, so I find a restaurant where I order a large steak with beans. Dinner is rinsed down with a few equally giant glasses of beer. Seems like everything is bigger here except the prices. This restaurant has 2 "departments", like most pubs in the country, one for "normal" people eating and one for workers. And with my cowboy outfit, I fit in nicely with the department with "workers price", where the prices are about a third of the price in the finer department. So it's just something that fits my money supply, so I only have to spend as little as possible, so I can stay in the country as long as possible before I return home to Denmark.

But time passes and it is suddenly the day of departure. The bus rumbles away again and the first stop is "Barkly Homestead," around midnight and meal time again. No, not me! I am now well stocked and have been eating almost all the time here the last day. So I wander around a bit and look at the night and enjoy they have many sounds from the animals and others living in the dark. Very relaxing.

Furthermore, the trip goes to "Three Ways", where "Barkley Highway" meets "Stuart Highway". Here the Townsville bus meets the buses from Darwin and Adelaide. Everyone drives around and finds a new bus and a new seat. I also find a new seat on the bus to Darwin. Or rather Katherine, who is my next target. I'm in the Northern Territory now, heading north. Here are the rules different from the rules in Queesland, including the smoking ban being lifted on the bus and everyone, just except me, finds the tobacco. Puha, I usually do not mind other people smoking, but since about 30 at a time fuel the tobacco in a bus, it becomes a little uncomfortable to say the least to sit trapped in the middle. So I try to sleep in a cheese bell filled with smoke, not quite easy.

The Northern Territory is different from the other states in the country. Here you do not have to find a "Bottle Shop" to buy drinks that are stronger than milk. Beer, wine and spirits can be bought in almost any store. But it probably has something to do with the greater distances between the civilizations in the arid desert. Or maybe you just have a bigger thirst here in the state. Here you can buy an NT beer in two-and-a-quarter liter bottles, so it will be possible to quench the thirst for everyone here in the state. Think, I think it sounds completely human to live here.

The open country means that the bus often stops for cattle, horses and other animals that suddenly run out in front of the wagon. This is the land of absolute animals, where the "Stuart Highway", also called "National Highway 87", cuts through the country with its 2129 kilometers, of which 1202 km is located in the "Northern Territory". Look, it's a road that wants something!

We regularly meet "Road Trains", as these large massive lorries are called. It is a front trailer with 3-4 large trailers behind and they definitely do not drive in slow motion, but rumble briskly away with over 100 km / h through the landscape and build a true wall of dust for other road users, including the buses that often have to hold on to the side and wait until the dust wall disappears.

The first long stop is at "Dunmurra Roadhouse", where there is time to get some water in your head and then get your stomach filled for the thick and thin, so you get ready for the further journey to the north, to make a few short trips along the way out in the bush, to pick up a single passenger. "Daly Waters", one of the places and is a small isolated place where the Greyhound bus must be the highlight of the week, all judging by the influx of curious people.

And later we reach "Larrimah Roadhouse", where there are no passengers, but the driver thinks we should all go out and say congratulations to the new owner, who has just received the key today from the old owner who has run the place for 38 year. Very cozy and then there was also a little beer and water for us bus passengers who just got us an extra break with a little cozy chat. We were there for almost an hour, so people flocked from the area so it almost became a party. Jaaa and then it turned into a few extra beers while the Driver drank a bottle of water – but maybe it was vodka? Naaa, certainly not!

Off it went at full speed, to pick up a bit of the long break in Larrimah. Katherine is located just 114 km north of Larrimah. And with a small hour's stop at "Mataranka Homestead" to get a few passengers on and off, I can also manage to look around a bit here. Definitely a place to remember if a trip to Australia is to be planned in the future and the need is there to find a place to relax. Here is the incredible surroundings, with 34 degree hot springs all year round, where you can swim in paradise surroundings. Definitely a place worth visiting if the trip goes through the Northern Territory. Remember to list Mataranka Homestead on your wish list!

Now it's Saturday and midday. Luckily, there have been many stopovers on the way from Townsville, which I left 30 hours ago. It would have been good with some longer stops, but when the money is small, I still have to prioritize the places I want to honor my visit. There are so many exciting and amazing places in Australia that it is almost a pain to have to choose from, or even worse, to choose from.

Right now, there's only half an hour to Katherine, where I have some plans, if things are otherwise within reach. It is not always easy to plan when you are just sitting with a few colorful brochures and otherwise know nothing about the area.

Katherine arrives on schedule and I discover that "Springvale Homestead", where I will be staying, is far away from the city. So instead of "city break", I can look forward to staying at the "Springvale Homestead" near the Katherine River and the silence around there. It should be really good with a nice relaxation after 2284 kilometers by bus, without very many stops along the way.

After one last ride in a taxi, I arrive at "Springvale Homestead" and quickly get to my room and quickly find the shower to wash the long journey out of my body. 30 hours hours in bus put his marks on back, shoulders and ass, no doubt about it!

Fresh again takes me time to wander around and just look at things and get many new impressions. I love walking around and watching birds, lizards and jaaa, everything. If you just open your eyes and look down, an amazing world opens up at your feet. Right now I guess I can just shake my head, by all those closest panicked bones with fitness and snoring moaning to keep alive an idea of ​​living a little longer, but forgetting the snoring can consume the body more than beneficial. However, slow down a bit and take a little rest and enjoy the world right at your feet instead. It will be a gym for the brain.

Here at Springvale find me a new friend. On my walk around, I look into one of the old buildings and here I meet an Aboriginal (originally a resident of Australia). He confirms my view that it is not necessary to run around and sweat. He sits relaxed in the shade and kindly waves to me about coming in to him.

Now I am a well-read size and am very clever (tøhø). Hmm … now do not think too much, but still. I have read and heard that one should not just bully and ask a lot of questions as these people have a slightly different way of being human and therefore can take it as an insult. I have absolutely no idea if it fits, but decide to follow the "label". Then it can not go completely wrong.

I look in to him, say hello and he points to a spot of earth on his left side where I sit in good order. It takes a quarter of an hour before a real talk starts, but it helps a lot when I ask if he wants something to drink. "Fosters," he says immediately and without hesitation. It is one of countless Australian beer brands that has helped start many conversations over the years. And he obviously also knows about this magical effect, he gets to start atv getting sound on now.

His name is Charley Williams and he tells that he is the oldest and therefore "head" of a family of the "Pitjantjantara" genus, which is one of the largest and most widespread in Australia.

We talk for 3-4 hours and many wise things are said that I think are very exciting to hear. It's almost 10 years since Charley Williams took the step in from bus life. He says he is apparently around 60 years old and has just discovered that he could get an Australian pension. All the native Aboriginals can get it for life, as a kind of patch on the wound, because the white Australian has apparently got a bad conscience about taking the land from them. Or rather take them from the earth, as their belief is that the earth owns the people. Maybe it's like that, who knows?

The reason Charley Williams is here today is because he and his family have to show off a "Corroboree" tonight. It is a ritual dance that aboriginals use to satisfy the various gods that can make hunting and life difficult if they are not worshiped. There will also be a show, with show javelin throws, which I'm sure they've tried before. It is absolutely incredible how accurately the spears hit. It does not look like they are aiming at all, but the spears hit the things they need with uncanny certainty, so you can not help but wonder. They are not quite young, the natives here and they also look a bit worn out after the show, which was very fascinating to be allowed to experience.

It was now Sunday and I am as usual out to look around. It turned into a good day for a couple of cows and then also for a gaping water buffalo, I got a picture of. Also see a nice tree that I immediately christen an "Australian belly tree". The stem has a diameter of almost two meters and the branches look like arms sticking out from the top of the stem, so it almost looks like a flower vase.

I also go down to "Low Level Gorge". A place that could have been used as a model for the place we all need to go. A really nice place that is part of the "Katherine River." Like so many other places I have visited in Australia, I sat down and felt my thoughts almost stop while I just floated around and enjoyed life right here and now. How am I really incredibly happy to be able to experience that kind of thing and not just choose to sit at home behind the curtains and watch some series on TV, episode number 1765. These thoughts confirm to me every time that we all should follow the sudden ideas and not just hear about others doing it. Enjoy your life while it is there because tomorrow it can very easily be a day late.

Afterwards, find a quiet place where the sun can bake a bit. Have just noticed that my skin color has almost certainly started to look like a pile of snow. So tonight, in my own stupidity, I probably got so much sun that I look like a strawberry before I go out on a river trip, on a crocodile hunt. With flashlight, of course.

At first I thought the river was called "The Johnston River" because a crocodile was called "The Johnston River Crocodile". Later I learned that it is part of the Katherine River, which is named after the crocodile's Latin name, "Crocodylus johnstoni". It is always nice to know the right context, so you do not go and tell half truths and other nonsense.

Hunger and thirst have arisen, so we will embark to the river bank with the boat we sailed out on the river trip in an hour ago. It is time for the brought stew to be heated over a fire, where we eat it was with "Damper"…. "Damper" is a kind of cake bread and tastes like that too.

"The Crocs" is around us (we are 8 tourists and 2 guides defying the cold night). The river here is only 8-10 m wide and the dillers are out in the middle of the river and on the banks opposite, looking curiously at us while we eat and drink white wine. And as the guide says, "More wine, more Crocs."

Afterwards, there is time to wander around on your own, with a powerful flashlight so as not to be surprised at night. A few feet out in the river, I see some fluorescent glowing spots, which are probably eyes looking at me. I think it is a "Baramundi", which is a big and very tasty fish that can be caught here.

Just to be sure, I ask the guide Allan, who tells me that there is a crocodile who probably thinks I look like a very tasty "thing" that can be caught here if I move a little closer to the water. Naaa, it is probably not that dangerous, as it is usually only freshwater crocodiles that live here and only very few cases have been reported where humans have been attacked. Well, but since I do not know if the crocodiles also read that information, I prefer to walk a little away from the river and go to the others and drink more wine (You know. "More crocs"). Pure relaxation at night, with bats in flocks flying close around us.

There is something different with their fellow species that live closer to the ocean, the saltwater crocodile. They are also called the Delta Crocodile and have the Latin name "Crocodylus porosus" if it means anything special when such a guy has set his jaws fixed part of us. Some of these relics remain up to 7 meters long.

They live close to the sea and live in close tolerance with sharks and rays, where they attack everything that moves and know no fear. An encounter with one of these "remnants" from earlier times, during a swim in the river, is likely to send the unfortunate to reconstruction at one or more hospitals.

After eating, we sail a trip along the Katherine River, to search for more crocodiles. But there is no one inland as it is very cold here at night. So they are sought out in the warm river water and we can only see a few who have their eyes up to look for where we are. After a good hour's trip, we turn our noses home again.

The further sailing go a few kilometers further through the river where we see many animals in the water. And unfortunately it is too dark to take pictures here where the light has been off for a very long time.

On the way home from the anchorage, to my room, I can hear the many Dingos barking and howling, somewhere nearby out at night.

Well out of the clothes and under the blankets, I still hear the sounds out in the night and my curiosity wins again. I crawl back into my clothes and go out into the night after the sounds.

I sit on a fence and listen to life. I hear them before I can see them and suddenly I see the shadows of Dingos closer than I really like. They are not trying to be quiet so I can feel and sense that there are some 15-20 meters away. It's not seeing them properly, just shadows slipping around out there as they slowly circle closer to where I am sitting on the fence

I have read that Dingo is afraid of people and does not attack us. But I sit and get a little in doubt that the Dingos have now also read the same book as me. Because they get closer and clearer, so the imagination starts to run a little fast and I decide that it will probably be a bit wiser to get into the illuminated area again before it might be a bit too late. It may be silly to go out there, but then I would be terribly annoyed when later thinking back to the night when I did not follow my instincts as usual.

After a luxurious sleep, I am out in the sun again to paint my beautiful body. It's a lovely color in a few hours and I need to find the Katherine and Greyhound buses again for the onward journey.

Finally in the bus and we are heading south. Lost some time due to a minor flood, but the lost time is gained when we get to "Three Ways". It may be because there was only one place we had to pick up new passengers. And then everyone was happy again.

First stop is at "Ten Tree" where there is breakfast. The last half hour we have watched an absolutely fantastic sunrise over the bush, where the Mulga trees and Ghost Gums have stood like sharp black silhouettes against the red-orange morning sky.

Too bad it does not include a "luxury stop" in the schedule so we could enjoy the contrasts between darkness and light, which is incredibly sharp here. The air is so clean here that you can not taste or smell anything. The purity of the air cannot be described fairly.

Since all the bellies were full now, the bus runs at full speed for the last 2 hours to Alice Springs in the middle of the country. Here you can really see why it's called "The Red Center" here. The land is very strong rust red, probably due to very high iron content in the soil. You will also be reminded of it every time you cheat your nose so there will be large rusty stains on the cloth. And then of course you can only think a little bit about what the lungs might look like?

Here, 30 miles north of Alice Springs, we pass the "Tropic of Capricorn," the southern tropics. It also happened to me last week when the trip went north to Rockhampton. Lovely summer days in September where it can be quite hot. For this winter, there will be "only" 35-40C during the day outside in the sun and down near freezing at night if the sky is clear. So it's reasonably hot here, where there's no more shade than what Your feet do.

Just before we get to Alice, we have to go in and weigh ourselves. The bus is understood. It is incredible that one can find a reason to be here in the middle of the desert and weigh vehicles before being let into the city. But we must hope that it has a reasonable purpose, such as detecting congested vans and the like.

Alice Spring. A city that I have been expecting a lot from and look forward to the visit. My idea for Alice is based on literature and brochures with pictures of an Outbackby with boulevards and wooden houses. Reach! Second is not to say about it. It was something of an anti-climax and a bucket of cold water in my head, walking around the city.

The places I wandered around the city, there was not so much as just a small house or the like that could overcome disappointment, after the visits to cities like Hugnhenden, Proserpine, Daly Waters and Katherine. There was something of a thin belly to see the dream city in my thoughts, here was filled with supermarkets, houses of the mass production type and the streets were filled with things that can not be dispensed with. But enough about that and back to reality.

I bought a hat, to get some shade from the sun, which is pretty harsh here in the middle of everything. And then I had also bought a couple of teacups for my collection, so I will soon have enough to offer an international tea mik at home in Dannevang someday.

I bought a cup here at the Royal Flying Doctor's base in Alice Springs, where I had to see blah. a small film about the phenomenon. I was shown around and saw the radio room and heard a bit of conversations "in the air" and saw a museum that contained a lot of things that had been used over the years.

Absolutely no doubt that "Royal Flying Doctor" has a huge impact on everyone living in the Australian wilderness. Service and services provided by the Royal Flying Doctor "is a free service for the Bush people. That service was founded in 1926 by a man named Flynn, who was the first to see the potential of such a service.

The first official flight was made on August 2, 1927 from Cloncurry, Queensland. The Alice Springs base was founded in 1939 and now has 139 bases in the Wild Outback, where the radio on the cattle farms and the 102 mobile radio stations cover the entire country and serve about 30,000 people. There are 14 bases and the cost of "RFD" is about §10 million Aus. Dollars a year (1987). At Alice Springs base is attached 1 doctor, along with 5 from elsewhere in the Northern Territory (1987), which covers an area larger than the entire EU.

I will now go Alice thin to find the city I have read about. But everything has changed over the years after the pictures I saw were taken. In fact, a bit naive of me to think that everything was in the old style for me. But it is certainly more romantic to see the old cities, rather than to see the architects of today destroy it all.

My feet led me up mountains or hills, if you will, across the city. This has been a desire for me to see the city from these things. But there is incredible filth here and I think it must really be one of the most polluting and dangerous animals found on Mother Earth. Namely man!

It is amazing, with the indifference that nature is treated here. Everywhere were smashed bottles, paper, old prams and and and ….. There was no end to the clutter we offer the wilderness here. It is simply incredible, but we humans obviously do not care about the consequences of our overconsumption.

What happens next? I would prefer to drown mourners at a bar. Ok .. It was now limited where much I could drink here because the prices bore clear traces of tourism. And then there were several "fates" who had looked deep into the bottle almost everywhere. So I settle for a few beers at the hotel bar before nightfall.

There must be something good? Jojo, I had a good chat with Mandy at the hotel where I stayed. Sweet Mandy works as a barmaid behind the bar, where several cold "pot" beers nicely cooled my throat.

Mandy is very happy and tells that the city she comes from is Melbourne in the state of Victoria. Good, because I also wanted to come to Melbourne, so I're listening to what she's saying. You never know.

I have found a diary in which the history of Alice Springs was mentioned. It was March 11, 1871, when a telecommunications line worker discovered a small spring at the dried-up Todd River, about 3 miles north of town.

He named the source after his wife Alice to Charles Todd, who was overseer of the "Telegraph" line to South Australia. He chose a flat grass area to build the Telegraph Station on the south-north stretch and then Alice Springs had been founded.

Now, unfortunately, there was school holidays in "School of the Air" while I'm here. Otherwise it would have been fun to experience the teaching here, where some of the students sit more than 600 kilometers away from the teacher.

Continues in ENGLISH 6.