A town like Alice

I have been slack the last couple of days here in Alice Springs with respect to all things other than enjoying myself.

Yesterday I explored some of the gorges in the West McDonnell Ranges while today I headed east to the equally spectacular East MacDonnell Ranges. Saw some aboriginal Rock Art, some great flora and fauna (notably a flock of about 30 red-tailed black cockatoos) and spent time in the Alice Springs Botanical gardens. I ended up today being locked inside the Alice Springs Sewage Farm after going there (with authorization) to look at the reasonably good populations of water-birds there. A couple of council workers helped us escape over a fence!

Alice Springs is great country for a holiday and I will come back with more time. Tomorrow the Econometric Society meetings begin and it will harder to enjoy myself.

The aboriginal issue here in Alice Springs is stark. Many non-socially functional aborigines and a white population that are generally anti-backfella. It’s a major problem and I’ll post on it once my entirely casual observations after talking to locals have gelled.