Days 232-233
Trip Start
Sep 14, 2006
1
165
169
Trip End
??? ??, 2007
Where I stayed
Alice Springs, Australia
Sunday, May 6, 2007
The Ghan and Indian Pacific trains are a little anal when it comes to ticketing. They really don't like you switching seats before the off so I braced myself and thought of England. This guy was appalling. Within five minutes he was already on to his sons and daughters who live in the UK, and the various holiday spots he'd been to in Queensland. "I'm a diabetic" he apologised as he unwrapped toffees as fast as he could chew and swallow them. All the eating did not stop him talking and it was torturous. Hearing others eat grates with me at the best of time but when you've taken a dislike to someone it's even more painful. I could see toffee juice around his teeth as he spoke - yuk. I told him I was getting a drink and went and spoke with the train manager. "You simply have to move me, no question" I found myself pleading. The train manager was young and was nervously going through his spiel on safety. "No worries mate, he whispered, I saw him on the platform - nightmare". Phew that was a close one. I told the fat guy I was going up the front to take a spare double seat. He tried to make me feel bad for deserting him with "well that's your choice"! But I didn't care, I was free of him.
The following 26 hours were fairly routine. PSP, books, newspapers and chatting to Irish couple that turned out to be brother and sister travelling together. You don't see many siblings doing that but these two were great together - like best friends.
So we arrived on Sunday in Alice Springs. Northern Territory's second biggest town is a bit of a backwater. It's a dire place really that has Ayer's Rock to thank for it's fame. I'd heard it was the murder capital of Australia with one poor person being dispatched per week. The streets are a little rough and we're told not to be out after dark!
My hostel was, Annie's Place, and I'd visited it before during a spare few hours on my Northbound journey. I'd followed a recommendation and will be passing the same recommendation on - a nice well run place which lives up to its "Friendly Backpackers" slogan. I checked into my 10 bed dorm and bumped into Edward (Mongolia, China, Darwin and now Alice Springs!) again - very spooky. He'd just come back from his Ayer's Rock tour and gave me the low down as I was leaving for mine in the morning.
I ventured out into Alice Springs and found the Kangaroo Sanctuary that I'd heard good things about. The guy who runs it is a bit left-field but he is doing great work so hat's off to him. Basically when a kangaroo is bouncing along the Stuart Highway and gets hit by the night Greyhound bus from Darwin at 120kph it's understandable to think there's no point in stopping to pick up the pieces. However, a kangaroo's pouch is a very muscular area and there's always a chance the cutest little joey might be inside and well and wondering what all the commotion is. So our friendly kangaroo saviour urges people to stop when they hit or see a dead kangaroo and check the contents of the pouch. Should you find something then that's where the fun starts. You have to make a little surrogate pouch out of a t-shirt and let the little fellow hop in and keep him snug. Kangaroos and humans have the same body temperature so holding him tightly let's him know he's safe and well. So, for five dollars I got to spend 40 minutes or so talking to the guy and coo-ing over the joeys.
