M-whY

There was no need to panic. I knew Steve wasn't leaving town til tomorrow. Furthermore, we were staying at the same hostel. The bus was parked in the parking lot. I left a note on the windshield, informing him my boots were still on board, and asking him not to leave til I found him. I signed it with my name and room number. With that, I set off to look around Alice Springs.

The town wasn't very large. I ran into several people from the tour while exploring. There also wasn't very much to do. I made a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service museum. Since populations in the Outback are so isolated, Australia had established a medical service where doctors would fly to remote regions whenever they were needed. The museum and tour that came with the admission price were pretty boring. Entertainment wasn't the top priority of the working site anyways. Providing medical service was.

I followed that with a walk down Todd Mall. Up until now, I had seen very few native aborigines, only the odd street performer playing a didgeridoo in big cities. Alice Springs had a large population of them. I could see why there was a problem with racism and prejudice against them. It was a sight that took a little time to get used to. Poorly groomed and wearing dirty clothes, they seemed to have nothing to do. Men, women, and children would sit around in town parks and loiter in front of shopping plazas. They generally left the tourists alone, but with rumors of their violent behavior, you couldn't help but be wary when passing them. It's never right to rush to judgement, but it was difficult to maintain a neutral view of them.

I would have three more days to see the rest of town, so I decided to call it a day and give myself some rest. Before returning to my hostel, I stopped at the supermarket to buy some dinner.

I've joked with a couple friends back home about eating kangaroo meat. "Yeah, I had kangaroo sausages last night," I'd tell them. "Ewww," was the universal response. Dining on kangaroo steaks back in Adelaide was an interesting treat, but it didn't quite seem as nasty as 'roo sausages. Of course, I never expected to find any, so imagine my surprise when I saw these for sale.

Back at the hostel, Steve must've found my note and left the doors to the bus unlocked. I retrieved my boots and returned to my dorm room. Eric, a Canadian guy who had travelled with us on the Groovy Grape tour, had also gotten back from his day out in town.

"Some people are meeting up at Melanka's (a bar/hostel) in a bit. Wanna go?"

"Sure, why not."

My kanga bangas could wait.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!