M-whY

But by lunchtime, I became bored, and started looking for something to do. I was staying at the cheapest hostel in Alice Springs, but that also meant being located all the way at the edge of town. It took about 20 minutes to reach anything of interest. With my laptop on my back, I headed to an internet cafe to upload my work from the morning. I stayed only long enough update my site and check my email. I used to be able to spend hours in front of my computer doing pretty much nothing. But now, after maybe spending a few minutes reading news headlines, I had no desire to stay online. Probably a good thing. Wasting all time in an internet cafe isn't the best way to spend a vacation.

Since I was already in town, I figured I might as well see something. Alice Springs is surrounded by the MacDonnell mountain ranges, which had some really good hiking trails. However, they required a vehicle to get to, and it was too late to catch any of the shuttle buses. Instead, I took a walk down to the historic telegraph station.

The Riverside Walk was about 4km long. So much for a day of relaxation. The trail followed the usually dry Todd River. Like Lake Eyre, it only filled up once every 20 or so years. As a result, there was no need to build a bridge. They just built a road right through it. Whenever the river filled, they'd simply close the road for a few days until the water subsided.

The scenery wasn't exceptionally impressive, but I did see a snake, which was kind of cool. Most people must've considered it too warm a day for any hiking, as I encountered very few people along the way. It was nice to be alone. It gave my some time to zone out and 'reflect on life,' as Steve would put it. And no, I didn't have any breakthroughs (or breakdowns).

Alice Springs was founded as a telegraph station, and I reached this landmark after about an hour. From there, it was a short walk to the original Alice Spring. When the area was first surveyed back in the 1870s, explorers came across what they believed to be spring fed water holes. The water supply was named after Alice Todd, wife of the Superintendent of the Telegraph. The explorers were mistaken, though, in the source of the water. There was no underground spring. Heavy rains had fallen in the weeks before they arrived, causing Todd River to overflow into the water hole. The spring is usually as dry as an under 21 nightclub.

I was joined by Abby on my way back to town. A young English girl taking some time off before attending university, she had come to Australia to do some volunteer conservation work. We began with the usual 'Where are you from?' 'Where have you been?' talk.

"So have you seen any wild kangaroos?" she asked. Abby had been in Australia for several weeks already, but had spent most of her time in the cities.

"Yeah, I've seen plenty of them."

"Oh good, my friends back home told me to send pictures back of kangaroos, but so far I've only seen dead ones on the side of the road!"

"Don't worry, you'll see some soon enough. They're like rabbits. They're everywhere. You should try some kangaroo meat too," I added. "Then you can really amaze your friends."

"Well, I want to see a live one before I start eating them!"

Speaking of kangaroo meat, I still had my kanga bangas to cook. We split up at the YHA where she was staying, and I rushed back to my own hostel to make dinner.

Honesty compels me to admit I didn't clear my plate. Halfway through, I grossed myself out thinking about kangaroos being stuffed into sausages. They didn't taste that good anyways.

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