14th & 15th February 2010
After our 5 days in the outback we spent the whole of Sunday just chilling, catching up on some sleep, getting clean and getting our clothes clean, venturing out just for food.
Monday was our last day in Alice Springs and the morning was spent checking emails and booking accommodation, travel and tours for the next stage of our trip. We were leaving for Darwin that evening and would need a hotel for Tuesday night.
Feeling a little bit more sorted in terms of where we were heading, we paid one last visit to a much quieter Bojangles for a spot of lunch. After lunch we went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base to learn more about this vital service.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia was the first and largest air based hospital service in the world. They cover the whole of Australia, except for an area around Darwin, from around 23 bases across the country. They not only provide emergency services for remote communities, but also regular clinics as well as transfers for patients between rural and city hospitals. The service is a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations and although it does get 40% of its operating costs covered by the government, its captial costs such as the planes have to be bought through money raised by fund raising. The planes cost a cool 6 million dollars each and have to be replaced every ten years. It was really interesting to hear the stories of people who rely on the RFDS and to see the exhibits in the museum such as the medical chest containing diagrams of the body with numbers on so they can tell the doctor over the radio where it hurts and also numbered drugs so the doctor can tell people easily which drug to take. One of the funny stories was the man who spoke to the doctor about his wife’s illness and was told to get her to take a number 9 tablet, when he got back on the radio to the doctor he said ‘I didn’t have a number 9 so I gave her a 4 and a 5 and she seems fine!’
By now it was time to head back to the hotel and collect our stuff to go to the station to catch the Ghan. We were both really excited about travelling in a sleeper rather than just the seats we used the last time. When we boarded the train we weren’t disappointed, a lovely if small and compact private cabin with two large seats which transformed into a lower bunk and an upper bunk that could be slid down. Our own sink and storage space and free toilet bag and toiletries. This was going to make the journey even more enjoyable.
We ate the chicken salad we’d brought with us and enjoyed a glass of sparkling red as the semi red desert of central Australia slid past and we started to journey north.
