Alice in a nutshell and we're off

Took the opportunity and woke early for a run this past Thursday. As I ran out the door and around the corner the sun was just rising over one of the ridges which enclose Alice Springs and the sky was a bright crimson red - absolutely stunning! I managed to put in 53 minutes - which is good for me - I've been struggling to get in over 30-40 minutes as the legs aren't there yet. Should hopefully break the hour in the next few weeks if I can fit it in to the travel. My last day of work went off without a hitch and everyone was overly kind in wishing me well on our travels. Cole had a great surprise in the mail, with an envelope full of cards from his former class at the Narrandera East Infants - he was overjoyed and Jen and I both moved by the gesture. He'll have his work cut out responding - but will get something together. I caught up with Jen and the kids at lunch the same day at one of the local aboriginal art stores. We'd been to 'Des-art' the night before - an evening at a local Desert Park with artists/craftspeople from the surrounding areas, and left fairly unimpressed. It was almost as if you are aboriginal and wish to throw some dots on paper you are entitled to sell your work at these pseudo art shows. Some was of decent quality while most was your average 'dot work'. I am admittedly almost dotted out, although do appreciate the dream-time stories surrounding the works. At the art store we purchased a piece which was a bit more free-form - a series of large coloured circles representing waterholes.  We're looking forward to eventually putting it on the wall to enjoy.

We've had a great time in Alice as there was plenty to keep Jen and the kids occupied and it was quite the experience working in a small aboriginal community. It's an odd place in many ways with a very high incidence of violence (about 1 in 20 have been assaulted), yet a sort of beatnik, hippie feel especially from the artsy Caucasian crowd. There's sort of a peaceful-coating over an underpinning of debauchery much like the feeling one has wandering through a developing country, one eye forward, the other behind your back, treading carefully and avoiding trouble. The poverty is simply awe-provoking especially in that it seems rampant in the midst of a developed country - a tragedy really. Despite the destitution though, the patients I met and cared for were generally content and the kids incredibly accommodating and friendly. I was pleasantly surprised and never felt ill-at-ease within the community. We're off to Coober Pedy now for a night on Good Friday, then down to Quorn to collect the caravan and make our way to Port Lincoln.