Desert Wildlife Park

With the Australian summer school holidays recently commenced, I've volunteered to look after grandson Tory while mum, Meredith goes to work. It's a job I love, but I must admit it wears me out finding things for us to do. He has boundless energy ... unlike me. I just make it to the end of the day when Meredith picks him up and I'm glad to have a few hours alone or with wife, Christina.

Yesterday we went to the Alice Springs Desert Park. It's a major tourist attraction and is only a kilometre or so from our front door. We set out early to avoid walking in the midday heat and spent most of our time at the Cinema where there is movie depicting the creation of the universe, Central Australia and the MacDonnell Ranges.

We also visited a couple of bird enclosures, rubbed cheeks with an emu or two and spent 45 minutes looking at bilbies, desert rats, owls and a variety of other creatures that are nocturnal. Unfortunately, in the dark it's not always possible to see some of those with camouflage.

Walking around the park is deligthful although warm at this time of year. Tory took one of the audio-guides and I asked him to tell me what each was about after he'd listened to it.

Today we are preparing for our family dinner this Christmas Eve. There's much to do yet, so I have to go.

If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Robin

Anyone Understand Arabic or Arenglish?

Remember the days a decade or two ago when you'd buy an electronic apparatus like a video recorder and the manual with it was written in Chinglish? No matter how hard you tried, you'd be in tears from laughter although frustrated as hell because you couldn't get the %*@#ing thing to work?

Remember those days?

Well, here's a sign I photographed at the Al Ain Motor Vehicle Registration building when I went to transfer my vehicle registration a short while before we departed. I sure as hell couldn't read the Arabic and after I had read the Arenglish three times, I had absolutely no idea what it meant.

The astonishing thing is that SOMEONE had written it and apparently understood what it meant. Ain't that scary?

I guess when you sell fuel for a pittance you can't expect to have signage that reflects accurate grammar, syntax and spelling too. Now I wonder how good the Arabic actually is?

Robin

PS: Double click to enlarge the sign

Surfing the Todd River!

I never thought I'd see someone surfin' the Todd, home of the Henley-On-Todd Regatta and as dry as firewood for most days of most years. But yesterday when I went to take a look, there he was ... the "Todd River Surfer" doing his thing.

We've had some lovely rainfall during the past week which has brought the temperatures down and is greening The Alice.

Take a look at the photos here and you'll get a sense of the excitement that follows a few billion litres of rain.

Some enterprising people even set up a small tent to sit and watch their kids and enjoy the moment.

There are three causeways and a couple of high level bridges at Alice Springs. So, when the Todd flows, the causeways are blocked off and we can get from side to side using the high level bridges.

It's not often that the high level bridges are flooded, but it has happened on one or two occasions. When that happens, part of the business centre go under too.

Our friends at Al Ain will be envious of our rain fall since Al Ain is even drier than Central Australia.

Robin

PS: Look at the lovely old ghost gum at the right hand side of the last photo. It's probably several hundred years old.