After a driving day yesterday, today was spent in Alice.
After some birthday shopping research, we met up with Peter & Sue, and David & Kerryn and wandered off to view the Royal Flying Doctor Service [RFDS] Museum. We saw a film of its history in their small theatre and then wandered around their display area of historical equipment & records. They provide a great service to all, especially the outback areas of Australia. The RFDS currently operates a fleet of 62 planes and funding from donations & fundraisers is a key to keep these planes in the air and provide the essential services.
From there we wandered back to our vehicles and headed to the Botanic Gardens for lunch - sandwiches for all. A quick wander around to view the plants then onto to the Transport Museum - 2 sections covering Rail [Ghan] and Trucks. This area is staffed by volunteers from all over Australia.
We all visited the Rail Museum, which had informative displays from the early to late 1900s. The initial alternatives prior to rail were Camels and their "Afghan" handlers. The pictorial display for this indicated that the Afghan handlers were not from Afghanistan, but from Pakistan and a number of surrounding provinces/countries.
An informative video covered the history of the Ghan railway up to its suspension in the late 1980s . We were able to wander through a couple of dining car carriages of different vintages. The older one had coke fired Arger stoves in the kitchen area.
Peter & David opted to pay the entry fee to visit the Truck Museum, which they were a little disappointed in.
We all met for a parting dinner at an excellent Thai/Indian restaurant in the Hilton complex.
In the morning, David & Kerryn returning to Melbourne, while John, Lan Lan, Peter & Sue are heading north on the tar before diverting westward to Broome. They are planning to met up with Tony & Jennifer [we will be travelling home with them] tomorrow night at the caravan park, some 400klm above Alice Springs.
We didn't take any photos today since meeting up with our friends was unexpected at that time (we thought we would meet up after lunch) and both cameras were back at the motel.
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