The Greatest Journey -- Just Deserts

For our final day in Alice Springs, Isabella and I decided to visit an attraction that Bill Bryson had himself visited when he was in Alice Springs --- the Desert Park. While it may seem a little counterintuitive to recreate a desert in a desert, it's actually very informative. The park recreates 3 forms of desert, each defined by the amount of rainfall it reserves, and uses native flora and fauna, particularly birds. As a parks interpreter, as she calls it, I thought Isabella would find this particularly interesting and I think we both had a great time.

One of the features of the park is its interpretive talks. At certain times of the day various staff members give talks on, for example, how aboriginal people survived in days gone by, birds of prey, various desert reptiles and the desert's nocturnal animals. A short time after we arrived, there was a talk on aboriginal bush food ("tucker" in Aussie). Many plants were edible as were Widgetty grubs. The talk was very informative and gave everyone a better insight into how aboriginal people used to live. The staff member brought out all sorts of edible plans, decorative ochre and everyday tools for people to see. She also explained how aboriginal people found water and the complex nature of aboriginal society. I noted how aboriginals in Australia and Canada had devised very similar solutions to their problems. Isabella, having some knowledge of Canadian aboriginal culture, already knew what some of the herbs were used for even before the interpreter had finished explaining.

From there we wandered around the park. The Desert Park is rather large and getting around in the sun wasn't very easy. We walked around the various sections, seeing what salt and clay pans are like and the various birds that inhabit the ecosystems. There were even some enclosed sanctuaries with some very colourful birds.

At on point we went into the nocturnal animal enclosure and were the only ones there for the scheduled talk. This was in stark contrast to the aboriginal bush tucker talk that had been attended by 20-30 people. Anyway, the staff member took as around the displays and showed us the desert's various nocturnal inhabitants. There were trap door spiders, scorpions that glowed under UV light and the elusive bilby. There were also nocturnal birds like the Tawny Frogmouth. There were even some Thorny Devils and large snakes in glass enclosures.

From the nocturnal enclosures, Australia wandered around some more. We eventually made our way to the star attraction of the Desert Park --- the bird of prey show. This particular show involves various trained birds of prey showing off their various flying and hunting skills. There used to be a Wedge-tailed Eagle but he kept getting in fights with the wild ones that lived in the surrounding hills so they had to abandon that one. Still, the show went on with an owl, a kite and a hawk. The staff member, who had a very thick New Zealand accent, did a wonderful job of explaining how each bird flies and hunts. For example, the owl has a silent flight so it can swoop on its prey unsuspectingly. The kite, I believe, can move things from its talons to its mouth in flight. I managed to snap some pictures of the hawk just as it scooped up its food. For his first time, the staff member did very well.

Although it doesn't sound like we did a lot, the Desert Park took up the entire day. Isabella and I drove home excited because the next day we were hitting the road again, and very early at that. We had too because we had a lot of ground to cover, including a trip to Australia's most beloved boulder.