Alice Springs

After D. McDonnell, in 1862, managed to launch the first crossing of Australia from south to north, Alice - Springs gained some importance as a transport hub. But today it is still cozy town with 3500 inhabitants in an almost deserted area. In the years 1870 -1872. here was laid the first telegraph line in the south, and later built a railway to Adelaide. Now the town is, of course, is connected by air lines. Rare population does not seem strange when you consider that for a year here falls less than 300 mm of rainfall, and average annual temperature is 22 ° (28 January, July, 12 °). Artisanal gold mining, which broke out in the past century, has long ceased, but some places still mined opal. My most interesting trip were precisely in the area of ??Australia, and certainly the most exciting was a trip to Ayers Rock - Rock ("Rock"-to - English rock), located 320 km south - west of Alice Springs. Early in the morning three passengers squeezed into a small sports plane, somewhat concerned that the pilot was a woman, and that the motor did not want to wind up. But all was forgotten as soon as beneath us in a monotonous desert steppe began to unfold a remarkable geological panorama of the other: that for many miles stretched continuously steep cuesta of Precambrian sandstones, then eyes the classic paintings anticlinal folds, which are not found in any textbook, then randomly rugged gorges clay plateau ("badlands") suddenly appeared on the horizon extensive depression Amadies with white as snow, salt deposits behind which lie the wooded sparse vegetation red sand dunes, we occasionally flew over the dry Dolynka, groundwater, which was still enough that is grown eucalyptus with white, like ghosts, trunks and other trees.