Never a Dull Moment in Alice Springs
Since we arrived in Alice Springs on Tuesday we have:
- experienced communications disruption, when the fibre optic cable to Darwin was dug up south of Mataranka
- seen the transit of Venus, though transmission of the event to the rest of the world was disrupted by the communications breakdown and computer problems at the local high school
- discovered that last night's Ghan train has been halted in Alice Springs (apparently till Sunday) because a freight train derailed near Tennant Creek
And all this against the background of the Finke Desert Race this weekend.
All Alice Springs caravan parks are full to overflowing because of the Finke Desert Race.
Those who know Alice Springs will remember the (Heavitree) Gap. As you drive into town from the south you pass through the Gap between the West and East MacDonnell Ranges. The Heavitree Gap caravan park doesn't take bookings and had a few free sites when we arrived. As the name suggests this park is right next to the Gap.
Who named Heavitree Gap? I have come up with at least two possible answers:
- the Gap was named for the school that William Mills (the Overland Telegraph line surveyor) attended in Devon
- the Gap was named after Sir Charles Heavitree Todd and chosen in 1871 by John Ross for the route of the Overland Telegraph line
Take your pick, or invent an alternative explanation.