We went to the School of the Air. Children in stations in the outback receive their education from here. It started in 1951 with teachers in the studio communicating by radio to the children. The kids got their lessons by mail and mailed them back when they were done. The teachers are still in the studio, but now the kids sit at their computers and other children are also online. They can see and hear each other and its more like a regular classroom.
Children start classes when they're four and a half and continue until they're 11 or12. Then they go to boarding school or trade school. It's not hard and fast, some children can stay until they're 15. They have to come in to the school 3 times a year for socialization and testing. And they have to have a tutor at home to oversee their work. It's usually the mom or dad, but some parents hire tutors.
There are 139 students spread out over the entire center of Australia and there are 2 students in Papua New Guinea. The Aborigines have their own schools in their settlements. But one community uses the Air School to improve their English. The other states have their own programs, but this was the first
Then we went to learn about the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). It started in 1928 as a way to get medical services to remote areas. It still does that today, but so much more. The RFDS has centers across Australia and will fly anywhere. If someone is injured in the outback, they can reach them and fly them to the nearest hospital. If someone in a city needs special treatment in another place, they will fly them there. They also have clinics in remote places and provide first aid kits to stations and help by radio, phone or Internet. And it's a free service for all Australians.
Then we called and arranged for a sunset camel ride. The camels came to Australia in the 1800's as a way to get supplies and people across the outback. Some of them escaped into the desert and their progeny are still there. Some places offer camel rides and safaris and some places, like Alice, race them.
Samson & I were on one camel. We sat in the saddle, leaned back and the camel stood up, hind legs first. We were on Anna and were tethered to the camels in front and behind. The young man behind us was from Mexico City, studying in Melbourne, in Alice for a long weekend. Marcus was our guide and he talked less than any Aussie we've run across. We walked out into the scrub, Marcus took our pictures and led us back in. One hour was plenty of time for riding a
camel. Not comfortable.
When Marcus took us back to the campground, we asked if he could recommend any restaurants in town and he said, "not really". Then we asked how a certain Italian restaurant was and he said, "Average". Then we asked about pizza and he had a favorite one that he went on about. So we went there, ordered the pizza and had a drink while we waited and took it back to the camper so we could plan our next moves.
Pictures - Map of the extent of the School of the Air, Teacher in the studio, Royal Flying Doctors Service, Camel ride, Camel Ride
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