Yesterday we got up early again and headed to Simpson’s Gap, another popular hiking site near Alice Springs. We took the short walk to the Gap itself–we weren’t the first ones there, but we did beat the tour buses!

We then took the Cassia Hill Walk up to a lookout. More beautiful views!

They have a guide to various plants and trees along the walk, and it noted that this one is used to “smoke the baby,” a ceremony in which smoke is used to heal sick infants. Hannah, maybe you can get that started at Riley!

After our hike, we visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service museum in Alice Springs. The RFDS is a charitable organization (partially government funded) that is the main source of medical care (both emergency and non-emergency, and including dental care and mental health services) for much of the vast interior of the country. Eighty seven percent of Australia’s 28 million people live on the coasts, and the rest are spread out over the center, which is about the size of the continental United States. The RFDS have 87 aircraft that are kept at 23 different bases and land on dirt landing strips or even roads if necessary. While they are called a doctor service, most of their services are handled by nurses. It is an amazing organization that provides critical services to people who would otherwise go without medical care.

The middle picture below is a foot-pedal powered radio that was used to communicate with outposts that didn’t have electricity. The RFDS began back in the 1930s!

After nerding out at the museum, which includes a hologram movie and a virtual reality flight from a pilot’s perspective and a nurse’s perspective–the patient’s heart had to be shocked 54 times during the flight!–we headed back to the hotel. It was the perfect afternoon for a float in the pool, and we were able to get some laundry done as well. We ended the day with a great dinner at the Thai/Indian restaurant in our hotel.