Central Australia- Not Exactly What I Imagined

When I first heard of the outback of Central Australia, I pictured a few things. First I pictured a giant red rock. Second, I pictured of hostel, a tiny little hotel with dirt all around it in the middle of nowhere. Finally, I pictured a tiny little grocery store, a gas station, and maybe a medical place all right near each other. However, by actually visiting the outback I learned that it is so much more. First, Alice Springs. When I thought of Alice Springs I thought it was our hotel, a tiny store and nothing else, but boy was I wrong. When we first got to Alice Springs we stopped at the ANZAC War Memorial, which I did not expect to see there. Also, from there I was able to see that Alice Springs was much more than just a hotel. Actually, there was more than one hotel, a hospital, a little mall, and even a McDonalds. We were able to shop for our own food which I was not expecting, and we were able to roam about the town a little bit. However, we stayed mostly in the mall area which consisted of a couple places to eat, a few bars, a grocery store, a video store, and even target. Another thing I learned was that Central Australia had more to offer than just a giant red rock. I had no idea that it contained Kata Tjuta was out there or King's Canyon. Furthermore, I was baffled when our tour guide Scott told us we would be able to go swimming. Who knew that there would be water holes in the middle of the desert? I guess the point to this blog is to let everyone know that Central Australia has way more to offer than just a big red rock. When people are coming to Australia, I think that they should make it a point to visit Central Australia and find out for themselves all that it has to offer.