Amazing Alice Springs

By Jenny Brewer

Alice Springs is one of Australia's most well known outback towns. It is almost in the centre of the Territory and lies between the West and East MacDonnell Ranges, and can be reached in a day's drive from Darwin.

Most of the year you can enjoy sunny days, and wide, blue skies. The winter nights get very cold, so don't forget your socks, and in summer the temperatures can soar to over 40 degrees. The best time to travel is spring and autumn, where the temperatures are not as extreme.

There is so much in this diverse town, which is the second largest in the Territory next to Darwin. You will find history in every corner, as the town was forged by brave pioneers and flying doctors who put Alice on the map. Make sure you visit the old telegraph station, which also offers bushwalking and pretty picnic spots. The Royal Flying Doctor service is known and loved by all Australians, and a visit to the original base is worthwhile to see the museum and enjoy the interactive tours.

The Alice Springs Reptile Centre also has to be seen, especially if you have boys with you (of any age!). You will be amazed at the large range of reptiles on show, including the frilly neck lizards, thorny devils, goannas, pythons and venomous snakes.

One of the highlights of your stay at Alice would have to be the 'Spirit of the Night sky', held at the Milky Way Café and Observatory in town. This educational and entertaining presentation, featuring powerful telescopes and displays will give you a greater insight into the heavenly realms.

The MacDonnell Range Holiday Park is recommended if you intend to stay here for a while. Set in an excellent, central location it has excellent amenities and there is plenty of room for the family.

Beyond the ranges surrounding Alice Springs are the Simpson and Tanami deserts. The Simpson is famous for its vast mesmerising dunes that go on forever, and although you can venture close should not be crossed unless you are with an experienced guide. Camel treks and four wheel drive expeditions are possible, although you won't see many other people in this part of the world.

There are plenty of day trips not far from town which are just as fascinating. One popular natural attraction is the Rainbow Valley, located in the James ranges. You can also visit Chambers Pillar on the way which features rock carvings and is steeped in history.

Travel north from town and you will be awestruck by the natural beauty of the bush, with camping, bushwalking, gem fossicking all popular activities. Visit the Gemtree, where you can visit the gem fields on organised tours and actually find something to take home. They also offer a large camping ground if you are not in a hurry to head home. Spend some time out here and enjoy the wonders of the starlit skies. Nothing beats an open campfire in the outback, with a majestic sunrise waiting to greet you at dawn.

Heading south just over 100 kilometres, you will be rewarded by some of the most stunning scenery at Finke Gorge National Park. There are camping facilities at Palm Valley, known for its bountiful cabbage palms, if you prefer to stay longer.

If you can allow an extra few days, make sure you plan to visit the famous MacDonnell Ranges, which surround Alice Springs. The West MacDonnell ranges are easier to reach, with swimming holes and bushwalks winding through the spectacular gorges. Take your time and camp overnight, or leave at dusk and enjoy a picnic at a swimming hole. The East MacDonnell ranges are also incredibly beautiful, featuring the stunning Trephina Gorge.

Alice Springs is surrounded by the most incredible rugged Australian outback in the world. It is the ideal base to visit those hidden natural wonders that beg to be appreciated and enjoyed. Your hire car will give you all the flexibility you need to make the most of your holiday in the territory.

La Marianne -The Symbol of The French Republic

By Lin Davidson

Marianne is the symbolic representation of the motherland spirit; healing, peaceful, nourishing and protecting. She is beautiful by the diversity of the people who devised her and who made her rich and with fine features. She is the daughter or girl of light and is the woman made beautiful. She is sometimes considered like a queen of France. Her creation at first featured some specific Greek/Roman antique drawings such as Athena, Venus or Bellone, and the catholic figure of the Virgin Mary.

The origin of the name seems to be a coming together of Marie and Anne, two Christian names of the 18th century among the catholic population of the royals of France, and carried by several queens, like Marie of Medicis, Anne of Austria, and Marie-Antoinette. The use of the name Marianne as a symbol of the republic has been attributed to the revolutionary song in ‘occitan’, ‘La Garisou de Marianno’ (in French La Guerison de Marianne), the healing of Marianne by Guillaume Lavabre. The name of Marianne was, at the end of the 18th century, very widespread in the working classes and notably carried by girls of the country who served in the bourgeoisies houses. The song recounted the avatars of the new regime, very likely written in October 1792, a dozen days only after the foundation of the republic. It put in motion the first occurrence of the name Marianne which became the symbol of the republic. Marianne is representative of the revenge of the servants towards the nobles, the people at the bottom towards those on top. The writer of the song, Guillaume Lavabre, was a shoemaker from Puylaurens. The village of Puylaurens claimed from then on the title of ‘berceau Occitan de la Marianne republicaine”.

This name is representative of the people. The revolutionaries adopted this to symbolize the change of regime, but above all, they made the symbol of the motherland, the mother who nourishes and protects the children of the republic. The republicans of the Midi contributed also and adopted this name for their political ideal. The use of this name, like the symbol, was born of a consensus between the partisans and the adversaries of the republic, and then rapidly accepted by all of the French people. Rumours indicate that the first model was a young girl of Sigolsheim in Alsace with the Christian name of Marie-Anne.

The republic was already represented by some feminine features but now she was made to look a little pensive, preoccupying herself above all, with the aspirations of the people. There exists several versions in stonework of the symbols of Marianne and are often found in Greek and Roman antiquities where there has been a French mason.

The symbols of Marianne:

• A bonnet/cap Liberty
• A crown To be able to
• A naked breast Invincibility
• A lion The courage and force of the people
• A star Light
• A triangle Equality
• Broken chains Liberty
• Crossed hands Brotherhood
• Sheaf of arms The authority of the State
• Scales Justice
• Ruche Work
• Tables of the law Law

The first representation of a woman in a bonnet, indicating liberty of the republic, appeared under the French Revolution. They have been different down the centuries according to the preoccupations of the French people, and do not systematically carry all the symbols. Today, she figures on some objects like coins and stamps.

The Marianne can be sculpted on foot or in bust. She started to appear in Town Halls after 1877, replacing busts of Napoleon III. Under the Third Republic, the statues and above all the busts of Marianne multiplied, particularly in town halls. Several types of representation developed as the bonnet was sometimes judged too sedentary and replaced with a diadem or a crown.

In the 20th century, all the town halls adopted a bust of Marianne but which now carried the bonnet but seemed to get rid of other attributes (like the sheaf of arms or scales). The last representations, the more modern in the town halls today, are modeled on the features of famous women. These women are chosen for a number of varied reasons; their companionship, their beauty, their locality, their personalities. Some famous celebrities whose features have been used in the sculpting of La Marianne have been Brigitte Bardot in 1970 and Catherine Deneuve in 1985.

Since the liberation of France in 1944, women chosen for modeling the Marianne were uniquely famous actresses, but in 2000, the association of the mayors of France, chose a particular model appreciated by the French, and in 2002 Evelyne Thomas, an animator of a popular television programme was chosen. These choices are sometimes subject to controversy.

New Zealand - Its Quite Nice

By Joe Metcalfe

SUMMARY: Go on, do it! You'll thank me afterwards. I've travelled to many places on this fine earth but I'm yet to visit a place as invigorating and revitalising as New Zealand. Some might say I'm a little biased because this just happens to be my country of birth, and to them I say Phewy! New Zealand is best and I'm going to convince everyone I can that I am right in saying this.

Greatest Place on Earth

New Zealand is beautiful, it's people are also beautiful, and there simply is no better place to be if your living there or on holiday.

New Zealand's landscape is only unique in it's variety not in its individual features. You can see beaches and mountains all over the place, and to say that ancient rain-forests and stunning glaciers are a rariety, would be a complete lie. But in New Zealand you can see all of these things and many more within the space of a day (although you'll probably need a whole month to appreciate them fully). If you're living here or working here this means you can go where you want and do what you'd like to do at the drop of a hat and generally without the crowds of people you might expect to find at attractions in other countries.

The people in New Zealand are honest, helpful, welcoming of strangers, and incredibly out going. People who travel in New Zealand always find they have somewhere to visit or place to stay because the locals will have shown them the best the area has to offer and probably even given them a spare bed for the night (failing that a sofa).

For those who are lucky enough to have the privilege of working in New Zealand you're probably already familiar with the kiwi custom of inviting the new guy/gal to at least two barbecues in their first week on the job. This number of course only grows with the number of people you meet in your workplace and it might be advisable to find some good excuses to avoid the excessive barbecues else the waistline may expand beyond all reasonable proportions. Most workers will have caught their first snapper on the boat of a workmate within their first month on the job. If not, then it was probably a kingi, or yellow-finned tuna.

Hopefully I've now done enough to get you interested in New Zealand and you can go dig for some more information about this top notch country. And if you're not already convinced that New Zealand is the greatest country in the world then you soon will be.