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Detailed travelogue on Australia and New Zealand

Detailed Travelogue on Australia and New Zealand

Larry
2006-05-27 03:23:16

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After the drive from Kings Canyon, I arrived back into Alice Springs in
the mid-afternoon. Originally, I was going to spend the night there, but
since it was still early, I decided to move on, and stay somewhere up the
track.
I called Budget to ask about exchanging the Ford for a smaller car, and
was told me they'd have one ready for me in an hour, so I decided to check
out some more of Alice Springs. I drove to the top of Anzac Hill (nothing
much, but you get a nice view of the city), then stopped at a Hungry Jacks
for lunch (in Australia, the Burger Kings are known as "Hungry Jacks").
After lunch, I drove over to the Alice Springs Kmart. (Yes, it seems no
matter where you go in this world, you just can't escape those flashing blue
light specials). Because of the constant hot weather in Alice Springs, the
entire outdoor parking lot for Kmart was "covered" by tarps. Once inside,
it looked like any American Kmart -- confused shoppers, confused staff, and
little or no air-conditioning. Half the items in the store seemed to be
imported from China, and of course, the stocks were different than those
you'd find at an American Kmart. I asked one of the employees what the
hours were, and was told that because it was so close to Christmas, they
were staying open "late" -- until 9:00pm. Usually though, they'd close much
earlier. Shopping close to Christmas is the same in Australia as it is in
the States: hoards of ads, hoards of shoppers, and full parking lots. And
then a few days later come all the "stock reduction" sales (Australians use
the phrase "while stocks last", rather than "while supplies last").
Three large American stores have a strong presence in Australia: Kmart,
Target, and Woolworths. As in the U.S., the Kmarts are noisy, hot, and
untidy, while the Targets are clean, cool, and quiet. Woolworths ...

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