Day 8 7Alice Springs

 Arrived in Alice Springs today and it is “Territory Day “. Which means that you can go and buy fireworks and let them off but its all supposed to be done on the one day. So what a novelty to be legally allowed to blow s…t up. Had to stop and buy some with everyone else in town before heading out to my cousin’s place. Bruce lives out of town on 20acres so when I got in touch , he kindly offered a back yad for us to set up the van so now I’m sitting writing this looking out at the West Macdonell Ranges. Pretty tough.

Bruce has been out here for about 22 years. He works at Desert Park and Katie is a doctor. It was great to be able to get some local knowledge about what we should go and have a look at. Bruce is also a great cook, so we have been very spoiled the last couple of nights with his delicious food.

We did a lot over several days so I might break them up into the days.

Day 1 – Saturday was a catch-up day for cleaning, washing etc. but we did something fantastic that night. Bruce took us up to the Desert Park for a private nocturnal tour. Stopped in grabbed some food for all the animals and then you go through what they call “Mulga Walk”. They do this as a paid tour at night but we got the special version. It was amazing – as soon as we walked in the gate, all these animals appeared out of nowhere including some echidnas – they were like little pups and came running after you in anticipation of food. Apparently, they recommend you wear closed in shoes as they will lick people’s toes and if you have seen the length of an echidna’s tongue, that would be a strange feeling! We also saw Marlas which look like mini kangaroos, bettongs, stick nest rats, bandicoots , curlews and bilby’s. All were very cute and not worried about us at all.  It was a very special.

 

Day 2 – Enjoyed breakfast at the Gallery with Bruce and then spent the rest of the day checking out the sights close or in town. On the way out to Simpsons Gap , we called in at John Flynn’s grave. Most of you will recall that his grave had a large stone on top of it. This stone had come from the Devil’s Marbles, but the original stone was removed in 1999 and replaced due to the cultural significance to the local aborigines. Onto to Simpsons Gap which is part of the West MacDonnell Ranges and the closest to town. Easy walk in with beautiful colours reflected off the walls of the gorge. Back to town to go up Anzac Hill which honours all who fought in all of the wars. Great view of Alice from the top. Onto the Alice Springs Telegraph Station which is quite a large complex. You can do tours but they were setting up for a big NAIDOC dinner, so we just wandered around the edges. If you’re so inclined there are really good bike and walking paths that go to these areas. A lot of it is on the Larapinta Trail which is rated as one of the planet’s top 20m walks. The whole trail is 230km long and traverses the length of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

We spent the next couple of days exploring the MacDonnell Ranges in both directions. Headed west first and went 130km out to Ormiston Gorge and worked our way back stopping at Ochre Pits where the local indigenous people have sourced their paints for a long time. Seeing the layers in the creek bed gives you an appreciation of the colour palette they could use.

Ochre Pits

Next was Ellery Waterhole which is a permanent water source where you can go swimming. Given how cold it has been , we weren’t really inclined to jump in. ( FYI overnight temperatures have dropped to -5 .) Last stop was Standley Chasm, This was very busy with walkers and general tourists as pretty close to town. Still quite spectacular to look at.

Ellery waterhole

Standley Chasm

The East MacDonnell Ranges are very different, so we worked on the same strategy. Headed out to pour furthest point which was the Artlunga Historical Reserve. Gold was discovered here in the 1800’s so it was the first settlement in Central Australia. They have restored a couple of the buildings so interesting to have a look at. The worst part is the 33kms of gravel road to get there. It wasn’t it very good condition so took longer than we thought but the scenery on the way was well worth it.

Last stop was Trephina Gorge which is a very popular camping spot with visitors and locals alike. Did the full gorge walk along the riverbed and then along the top on the way back. Another full day!

We did go back to Desert Park during the day to look at the rest of the attractions – highly recommend a visit and make sure you are there for the Bird Show. Lots of other native birds and animals to look at including the best nocturnal house we have ever visited.

Ernie the Bustard

Last but not least was the National Transport Hall of Fame and the Ghan Railway Museum – so much to read and look at.  We were there for a good couple of hours. As with so much of this, all of it is tied to the history of the area and gives you a great insight into how tough it must have been at times and what a big role transport played in the development of the area

We had a wonderful time catching up with my cousin. He shares our love of red wine so we were able to share a few bottles that were new to both sides. Wonderful to see him and Katie after such a long time.

Drinks at the Claypans