A Town Like Alice

It’s been 4 weeks (a third of our trip), covered 5357km and used 1039L of fuel and we’ve got as far as Alice Springs. One of the hardest things about doing a trip like this is deciding what to stop for and what to leave for another time (if there will ever be one?). There has been so much to see and do and so much more to come, I think a person could spend a lifetime travelling and still only scratch the surface. We’ll that’s enough of my philosophical ramblings for now!!

Alice Springs has come as yet another surprise to me (perhaps I should have done a bit more homework before I left!!). I expected The Alice to be a much like any other country town in an isolated, featureless landscape. Isolated it may be but the landscape is far from featureless. The town is wedged between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges and the Gap between the two halves conveniently allows the rail line, Stuart Highway and the (dry) Todd River to pass through. It must be quite a sight to see the Todd flowing – the kids didn’t believe me when I told them that the river plays host to an annual sailing boat race (all be it a bottomless boat race).

We’ve spent 4 nights at the G’Day Mate Caravan Park (thanks for the recommendation about the grass Robyn) and have taken a fairly laid back approach to the town. Some of the attractions here such as the School of the Air and Royal Flying Doctors Service we have seen before so we gave them a miss but the Alice Springs Telegraph Station and the Desert Park did take our fancy. We also took a drive out to the East MacDonnell Ranges stopping to see the Aboriginal rock art at Emily and Jessie Gaps and a walk around the beautiful Trephina Gorge.





Here's a bit of trivia for you, Alice Springs got its name is under false pretences. The permanent water that can be found near the Telegraph Station was originally thought to have come from a spring in the area however it was found later that the water was from the Todd River which “flows” underground most of the time.

The afternoon of our last day was spent in town stocking up on previsions and browsing through the Aboriginal art galleries. The variety, size (and quality) of the artwork available is amazing. Prices range from around $50 way up past $12,000!! We couldn’t help wondering however how much of the money went back to the artists who painted them or their communities. After looking in quite a few shops (even the Newsagent sold them) we settled on a moderately priced piece which will hang very nicely in our lounge room (bread and water for the kids for the next few weeks though!!) Speaking of food, if anyone comes to Alice Springs, the East Side Fish and Chip shop make THE BEST fish and chips we have ever tasted. So good in fact we went their twice!!

We bid farewell to Alice Springs tomorrow to continue our northward journey towards Darwin where we will be meeting up with Leanne’s Mum at the end of the month.