Heart of the Outback

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7th - 12th November/ 14th - 16th November 2009

Alice Springs

When I was in Darwin there was a feature article in the Darwin newspaper on Alice Springs titled 'A town like Alice'. It was a pull out feature on the town made up of 6 or so stories exploring how the town has changed over the years and the problems that face the town today. The feature was addressing the recent problems the town has experienced, mainly in relation to the growing gap between the Aboriginal and the non-Aboriginal communities. The articles talked about violence, alcohol abuse, vandalism, robberies, anti-social behaviour and many other less then appealing offences. The feature was a result of a string of recent events in Alice Springs: the vandalism of a memorial cross for a young Aboriginal boy reportedly by white youths and the attack on two German backpackers by a group of Aboriginal men who chased the two backpackers back to their hostel where they proceeded to throw rocks at the windows. I am telling you all of this because you may then understand my slight apprehension towards Alice Springs as I drove into the town. I hadn't really put much thought into what I was expecting to find in Alice. As a traveller you learn quickly not to have any expectations of a place because when you get there it will always be completing different to what you have heard and read. It's best to go with a blank canvas and let the town paint the picture for you.

So with all that said, I must admit I was not honestly that excited to get to Alice Springs but I went in with an open mind and determined to find the heart of this 'Heart of the Outback'!

The drive into Alice Springs is delightfully picturesque with the MacDonnell Ranges stretching out across the red landscape separated into East and West Ranges by Heavitree Gap. I headed straight up to Anzac Hill to get an overview of the town and to watch a storm coming in from the North. It looked like it would pour rain but as the storms out here often are, all show and no go! No rain but the cool change was definately welcome.

With no plan of how long I was intending to stay in Alice, I settled myself in at the very 'upmarket' MacDonnell Range Holiday Park just to the south of town. It would have to be the swankiest campground I have stayed at so far, mainly for the fact that it had grass to camp on!!! Green green grass! That is a very rare sight in the middle of the desert. And it was that nice thick roll around in kind of grass as well. Arh the simple pleasures in life are often the best. The warm and fuzzy feeling quickly evaporated as I struggled unsuccessfully to put up my new tarp I purchased in Darwin. I got one of those good silver ones that deflect the heat. A 3m x 5m tarp plus two more poles that at the time of purchasing I thought to myself I would be able to put up easily. Um well no that's not really what happened. I had ropes, string, pegs, tarps and sarongs going every which way. A guy came over and helped me after admitting he was having fun watching me struggle (yeah nice) but even with his help my tarp looked like a 5 year old's cartoon drawing. I quickly learnt that wind and tarps do not mix either and with windy days nearly every day that I was in Alice Springs, my tarp spent more time on the ground and so I decided to admit defeat and found a nice shady tree to park under instead. Let nature do the hard work I thought!

Now I know that throughout my adventures thus far I have made reference a few times to how bad my luck is sometimes but well today I am here to say all that has changed! I arrived in time for the FREE Sunday morning pancake breakfast!!! You just have to love a campground that puts on a free pancake breakfast for all the guests. All you have to do is bring along a plate and cup and your set! Oh boy and were we talking pancakes! The pancakes were so big they wouldn't even fit on my plate (they actually mix up the batter in 4 or 5 buckets - see picture in the background). They put on maple syrup, butter, honey, icing sugar, tea, coffee, and juice as well. It is just fanastic! The record apparently is 12 pancakes for a guy and 8 pancakes for a girl. Now when you look at the picture opposite of how big these pancakes are you will agree with me when I say that this guy and girl must have been starving backpackers who were lost in the desert for a month or this guy and girl was in fact my brother Rod and girlfriend Caroline!!! I could bearly get through 2 of the things and you all know I have a healthy appetite. Pancakes are a gift from the gods and hence the reason they are a Sunday morning ritual. God bless pancakes!

With my stomach full I didn't manage to get moving till after lunch when I shifted my belly into gear and headed out to the Telegraph Station Museum for the afternoon. The tour guide out there is Alec, who was one of the children who lived out here back in the 1930's! He is a wonderful man and it really was special to talk to someone who actually lived it! The Alice Springs Telegraph Station was midway on the Overland telegraph line from Darwin to Adelaide and significantly reduced Australia's isolation from the rest of the world. With the telegraph line set up, messages could be sent and received in hours as opposed to months. The Alice telegraph station has been beautifully restored and I felt I had stepped back in time. The telegraph office is where morse code messages were received and sent. They have set the room up with a real morse code message on a continuous loop. Honestly listening to the tapping I can not for the life of me figure out how they did it. Each letter has its own tap combination made up of short and long taps which made me wonder how they knew when one letter ended and the other begun! It is quite remarkable really. The original Alice Springs waterhole is next to the telegraph station, hence the name. At the time of my visit the Alice Springs waterhole was no more than a puddle but ofcourse in the wet season it is part of the Todd River.

The Todd River was as dry as the air and was just a big expanse of dirt, so a walk along the river wasn't too appealing. I spent a few days wandering around Alice Springs, looking at the art galleries, enjoying market day along Todd Mall, and peacefully watching the sunset over the town from atop of Anzac Hill. There is alot to see and do in Alice Springs: Royal Flying Doctor Service, School of the Air, National Pioneer Womens Hall of Fame, Desert Park, Reptile Park, Museums and Art Centres. It's hard to see and do it all!

I spent an afternoon out at the Desert Park, just west of town. I wasn't planning on going there but after hearing good things about it from fellow travellers, I decided to go and check it out. It was really fun and interesting and I was very happy I went. You need at least 3 hours minimum to really see it all. You are given a headset and have your own audio guide for the Park. You can follow the numbers around the park and hear about the history of the land, different types of habitats and the animals that live their, cultural stories etc... It is a nice change from having to read lots of plaques. A wonderful presentation in the exhibition centre concludes with the walls openning up to look out over the Park with the MacDonnell Ranges as the backdrop. Really impressive. I spent 4 hours wandering through 'Desert Rivers', 'Sand Country' the Nocturnal House ( my favourite with bilby's, the very cool looking thorny devil, the Western Quolls and many more), the 'Woodlands' with the large red kangaroos and the 'Birds of Prey' show at the Nature Theatre which I particularly enjoyed. Eagles, hawks and falcons are the most breathtakingly graceful, powerful birds you will ever see. Outstanding!

It has been hot during the day, 40 degrees pretty much every day, hence the reason I made good use of the 3 sparkling crystal clear blue swimming pools at the campground. Oh my are we talking relief. This was one of the main reasons I decided to stay here, the pools (positioned right near reception) had me sold from the moment I drove up so obviously someone was thinking! I had a great stay here. The facilities were exceptionally clean, great kitchen area, lots of fridge space (which as you travel around Australia you will quickly find is a continual battle to find room to put even just a carton of milk in any camp kitchen fridge), bathrooms with plenty of room to actually get dressed and 3 hooks to hang your things on. It's funny, I was chatting to these travellers who have a ranking system based on the number of hooks in the shower area. You will not understand until you have camped in a few places that the number of hooks is extremely important and can make or break your showering experience. One hook = terrible mess, two hooks = reasonable job done, three hooks = problem free, and four hooks (which I have only encountered once) = absolute showering heaven. It is not until you get yourself out there on the road that you will understand the pure joy of shower hooks. I am not crazy!

I spent a surprisingly touching evening out at the Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge where you can hand feed wild black footed rock wallabies. You pick up a small bag of food at reception for $1 and wander over to the logs set up at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges and on dusk the wallabies start to move about in the cooler air and hop on down. It was really beautiful to get up and close to these sweet little guys. I sat down and one jumped in my lap. They don't stay long. Just get some food and off they go to feed on the grass for the night. It was peaceful and not crowded, no tour buses, no fences, just a log and a friendly and inquisitive little moment between us and them. Again, the simple pleasures of life.

So did I find the heart of Alice Springs? I think I found its spirit and maybe with alittle more time I would have found that heart but I don't leave Alice with a bad taste in my mouth. It has it's charm and my painted picture is bright and colourful.

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Photos

What's up with this town?
Alice Springs, NT

Sunset over Alice
Anzac Hill, Alice Springs NT

Tarp construction disaster
MacDonnell Ranges Caravan Park

FREE pancakes!!!
MacDonnell Ranges Caravan Park

Telegraph Station
Alice Springs, NT

Telegraph Office
The hub of the Station where morse code messages were received and sent 24 hours a day
Alice Springs Telegraph Station

Thorny devil
Desert Park
Alice Springs NT

Pool paradise
MacDonnell Ranges Caravan Park

Wild rock wallabies
Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge
Alice Springs NT

Mum & bub (how cute)
Alice Springs NT

Comments

[Darryl and Sarah]

Hurrah for Alice
So glad that you took Alice to your heart, we loved it there and had a great time. You're right about the shower hooks, that did make me giggle! Travel safe Dar and Sar