Alice Springs region, Northern Territory, Australia

Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

Around Alice Springs, Central Australia

The country around Alice Springs, in the centre of Australia, is a nature wonderland, attracting visitors from all over the world. It has spectacular gorges, like Simpson's Gap, where Roe Creek has carved out a narrow gorge with towering cliffs through Rungutjirba Range; 22 km further on is Standley Chasm with its smooth vertical walls, owned and managed by the Iwupataka Aboriginal community at the turn-off, where an entry permit needs to be bought.

Heading east from Alice Springs, about 40 km along the road to Ross River, is Corroborree Rock, a striking dolomite hill. There is a small cave here where in the past Aboriginal people stored their sacred objects. Trephina Gorge Nature Park, about 70 km east of Alice, offers nice walks and good swimming at John Hayes Rockhole. N'Dhala Gorge, further on, features hundreds of ancient rock carvings. Further on, about 115 km from Alice Springs, is Arltunga Historical Reserve, a ghost town dating from its gold mining days from 1887 to 1913.

About 90 km south east of Alice Springs, along a dirt road, is the Aboriginal community of Ltyentye Apurte, formerly a Catholic mission and now the centre of the Santa Teresa Aboriginal Lands Trust. Another road leads 120 km south from Alice to Maryvale station, from where a rough track leads over large sand dunes to Chambers Pillar (known to the Aborigines as Itirkawara, the Gecko Ancestor), that stands like a sentinel 50 metres above the low sand dunes on the western edge of the Simpson Desert landscape. It is a great trip, but strictly four-wheel drive!

And where to stay in Alice Springs? Go to Hotel Reservations in Alice Springs.

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