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A favourite stopover city for many travellers, here are some Singapore sights and delights you don't want to miss.
Big, long and red, just like the landscape, the ‘Welcome to Alice Springs’ sign on the Stuart Highway sends out a huge Northern Territory style "hello" as you drive into town.
It’s a feeling that echoes throughout this oasis in the middle of Australia’s harsh outback desert, which brings together a diverse range of communities.
If you find yourself in Alice Springs, these are some of the ways to find its heart.
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If you want to see what lives in such a desolate wilderness, start with a visit to Alice Springs Desert Park. The well camouflaged, timid reptiles, mammals and birds are difficult to spot in the wild, but easy to see at the park’s daily shows and displays. Don’t miss the wedge-tailed eagle in the free-flying bird experience and the Aboriginal survival experience show.
The annual Parrtjima Festival lights up the 300 million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges each April, spilling into Alice Springs Desert Park for a particularly spectacular sight, creating an outdoor gallery of local artwork and interactive installations that tell stories of the First People to inhabit the land.
Also don’t miss The Kangaroo Sanctuary Sunset Tour where I had a heart-warming cuddle with an orphaned kangaroo ‘joey’. Like millions of other viewers, I was captivated by Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns and his kangaroo family in the BBC/National Geographic documentary Kangaroo Dundee about the rescue and rehabilitation centre he has created for orphaned kangaroos, and it’s just as inspiring to see in real life.
At Megafauna Central in Todd Mall, I came face to face with some of the impressively large and scary creatures that roamed this part of the world about eight million years ago, or their life-size replicas at least, alongside fossil displays of huge birds and crocodiles. Kids can unearth fossils too and join a palaeontologist for activities in the ‘lab’.
A sunset ride through scenic White Gums Valley near the MacDonnell Ranges with Pyndan Camel Tracks showed me the captivating cobalt blue and orange-pink sunset colours of the Red Centre.
Famed Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira lived and painted around Hermannsburg, about 130km from Alice Springs. At the Araluen Arts Centre I saw a comprehensive collection of his works and other Indigenous art. Central Craft in the same precinct is a good place to purchase works from local artists at very reasonable prices.
Artist, designer and poet Kathleen Buzzacott grew up in the Hermannsburg community and a visit to her art studio 20km from Alice Springs provides a more intimate insight to her life and the ancient traditions of the Arrernte people as she chats over tea and cake. Visitors can create a piece to take home as part of her Yia Nuka (which means ‘my story’) Aboriginal Cultural Experience.
A visit to the Red Centre is not complete without a visit to Uluru. After a stopover in ‘Alice’ hire a car for a self-drive adventure, take a flight direct to Uluru, or take a guided tour to the Rock which is almost 500km away.
Eat
For a taste of the Outback, head to Kungkas Can Cook where Rayleen Brown uses wild harvested produce from the Central Desert Region to create deliciously exciting blends for everyday meals. Try a camel burger with quandong chilli sauce and finish with her epic wattle seed brownie (you’ll want seconds).
Stay
There’s plenty of choice around town, from budget accommodation and nearby caravan parks to hotels with sparkling pools. DoubleTree by Hilton Alice Springs offers guests a delicious welcome with a warm chocolate chip cookie, and when I checked in they followed up with a text message to see if I needed anything when I got to the room. There’s even a grand peacock on occasional greeter duty in the pool area. The hotel is within walking or cycling distance of Todd Mall.
Find luxury camping 15km out of town at Squeakeywindmill Boutique Tent B&B, with views of the Western MacDonnell Ranges from the front deck and a Weber barbecue ready to fire up for dinner.
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