As a Central Australian, I’m often miffed when people tell me they are going to Central Australia to see “that big rock”. There is much more to the Red Centre than the big rock, more appropriately called Ayres Rock, or by it’s Aboriginal name, Uluru.
Over the many years I have lived in Central Australia, tourists have asked me some strange questions. For example, “Is it true that Ayres Rock is hollow and extends underground with a sub-terranean city for the Australian Government to go in times of disaster or nuclear attack?” Or another, more common one, “Can you see Ayres Rock from Alice Springs?”
I really don’t know the answer to the first question and usually respond to the latter, “Can you see 400km?” Many, particularly Japanese tourists who have no real idea about large spaces and US citizens, who are unaccustomed to the metric system, look at me blankly. No, unless you were a couple of dozen kilometres up, you definitely can’t see Ayres Rock from The Alice.
However, unless you fly directly to Ayres Rock from Perth or somewhere else, you usually don’t get there without going through Alice Springs, or “The Alice” as we who live there prefer to call it.
If you plan to go to Ayres Rock via Alice Springs, don’t waste your money and by-pass The Alice. You’ll do yourself a great disservice and miss some wonderful tourist experiences. Don’t get me wrong, Ayres Rock is great to see at least once. But that’s really all there is at Uluru along with some very high class hotels … The Rock!
Alice Springs was originally a staging post for the overland telegraph line that went from Adelaide in South Australia to Darwin at the “Top End” of the Northern Territory. Because of the vast distance the telegraph had to go, it needed repeater stations to re-energise the transmissions. North of Alice springs a few kilometres is the original Overland Telegraph Station.
The Alice on the south has a stunning mountain range called the MacDonnell Ranges that run in almost a straight line from east to west. Almost by divine providence, there is a gap in the range created by the usually dry Todd River. This gap allows passage into and out of the township on the southern side.
What can you expect to see and do at The Alice?
Apart from the stunning natural beauty of the MacDonnell Ranges, beautiful clear, blue skies and nearby gaps like Emily and Simpson’s Gap,(a photographer’s dream) there is a Desert Wildlife Park set at the bottom of the ranges on the western side of town that is second to none; see the Australian wildlife and reptiles in their natural habitats.
We have a reptile farm, a camel farm, numerous Aboriginal art shops, world class hotels, a saloon bar called Bojangles that web-casts across the Internet (with a bit of planning, you can wave to your friends at home as you sip a coldie or have a meal). Araluen Cultural Precinct will satisfy the needs of artists and people interested in theatre. Nearby there is the Strehlow Centre with Aboriginal artifacts and much more. The Royal Flying Doctor Service is also worth a visit as is the School of the Air.
The best time to visit is between April and October when the weather is cooler and more pleasant.
So, when you plan your holiday to visit that “big rock down under”, don’t forget to spend three or four days at The Alice. You won’t regret it and, you never know, you may just run into me. If you do say, “Hi!”
Copyright 2008 Robin Henry
