Alice Springs

I went to Alice Springs to watch my husband take part in the Central Australian Bike Challenge a seven day mountain bike race.

Alice Springs was so laid back, we had a great time and there is so much to see and do around the town.

There was alot more here than I expected.

You really get a sense of where you are even in the town. The hot, dry weather makes you realise you’re in the desert – along with the river that almost never has any water in it, but you can see from the outline it has carved in the land that it really is a river. The ranges surround you – you can see the Yipparinye/processionary caterpillar mountain of the west macs ranges from most places.

It is right smack bang in the middle of the country, and the nearest cities are all along way away, on the coast – adelaide, darwin, brisbane, perth… They have learnt to be self-sufficient to some extent, and to haul stuff a long long way.

There are some cool markets in Todd Mall (which is actually an outdoor street that is blocked off to cars with trees all along it, not a shopping mall like you might expect), some nice cafes and restaurants (shock horror! in alice springs!!!), the desert park, and nobody is in a hurry.

The racism is more overt than in bigger cities, but perhaps no greater (just more obvious), but if you want to learn about aboriginal culture first hand this is a good place to start.

It’s very hard to get fresh fruit and vegetables here, but the Todd Mall markets sell some.

Then there is lots to see in the surrounding areas – uluru and kata tjuta, the west mac ranges, king’s canyon, all quite different and quite spectacular.

wide open…

Don’t let anyone tell you that there is nothing to do here…a week on my own and I saw a lot, but there was more

This book made me want to visit Alice Springs. have been thinking about this since I was 17.