During my week in Central Australia I stayed in Alice Springs for a few days either side of my tours to Kings Canyon, Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the West MacDonnell Ranges. I was also lucky enough to have a ride on a camel and in a helicopter! So Alice Springs was pretty much my base. However, there was some pretty cool stuff to do there so I kind of wish I had stayed a little bit longer! But I did manage to squeeze a few things into my trip.
And after twenty and a half hours on a Greyhound bus, I was more than ready to explore. Luckily we arrived mid-afternoon so there was still a few hours of daylight left before we could acceptably crash out on our beds! Upon arriving at our hostel, we were handed a list of things that the hostel owners recommended we do whilst in Alice Springs and we quite fancied a look at a few of them so after a quick beer in the sun, we set off for Anzac Hill.
The sunset from Anzac Hill was meant to be a must-see for tourists so we figured we had to see it. Reckon it was worth the small climb to the top of the hill?
The next thing we attempted off the list after returning from our three day adventure tour was a didgeridoo lesson. These lessons are offered for free in a shop in the main street of Alice Springs twice daily but unfortunately for us, both lessons were cancelled on the day we were available to go. It was a huge shame so I’m hoping that one day I will end up somewhere else that offers these lessons!
We also decided to visit the Reptile Centre as we had heard it was meant to be really good. We were also given a discount on entry tickets because of the hostel we were staying in, bonus! Having done a bit of research first, we arrived in time for a keeper talk. This was so interesting. I had never really taken an interest in snakes or lizards before but this changed that. It was fascinating to learn about the kind of things we might see in Australia and also how to treat a snake bite. Luckily I never had to use that information!
We also got a chance to hold some of the lizards and snakes!
A Blue Tongue Lizard
A Bearded Dragon
So whilst I didn’t do LOADS whilst in Alice Springs, I’m pretty satisfied that I visited some of the best attractions in the time that we had. If you’re ever there, I’d highly recommend The Reptile Centre. The staff were great and the range of reptiles to see was huge. Definitely worth a visit!
And as for Alice Springs? Well, it’s a pretty good place to use as a base when visiting Uluru, Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta, but I wouldn’t plan to stay there too long! Still, it was a great way to experience the real outback of Australia.
