My Travel CV: Thing that stunned Narelda Jacobs in Alice Springs

The OAM-awarded journalist has travelled the world, but it was Alice Springs that surprised her most.

OAM-awarded journalist Narelda Jacobs hails from WA but Alice Springs has stolen her heart. This is her Travel CV:

My first holiday memory is…

Crabbing in Mandurah, south of Perth. My parents built a holiday shack there by hand. I’ve got four older sisters and we’d head down on weekends and school holidays. In those days you could even do swimming lessons in the estuary. It was a very wholesome, family time.

My favourite place in Australia is…

I really love Point Peron, near Rockingham. It’s just this hidden secret. The water is crystal clear, the snorkelling is beautiful, and there are lots of dolphins and other sea life. A friend of mine has a beach house nearby, and we’d paddle out to Seal Island and Penguin Island. I recently did a cultural tour there with my cousin Steven Jacobs from In Culture Tours, and learning the history of the place made me love it even more.

The place I’d love to visit in Australia is…

The Tiwi Islands. My wife Karina and I have had an open invitation from our friend Rob Collins (the Australian actor and Tiwi Islander) to visit, and it’s been on our list ever since. I’m drawn to the strength of the First Nations culture there, and the way the sistergirls and brotherboys are celebrated – it’s really beautiful. From what I hear, there’s this mix of culture, religion and sexuality there and everyone seems to get along. I’d love to experience it for myself.

I really love Point Peron, near Rockingham. It’s just this hidden secret. 

My most memorable travel experience happened when…

Karina and I had an accidental babymoon in Alice Springs recently. We were in the midst of wrapping up our lives and preparing for parental leave, and it just became this very spiritual, slow-moving trip for us. We swam at Ellery Creek Big Hole on a 42-degree day and visited Standley Chasm with a local guide. Jade, my daughter, has Arrernte heritage, so we felt really connected to her while we were there.

The place that most surprised me was…

It would have to be Alice Springs again. I’d only been for work or to visit Jade’s family, but never really as a tourist. It was so special to see it at different times of the day, driving into the sunset, and seeing the sunrise from the hot-air balloon. It’s a really magical place. We also had some great food and wine there. That’s what I love about it – you can have the best of a city, but also feel like you’re in the outback.

We swam at Ellery Creek Big Hole on a 42-degree day and visited Standley Chasm with a local guide.

The place I’ve visited most often is…

Definitely Mandurah in Western Australia. It’s got the ocean, the estuary and the islands, and there’s this incredible life in the waterways. To really see the place, you need to get out in a boat. I’ve got a dinghy at my mum’s house, and there’s something so cool about landing on an island and realising you’re the only one there.

My holidays are mostly devoted to…

I like getting to the heart of the place, whether it is culture, nature, or the food scene. Whatever that place is famous for, I want to be in the middle of it. I learned that in New Orleans when someone at a tourist centre asked, “Where’s the best jambalaya?” From then on, I’ve always asked, “What’s this place famous for, and where can I get the best version of it?”

The place I’ve visited most often is definitely Mandurah in Western Australia.

Travel has taught me…

Who I am. When you leave home, you’re no longer the person everyone perceives you to be. You’re not your job, or your standing in the community, you’re just you. The best part, for me, is that you can go and experience things with a childlike mindset, seeing things for the first time as your stripped-back self.

The worst thing that’s happened to me while travelling…

Checking in to a hotel with my wife and arriving at the room to find two single beds. It happens a lot to gay couples. You assume you don’t have to say anything at check-in because you’ve booked a king bed – but then you open the door and there they are. It gets things off to a bad start.

Narelda Jacobs crabbing in Mandurah with daughter Jade Dolman. Picture: Supplied.

The best thing I’ve eaten while travelling was…

At the Parrtjima Festival in Alice Springs, I went out bush with local women and set up camp for the day under a big tree. They wrapped sweet potatoes in foil and cooked them in the coals. It was the fluffiest, most delicious thing I’ve eaten. I was bewildered that there was no butter or anything, it was just the way it was cooked. It was outstanding.

My favourite travel companion is…

My wife. But if it’s a thing – Travel Scrabble. It’s mini and the letters snap into the board like Lego.

Flight/cruise/car or train?

Train. It’s such a relaxing way to travel.

Travel has taught me who I am. Picture: Supplied.

I manage jet lag by…

Setting my body clock to the sun wherever I am. It doesn’t always work, though.

How many flights have you missed?

I’ve actually never missed a flight, not through a fault of my own.

Narelda Jacobs is an ambassador for Tourism NT. Read her Love Letter to Alice at northernterritory.com

Originally published as My Travel CV: Thing that stunned Narelda Jacobs in Alice Springs