Fun times: here’s what to do in Alice Springs

A short break in Alice Springs offers a fascinating glimpse into the original Outback pioneers - with culture and cocktails thrown in.

A camel tour outside Alice Springs. Picture: Grenville Turner / Tourism NT

It’s named after a woman who never visited it (the wife of telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd) and a spring that never really flowed. It’s Australia’s smallest capital city that isn’t a capital any longer. You’re on firm ground to call it our most famous remote town, population around 25,000. The Arrernte traditional owners call it Mparntwe. Just know that if you call it The Alice, the locals will know for sure you’re an out-of-towner.

Nobody in Alice Springs really uses that term, official town crier Meredith Campbell tells me, adding that nobody much cares if you do. They’re a laid-back lot round here, even in the council building where I find Campbell, replete with handbells, leading an impressively multilingual group of new Australian citizens in a round of “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!”

This is the exact spot where teams of Afghan cameleers used to congregate between desert journeys, and the building’s curved pillars and roof are designed to faintly evoke an Afghan tent. James Acklin from Alice Springs Walking Tours urges us to imagine the place 100 years ago, when the settlement boasted verdant market gardens, billowing tents and camel herds, even an Afghan mosque no grander than a tin shed.

Todd Street Mall during the Parrtjima festival

In the mid-1800s, 12,000 dromedaries were imported from Arabia, India and Afghanistan to Central Australia, the “desert ships” used for transporting goods to the sparse pastoral and gold-prospecting population. “The camels that thrived here were really fast and acclimatised well,” says Acklin, whose 90-minute walking tour starts at the central Todd Street Mall. In the Heritage precinct we find the Royal Flying Doctor Service with its original radio room. Nearby is The Residency, c1928, a low-set home (now community centre) with cool enclosed verandas; it served as vice-regal residence during the brief period (1926-31) when Central Australia was an independent administrative region. A harsher history is embedded in the walls of Stuart Town Gaol, where Aboriginal prisoners were chained up, some just for being in a restricted area.

The Alice Springs Telegraph Station

Our walk takes us past the Alice Springs Library, one exterior wall featuring an installation of giant book spines in a tribute to author Nevil Shute. It includes, of course, his 1950 novel A Town Like Alice, which James explains is largely set in Queensland. We follow tree-dappled footpaths along the Todd River, a picturesque expanse of wide pale sand and white-trunked gums.

In the midday heat, we retreat to the cool of the Alice Springs Museum. Acklin’s vivid narrative is traced in a photographic series by Otto Tschirn – a sepia-toned glimpse into relations a century ago between Aboriginal people and European settlers living in Hermannsburg, or Ntaria, and along the Finke River Valley. Next door is Araluen Arts Centre, with a breathtaking display of Indigenous art from 260 communities and outstations.

Standley Chasm. Picture: Chloe Barry Hang

The town hints seductively at places beyond the natural stone ramparts of the MacDonnell Ranges, visible from the CBD. There’s Uluru, of course, 480km away, and access to the Larapinta Trail – a day walk starts at Standley Chasm and ends with afternoon tea and scones.

Her duties done, town crier Campbell takes me to Anzac Hill to point out landmarks. Originally dedicated to World War I soldiers, the lookout now honours those who served in all wars. Between 1942 and 1945, 200,000 soldiers passed through Alice Springs on their way north to Darwin, and for a brief time the town became the Northern Territory’s designated capital.

In the evening, history makes way for hip dining at The Locals, a bistro and cocktail bar tucked away in Todd Mall. Hard to imagine getting a substantial seafood platter in the Red Centre, but it’s a tasty offer here. From 70 gin-based options I settle on Shining Pearl Kumquat, with gin, passionfruit syrup, mint and fresh lime.

Glen Helen Gorge in the West MacDonnell Ranges

The best “crack-of-dawn” adventure (cocktail hangover permitting) is in a basket high above the red dirt. Outback Ballooning has been flying over the Red Centre for 30 years, and patrons rave about seeing the sun rise over Alice Springs. But as we assemble at 5.25am our bus driver-cum-balloon captain Jason explains: “If the trees start thrashing about like the arms of the spaghetti man in a car yard, we may not get a ride.” The previous day, he reveals, they experienced a “lay over” landing, the basket containing 22 people coming to rest (safely) on its side.

I look at the flailing treetops and feel a surge of relief. A young member of the group, back for the second day, is reassuring: “You can’t see those fantastic ranges and the desert unless you go up, then you see it all in one go!”

It’s not to be. The local climate, with about 300 days of pure blue sky in a year, generally means few cancellations. But today, Jason announces a weather update predicting 17-knot winds. Our balloon is pricked. No matter, I’ve seen the best of Alice Springs and I never even left the ground.

Alice Springs from Anzac Hill

Perfect for: Cultural tourists.

Must do: Join a guided tour of town, taking in the view from Anzac Hill. Go by camel (cameltracks.com) or hot air balloon (outbackballooning.com.au). Visit the Araluen Arts Centre (beanie festival June 24-27), Museum of Central Australia and Telegraph Station, est.1871. The annual free Parrtjima festival of light is at Alice Springs Desert Park April 8-17.

Stay: The refurbished Crowne Plaza Lasseters (lasseters.com.au) has rooms from $199, some with balcony or patio, nestled at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges. DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (rooms from $190, hilton.com/en/hotels/aspdadi) backs onto a golf course a short walk from town.

Dining: The Locals for breakfast and lunch, plus cocktails and tapas dishes from 4pm. For lunch also try Page 27, The Bakery, Bean Tree Café, Epilogue Lounge and Yaye’s café at the Araluen Arts Centre.

Getting there: Alice Springs is 1500km from Darwin and Adelaide, 5.5 hours’ drive from Uluru. Major airlines fly direct from capital cities.

Bottom line: walking tour $33; children $15, family of four $69 (alicespringswalkingtours.com).

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