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Alice Springs - Cities, Towns and Localities |
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Alice Springs and Central Australia offers the visitor a wonderful range of
attractions, from the world famous
Alice Springs Desert Park and School of the Air, through to the ancient
MacDonnell Ranges and the popular
Palm Valley located in the
Finke Gorge National Park.
You can spend a week here or a year, just to see and experience everything.
Following is a list of some of the many attractions. Take the time to also check
out the events,
tours and immerse yourself in some of the
Aboriginal culture, arts, crafts and galleries. |
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Book Alice Springs Attractions Online |
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— VIATOR — |
Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) 2-Day Explorer Tour
• Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The
Olgas) are a highlight of anyone's visit to Australia. Experience these amazing
natural formations for yourself. Take the Mala Walk around the base of Ayers
Rock and learn of the local Aboriginal peoples traditions at the Uluru Cultural
Centre. Visit the valleys of the sacred Olgas. A great couple of days in the
Outback. |
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Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (Olgas) 2-Day Tour
• Experience the majestic monoliths
of the Red Centre. Take two days to explore Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta
(The Olgas). Walk in the shadow of the huge domes of The Olgas, before sipping a
glass of champagne as you watch the sun set on Ayers Rock. Explore the ancient
Aboriginal ways of this region. |
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Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) One Way Shuttle
• Travel by luxury bus on this one way
transfer from Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock). Learn more about the flora,
fauna as well as the natural and geological history of this classic Northern
Territory desert scenery as you pass outback stations, have the opportunity to
ride a camel (own expense), and stop to take photos of Mount Conner - the third
monolith of Central Australia. |
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Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) via Kings Canyon 3-Day Tour
• This is one of the most popular tours
in this region. Come along and witness for yourself. Marvel at the spectacular
natural wonders of Central Australia. enjoy a guided walk around the rim of
Kings Canyon, with its towering orange walls and eerie rock formations... watch
the colors change on Ayers Rock at sunrise and sunset and explore part of the
sacred Olgas, with its 36 rocky domes. |
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For more Viator listed Alice Springs tours,
click here... |
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The following Alice Springs attractions are within easy reach, some you can walk
to, others requiring a short bike or cab ride.
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Alice Springs
Cultural Precinct
• Cnr Larapinta Drv & Memorial Ave, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8951 1120
• Fax: 08 8953 0259
• 
• 
•
Sometimes referred to as the ‘Araluen Cultural Precinct’, as the Araluen Arts
Centre is one of the attractions, the ‘Alice Springs Cultural Precinct’ offers
a number of fascinating attractions in
the one unique location. A single entry fee provides an experience encompassing
visual and performing arts, Aboriginal culture, heritage and natural history:
The site is culturally significant to Aboriginal people of the area. There
are seven registered sacred sites and trees of significance on the Precinct
which belong to the ‘Two Women Dreaming Track’.
All attractions are accessible by wheelchair. Lift and ramps connect all
floors. There are accessible toilets and designated parking for holders of
disabled parking permits.
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 Alice
Springs Reptile Centre
• 9 Stuart Terrace (at the base of Billy Goat Hill
(opposite Royal Flying Doctor
Service), ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8952 8900 • Fax: 08
8952 8700 • Web:
www.reptilecentre.com.au
• Opened Daily 9:30 am to 5:00 pm — Talks daily at 11 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm
•
Hands on fun for everyone! Come and
see thorny devils, frilled neck lizards, goannas, pythons, venomous snakes,
taipans, and Terry the saltwater croc. To see our images
click here...
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 Alice
Springs Desert Park
• Larapinta Drive, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: +61 8 8951 8788 • Fax: +61 8 8951 8720 •
• Web:
www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au
•
The park introduces visitors to the incredible but subtle richness of
Australia’s arid zone. Designed to move well beyond the boundaries of
traditional zoos, botanic gardens and museums, the park has adopted a holistic
“habitat-based and story driven” approach. Discover the desert in its entirety,
the landscapes, animals and plants, and their traditional use and management by
Aboriginal people.Nestled in the foothills of the West MacDonnell Ranges,
just ten minutes from the centre of town you will experience diverse and
spectacular landscapes and learn about the adaptations of hundreds of species of
desert flora and fauna. There are:
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 Free-flying
birds of prey display.
- Desert Rivers, Sand Country, and the Woodland habitats to explore.
- Close encounters with rare and elusive wildlife in the Nocturnal House.
- With a changing theatre presentation that could include ‘The Changing
Heart’, where four and a half billion years of desert evolution will flash
before you in a 20 minute cinematic journey, or ‘Wild Australasia’, where you
learn about the surprising diversity of life within our arid habitats.
- Interactive interpretive exhibits.
To see our images
click here...
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Alice
Springs School of the Air
• Visitor Centre, 80 Head St, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870 • Ph: 08 8951 6834 • Fax: 08
8951 6828 •
• Opened Mon-Sat 8:30 am to 4:30 pm - Sun 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
•
The world’s largest classroom. Our unique school service the educational needs
of isolated primary school children in the Outback. We broadcast lessons over
1.3 million square km utilising satellite and computer technologies. The School
provides daily lessons to isolated children, 4-13 years, who live on cattle
stations, Aboriginal communities, national parks and other remote area
locations.
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Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve
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Located on the northern edge of town, the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve marks the original site
of the first European settlement in the region and originally included the area
now covered by the township of Alice Springs.
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Alice Springs Turf Club
• ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870 • Ph: 08 8952 4977 •
• 33 meetings a year, fortnightly or weekly
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Red Centre racing with thoroughbred action throughout the year. A day at the
races in picturesque surrounds, idyllic backdrop and superb facilities.
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Alice Springs RSL
Club and War Museum
• Schwartz Crs, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Located near the base of ANZAC Hill,
the RSL Club War Museum is acknowledged as having one of the most significant
collections of war memorabilia in Australia, dating from circa 1854 to the Timor
conflict. To see more information, images and ‘Alice Springs & District Roll of
Honour’,
click
here.
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ANZAC Hill •
Untyeyetwelye
• This hill is a special place to the Aboriginals, its name means ‘Corkwood story’.
The story is about a woman who avoids the company of men. The hill is also the
site of the ANZAC Hill War Memorial. It is also a popular place for tourist to
get a birds eye view of Alice Springs, the MacDonnell Ranges, Heavitree Gap and
the surrounding region.
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Araluen
Arts Centre •
Araluen
Cultural Precinct
• 61 Larapinta Drv, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8951 1120
• Fax: 08 8953 0259
•
• Part of the Alice Springs Cultural
Precinct, and sometimes referred to as the Araluen Cultural Precinct, this is the focal point of Alice Springs performing and visual arts scene,
incorporating galleries and a theatre.
- Galleries
The galleries has a program of exhibitions with the focus on Aboriginal
art from Central Australia and contemporary art by local and Australian
artists.
- Theatre
The annual theatre program includes performances by national touring
companies and performers, as well as local productions.
- Albert Namatjira Gallery
one of the galleries in the Araluen Arts Centre, displaying a rotating
selection of paintings by Albert Namatjira, his descendants and
contemporaries.
- Yeperenye Sculpture and the Sculpture Garden
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The Yeperenye Sculpture is an collaborative public art work that
celebrates the
Yeperenye
(Ayepe-arenye) caterpillar, which is the most important of the three
caterpillars that are the creative ancestors of Alice Springs. The three
meter high sculpture was developed by metal artist Dan Murphy, working with
students from the Center for Appropriate Technology's ATWork program. There
were mentoring based workshops with school children and local artists,
developing one hundred community generated panels to decorate the
caterpillar.
— The Sculpture Garden is home to a 300 year old Corkwood Tree, around which
the Araluen Arts Centre was designed. This tree, another one at the front of
the building and Big Sister Hill are considered sacred by the Arrernte
people. Public art located in the Sculpture Garden and the environs of
Araluen include major works by prestigious Australian sculptors Joan Brassil
- Time Mirages (1987) - inspired by the hand back of Uluru to it's
traditional owners, and Trevor Weekes - The Split (1984) - depicting notable
Central Australian landmark Standley Chasm.
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CAAMA
Visitor Centre - ‘Satellite Dreaming’
• Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
• CAAMA Visitor Centre, 101 Todd St, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Freecall: 1800 008 443 • Mon-Fri 9 am - 5 pm / Sat 9 am - 1 pm
•
The CAAMA Visitor Centre is a static and interactive display giving visitors a
brief history of the birth of Indigenous Media in Australia. The CAAMA display
tells the story of its humble beginnings and gives visitors a glimpse of the
Aboriginal Media Association in operation and acknowledges the creative
achievement of many Aboriginal people and communities over a vast geographical
area.
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Central Australian
Aviation Museum/ The Connellan Hangar / Kookaburra Memorial
• Memorial Ave, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0871
• Ph: 08 8951 8412 (Aviation Museum)
• Ph: 08 8951 5686 (Connellan Hangar)
•
Part of the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct, the Aviation Museum is located in
the original Connellan Airways Hangar and houses two early flying doctor planes
among other historic aircraft and aviation memorabilia. There is also a Memorial
dedicated to the memory of Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock who perished after
the ‘Kookaburra’ made a forced landing in the Tanami Desert on the 10th April
1929 while on their way to search for Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.
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Historic Buildings
• The
Telegraph
Station (the original settlement), Adelaide House, Old Stuart Town Gaol, The
Residency, The Historic Precinct and Anzac Hill all preserve some of the history
of European settlement from the 1870’s.
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Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame •
Australia’s Henworth Truck Museum
• 2 Norris Bell Ave, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8952 7161 (Museum) • Ph: 08 8953 2955 (Caretaker) •
• Open every day except Good Friday and Christmas Day
•
The Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame and Australia’s Henworth Truck Museum is part
of the
National Road Transport Hall of Fame. The Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame
encompasses around 11,000 sq ft of display space, devoted to the history of the
Australian designed and built Kenworth, and the Dealer network that brings this
product and back up support to customers across Australia.
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Mbantua
Gallery & Cultural Museum
• 71 Gregory Terrace, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870 • Ph: 08 8952 5571 •
• The Cultural Museum, referred to as ‘The Jewel of Alice’ was officially opened
on 30th October 2004, and is an extremely important aspect of the promotion of
the Aboriginal culture of Australia. The entrance is located inside the front
entrance to Mbantua Gallery.
The museum houses a vast collection of old and new landscape paintings,
including Albert Namatjira, Gabriella Wallace and Wenten Rubuntja. There is a
bush tucker display, a vast collection of traditionally used artifacts, and an
exhibition room, showcasing a selection of permanent collection works.
Check out the
museum online...
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Memorial Cemetery
• Part of the Alice Springs Cultural
Precinct, the Memorial Cemetery is the resting place of many of Central
Australia's pioneers, including Eddie Connellan and his family (a row of white
marble headstones), Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira, Harold Bell Lasseter
(who died trying to find a lost gold reef), Miss Olive Pink (anthropologist).
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Museum
of Central Australia
• Larapinta Drv, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8951 1121 • Fax: 08 8951 1107
• Located at the Alice Springs Cultural
Precinct, the Museum of Central Australia houses an extensive display relating
to Central Australia. The exhibits and displays follow the evolution of the
landscape and the fascinating creatures that inhabited it, from the unique
fossils of extinct megafauna, minerals and meteorites, through to the current
desert inhabitants.
From the big bang to the present day, meteorite fragments, fossils and
interpretive displays detail the geological history of Central Australia. It is
interesting to read the relationship between the geo-morphological explanation
of the way this land was formed, alongside the traditional Arrernte
interpretation (see Yeperenye Sculpture).
View the replica of an ancient waterhole with some its megafauna including a
giant freshwater crocodile and the largest bird that ever lived, the giant bird
Dromornis stirtoni and two diprotodontoids (who are a group of marsupials which
are now extinct). These megafauna came from Alcoota, a remote and protected
location some 200 km north-east of Alice Springs.
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National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame
• Old Courthouse, 27 Hartley St, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8952 9006 • Fax: 08 8952 9406 •
• Open daily 10 am to 5 pm — closed from mid December and throughout January
•
Founded by Mrs Molly Clark of Old Andado Station in 1993, and is dedicated to
preserving the place of women in history and their special contribution to
Australia’s heritage.
The original courtroom now pays homage to the extraordinary courage and
persistence of over one hundred ordinary women, past and present, who have been
first in their professional field, throughout Australia.
The former magistrate’s chamber is dedicated to pioneering women of the Central
Australian outback who helped develop the area from the 1870’s. Discover the
fortitude, courage and ingenuity of these often forgotten women - the wives of
missionaries, miners, telegraph stationmasters, governesses and kitchen maids.
See the displays of domestic artifacts, conventional “women’s work” including
ingeniously homemade household items used on outback properties and samples of
traditional craftwork. You can also support and become a member of the NPWHF,
visit their website.
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National Road Transport Hall of Fame
• 2 Norris Bell Ave, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8952 7161 (Museum) • Ph: 08 8953 2955 (Caretaker) •
• Open every day except Good Friday and Christmas Day •
•
For every visitor there’s a history lesson of how Australia’s tough terrain
broke the best vehicles the world could throw at it; of how war at our doorstep
brought mechanisation and development to this nation, and Central Australia in
particular; and how a unique breed of road transport pioneer used improvisation,
innovation, ingenuity, commonsense and sheer will to carve a road transport
network from stark wilderness to give us an industry that has been the nucleus
and backbone of Australia’s development. The National Road Transport Hall of
Fame is located approximately 8 km from the centre of Alice Springs, midway
between the airport and town centre.
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Old Timers Museum
• Opened daily from 2 pm - 4 pm
•
A centrepiece of the museum is the a replica of Flynn’s Dodge buckboard, a
collection of pioneering equipment, historic photographs and documents, old
mining and cameleering relics.
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Olive Pink Botanic
Garden
• Cnr Barrett Drv and Tuncks Rd, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8952 2154 • Fax: 08 8953 5522 •
• Web: www.opbg.com.au
• Garden 10 am - 6 pm • Visitor Centre 10 am - 4 pm (Closed Christmas Day and
Good Friday
•
An Arid Zone Botanic Garden in the Northern Territory. Miss Olive Pink arrived
in Central Australia in 1930, and lived with the Aboriginal people in the Tanami
Desert. She studied the Arrernte and Walpiri people and was a great advocate of
Aboriginal rights. Later she lived in Alice Springs and worked for the creation
of this arid zone botanic garden.
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Royal
Flying Doctor Service Visitor and Café
• Stuart Tce, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8952 1129 • Fax: 08 8953 0027
• Mon-Sat 9 am - 5 pm/Sun & Public Holiday 1 pm - 5 pm (Closed Christmas Day
& New Years Day)
•
Visit a working base that has been in operation since 1939 and learn more about
this unique service. See how we provide routine medical services to outback
isolated areas — towns, communities and homesteads, view an informative video
and observe the coordination of “real time” medical evacuations, enjoy our
interactive museum, purchase quality souvenirs, and relax in our café
in one of the town’s finest heritage buildings. The Royal Flying Doctor
Service is a non-profit organisation, with 100% of proceeds going towards
replacement of medical equipment and aircraft.
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Strehlow Research Centre
• Cnr Larapinta Drv and Memorial Ave, ALICE SPRINGS NT 0870
• Ph: 08 8951 1111 • Fax: 08 8951 1110 •
•
The Strehlow Research Centre manages one of Australia's most important
collections of film, sound, archival records and museum objects relating to
Indigenous ceremonial life. The Strehlow Collection was accumulated by the late
Professor T.G.H. Strehlow during a lifetime of anthroplogical research with the
Aboriginal people of central Australia.
A display on the life and work of TGH Strehlow features in the Museum of Central
Australia. Non-culturally sensitive material from the Collection is included in
the display.
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Todd Mall Markets
• Todd Mall, ALICE SPRINGS • Ph: 08 8952 9299
•
The Sunday Markets are usually held every two weeks after January and weekly
during July. Managed by the local Council, who also coordinate markets in the
Mall for special events, which are organised separate to the usual Sunday Markets.
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Wallaby
Feeding at Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge
• Although Rock Wallabies are elusive creatures in the wild, they can sometimes be
spotted at some of the popular tourist attractions such as
Simpsons Gap,
Palm Valley,
Ormiston Gorge, and
Standley Chasm.
People are usually asked not to feed wild animals.
If you are not fortunate to
see Rock Wallabies, there is one place in Alice Springs, Heavitree Gap Outback
Lodge where not only can you
see them, but you can also get up close to them as they come down from the range
to feed and drink. Special formulated feed is available at the lodge reception.
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For those with more time on their hand, you can base yourself in Alice Springs
to visit the following outlying attractions, with Uluru being about 456 km away.
To view some of the distances, click here.
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Finke Gorge National Park
• With tall cabbage palms
and other rare plants, this park has remarkable scenery.
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Illamurta Springs Conservation Reserve
• Has a permanent natural
spring, with access by 4WD via the Finke River.
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Larapinta Trail
• Officially opened in
April 2002, will offer 13 sections of a 250 km walk through a fantastic region
of the Outback.
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Mount Connor
• A 700 million-year-old
sand and rock mesa that lies in a straight line with Uluru and Kata Tjuta. There
is a lookout just 11 km east of Curtin Springs that offers fantastic views.
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Mount Ebenezer
• Stop off at the food and
fuel stop on the Lasseter Highway (about 54 km from Erldunda), there is friendly
service, accommodation, caravan and camping facilities. There is an InfoStand at
the roadhouse.
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Mount Zeil
• The Northern Territory’s
highest peak at 1,524 m.
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 Standley
Chasm
• Iwupataka Land Trust
• Ph: 08 8956 7440 • Fax: 08 8956 7325 •
• Gates open 8 am to 6 pm (no entry after 5 pm)
— entry subject to a small fee
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Located 50 km by sealed road from Alice Springs, Standley Chasm has been gouged
into touch sandstone by the floods that, over untold millions of years, have
surged down a narrow tributary of the Finke River system. The result is a deep
red cleft, with slopes on either side rising 80 metres above the floor.
Regardless of the weather or time of day, the Chasm is at its most dramatic an
hour either side of noon on a sunny day. It is at noon that the desert sun is
perfectly aligned, drenching Standley Chasm in a shower of brilliant red light,
the sheer walls glowing from the rflected sunlight to create a breath-taking
display.
Standley Chasm is located in a private flora and fauna reserve owned by the
Iwupataka Land Trust. All native plants and animals are protected. Do not pat
the dingoes. To view more information and images,
click here...
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Tnorala Conservation Reserve
• 142 million years ago a
comet crashed into the area, creating a huge crater. The formation is of great
significance to the local Aboriginal custodians.
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Uluru-Kata
Tjuta National Park
• Includes two of
Australia’s most significant cultural landmarks,
Uluru and Kata Tjuta, a must see for visitors to this region.
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Watarrka National
Park
• Located between Alice Springs and
Uluru it offers 300 m sheer cliff faces, a geological “lost city”, and palm
fringed waterholes.
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West
MacDonnell National Park
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As part of the incredible Larapinta Trail, this rugged landscape must see
features include: Simpsons Gap, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge,
Serpentine Gorge, Glen Helen Gorge, Redbank Gorge, Tnorala (Gosse Buff)
Conservation Reserve, Ochre Pits and Namatjira’s Twin Ghost Gums.
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