Alice Springs 1

8th –13th June

“Impressions of Alice”

“The township of Alice Springs rests between the parallel folds of the MacDonnell Ranges like coloured gems in the wooden carrying bowl of a giant Aboriginal hunter.”  (Bill Harney, 1963, an Aboriginal man who lived in Alice Springs for a while and was the first ranger at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.)  From a sign near ANZAC Hill.

 

I arrived in Alice Springs the afternoon before my Central Australian tour, which was to begin very early (i.e. still dark and absolutely freezing) the next morning.  I had been warned that Alice Springs was potentially unsafe, with an alarming crime rate, so instead of wandering around on my own to explore, I booked myself onto a hop on/hop off bus tour, to be on the safe side (and set a good example to my children.) 

 

I must say that I found the town cleaner and more attractive than I was expecting, and never once felt unsafe.

 

The Todd River is more like the Todd Park, and I found it much cleaner and greener than I expected.  Casually and vastly bisecting the town, and studded with magnificent eucalypts, it gives a relaxed and open feeling to the area.

The Henley-on-Todd Regatta is probably the only boat race in the world which has to be cancelled if there is water in the river.

 

First stop was at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre, which advertises itself as “home to the largest reptile display in Central Australia” (I’m not sure if there actually are any others).

This young girl single-handedly took the money at the door, set up chairs, then gave a very competent and entertaining talk on the residents.  Co-incidentally, a French couple who were there, were also on my tour the next day.

 

“Terry” is an Australian saltwater crocodile about 20 years old.  He’s about 3.3 metres long and weighs about 200 kg.  We were assured that his tank was strongly reinforced.

 

Lions’ Walk, ANZAC Hill.

The bus driver suggested I might like to take this walk up ANZAC Hill, which was quite near my hotel.  I nervously enquired if it was “safe” and he assured me it was.  In fact, I ended up on the top of this hill four times during my brief visit to Alice Springs – three times walking up the track and once on the bus tour several days later.

 

Alice Springs, from the top of ANZAC Hill.

Alice Springs was much greener than I had expected.  The town’s water comes from a groundwater aquifer, and there are no water restrictions.  However, pumping water from underground rocks is expensive and energy intensive.  “Water moves slowly though rock and extracting it is like trying to drink a thickshake with a narrow straw.” (www.nretas.nt.gov.au/natural-resource-management) 

Since pumping at the Roe Creek aquifer began in 1964, the groundwater level has dropped 60 metres, from 90m to 150m below ground level.

 

As well as the Australian flag, on the top of ANZAC Hill, the flag of the Northern Territory was also flying.  It features the Southern Cross and a desert rose, the floral emblem of the Northern Territory. 

Now I know why my hotel was called the Desert Rose Inn.