Alice was a bit of a surprise package. A lot of media negativity and also comments by some travellers made me think it was almost worth zooming through. An all together truth was far from that. Firstly I anticipated a flat barren country surrounding the town. Not so. Alice Springs is surrounding by imposing hills and rock formations. The town itself is very attractive. Grassed verges and a streetscape that defies the arid climate. The locals were friendly enough and it was easy to walk around the streets. There was a great long bay, all day parking area on the edge of the Todd River which was totally dry.
I stayed at my travelling friend friend’s property just south of the town. Being out of town and on a bit of acreage meant for peace and quiet and we had a camp fire one night which would not have been possible if I had stayed in town. We had 3 nights here.
Alice has had a lot of rain so the place was nice and green but you could tell the gardens and streetscape is well maintained year round.
Apart from The National Transport Museum (see Bucket List #61), we visited the Women’s Pioneer Museum in the old Alice Goal, Anzac Hill, The Old Telegraph Station and did a tour out to The West MacDonnell Ranges (see Bucket List #62). All were most interesting and the view from Anzac Hill gives a great perspective and overview of the town nestled between the rocky hills that form part of the MacDonnell Ranges.
Spending some time with true locals gave me a better understanding of living in the middle of Australia. It certainly has its challenges but unless you were a deadset surfing fanatic it wouldn’t be such a bad place to live.
rayaroundoz 