Beautiful Alice, so much more than I expected.
We thought we would stay for a couple of days and it turned into 12 . The highlight for me was the Alice Springs Desert Park. There are many parks around town, but this one has it all , there are walk through bird averies and good walking paths. You can self tour or have free guided tours.
We did a bit of wandering around to start. And it’s so impressive how the enclosures are just like the natural bushland that they come from.
Next we went into the nocturnal museum. So many unusual specimens in there
Some creepy, some well camouflaged.
Some downright nasty !
Some cute.
Back outside we walked through another enclosure
In one of the small bird, walk through Avery’s, we kept getting attacked by a little yellow wren, that was building a nest. He loved picking the fibres out of my track pants.
Next was a wander around some water birds.
From there we went to watch a wild bird feeding show, in a natural Amphitheatre. Hills surrounding the seating area. The little willy wagtail had sat patiently on the log for about 15 minutes, waiting for the girl to arrive with some food. Then the wild birds flew in from the hills for their morning feed
I really enjoyed this show ,especially this little fellow that came up close to me for his food.
This is typical of the bird watch huts, and the wired mesh covers a huge area of natural bush, surrounding it. A bit like the humans are locked up and the birds are free. We were told that David Attenborough, rated the park as one of the top 10 in the world.!
We finished the day at the park with the overland walk , not many bush flowers out yet, but would be nice in spring.
The next day we drove out to Hart, to have a look around an old mining settlement in the White Range.
It seems to have been a big settlement in its day. Remains of buildings spread over quite a large area of bushland. Rough walking tracks, so a hot and dry couple of hours spent there..
Some of the old plaster walls had names scratched into them. I found one dated 1886.
I was amused to see this grasshopper, just like most things around Alice. Red !!
Next was a visit to the old Telegraph station and park in Alice. Many old buildings restored and completed with old world furnishings.
A park and restaurant there as well , which was very busy while we were there. Also some sheds filled with all sorts of gear.
You hear so much of the negative things about Alice Springs, but we were able to have a good look around over our stay there , we didn’t feel unsafe and thought it was a great town with lots to see ,has all the facilities and retail shops, moreso than a lot of coastal areas.
The old Ghan train was just behind where we were parked at the Transport Museum, so before we left town I thought I had better check it out. Some of the carriages have been restored, while most are just the way they were. Sure was a luxury way to travel.
Chris spent quite a few hours in the Truck Museum, while we were staying there. I took a couple of photos, but we all know what’s in a Truck Museum, trucks ,trucks and more trucks. This one is one of the best and biggest displays in the Country.
Yes ,even the ” last Cab to Darwin” is there.
So that was Alice , where the town is nestled through a gap in the ranges, in the middle of Australia. Glad we’ve been there and done that.!