Alice Springs

6 - 10 August 2017

Has someone been feeding the local Ringnecks do you think?

We planned to stay in Alice for 4 nights to allow time to see a few of the local sites, to do some housekeeping and get ready for the next part of our adventure. After setting up camp we went into "town" to the visitor information centre - as usual - and to have a bit of a look around. Armed with some pamphlets and maps we planned our next few days, with a focus on looking for birds of course.

Australian Ringnecks make themselves at home at the caravan park.

...so do Galahs like this one on our car roof.

A party of Grey-crowned Babblers live around the park.

Little Crow (I could be wrong with this individual but did have some unmistakable sightings). Another new bird!

Alice Springs Desert Park

A few kilometres out of town, this park is a fabulous place to visit. We spent about 5 hours there wandering around the various habitats (Sand Country, Desert Rivers and Woodland) and enjoying the magnificent view of the West MacDonnell Ranges. I particularly enjoyed the Nocturnal House - although I did bypass the spiders. It was well set out, with lots of interesting exhibits. There are a number of different presentations throughout the day, but we didn't participate in any, preferring to do our own thing.

One of their captive Emus.

A Pygmy Goanna in the excellent nocturnal house.

Sturt's Desert Pea in the sand country section.

The drifts of wild flowers are a boon for bees.

Silver-grey gumnuts (possibly Blue Leaved Mallee).

A Singing Honeyeater, appropriately enough on a Honey Grevillea.

One of the most common birds on this inland trip. White-plumed Honeyeater.

Sand country wild flowers with the MacDonnell Ranges in the background.

Sand country.

Olive Pink Botanic Gardens

New bird number two, the Western Bowerbird.

Western Bowerbird at the bower.

Where there are plants there are birds. That’s the theory anyway, so we headed off to the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens fairly early in the day. There are a number of walks and after making the $5 donation requested and receiving a lovely guide book, we oriented ourselves and chose to go on the Hill Walk which promised – and delivered – spectacular panoramic views of Alice Springs. A little bit rough, and challenging in parts, with quite a few stairs, this walk was a good way to start the day. The views were indeed magnificent and well worth the effort to get to the top of the hill.

At the top looking towards The Gap.

The only wildlife on the hill walk was this Kangaroo.

On our return to the bottom we stopped at the on-site café for a coffee. From there we split up – Mick to spend more time in the gardens while I went to the Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame, a short distance away.

National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame Museum and Old Alice Springs Gaol

I have read lots of biographies and autobiographies of pioneering women – some from relatively recent times – so was very interested to visit the hall of fame. I found it a fascinating place and great value for money at only $10 entrance fee. Founded by Molly Clark (of Old Andado) and housed in the former Alice Springs Gaol precinct the Hall of Fame showcases many local pioneering women as well as a comprehensive display of Australian women’s “firsts”. Such a rich history of women’s achievement which is being added to and updated all the time. From these displays housed in the old gaol kitchen and dining building, I wandered over to another display gallery housed in the former clinic. There is a permanent display of women’s work, and from time to time (but not this time) a visiting exhibition.

From there I went to the old women’s prison. What a marvellous exhibition, rich with the personal stories of staff and inmates. Matron Muldoon was a very forward thinking woman who instigated many initiatives in her time. I was told on arrival that, well into her 90’s, she is still involved in the board which administers the site. Quite an amazing woman.

Unfortunately I hadn’t left myself any time to look around the men’s prison section so I may have to return another time. There is also a small gift shop which sells art and craft work made by inmates of the present-day prison. There were some very beautiful pieces for sale.

Old Telegraph Station

After some lunch and housekeeping we drove out to the Alice Springs Historical Reserve where the Alice Springs Telegraph Station is located, in search of a walk that may be a good spot for birdwatching. We set off along the Riverside Walk which actually takes you all the way back into town. We only went as far as the junction with the Bradshaw walk. Although it didn’t produce any great bird photos it was a very pleasant afternoon walk along the banks of the (dry) Todd River. We spent a little while wandering around the grassed picnic areas around the Old Tele Station before heading home.

Juvenile Pied Butcherbird.

Weebill, Australia's smallest bird. These were common but I dipped on Redthroat that were supposed to be around.

Simpson’s Gap: Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges National Park

We decided on an early start for our day trip to Simpson’s Gap so set the alarm for 6:00 am. Not only was the early start a shock to the system, the 3.2°C certainly woke us up. With a quick breakfast we arrived at Simpson’s Gap (with only a couple of short stops to photograph the West MacDonnell Ranges and to try to photograph a wedge-tailed eagle along the way) around 8:00 am and it was still only about 4°C, but the wind was also blowing hard through the Gap. We braved the cold and walked along the Creekbed Walk path and into Simpson’s Gap. Everywhere we turned there was another fabulous view.

Early morning sun on the Gap, Alice Springs.

As the sun came up the moon went down behind the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Wedge-tailed Eagle on the way in to Simpson’s Gap.

Not much water left here.

Simpson's Gap

Simpson's Gap

The guide books promised Redthroat were common along this walk. The only bird seen was a lone Grey Shrike-thrush.

Simpson's Gap from the Cassia Walk.

The MacDonnell Ranges from the Cassia Walk.

Signs promised Black-footed Rock Wallabies but we didn't see any - they were probably and sensibly, still snug in their rock holes. After a while wandering around we drove back down the road to walk the Cassia Walk - a 1.5km "moderate" loop walk to the top of a hill. Again, great views but a little challenging at times.

We moved on from Simpson’s Gap to Standley Chasm for morning tea, but returned later in the day for lunch in the picnic ground and to have another look for the rock wallabies. This time we were successful. Mick’s keen eye spotted first one, then a couple more, up on the rocks. He was able to get a couple of good photos. He was also able to point out these beautiful creatures to a couple of very grateful international tourists.

Black footed Rock Wallaby with Joey.

Dusky Grasswren. My third new bird for the trip. First seen at Standley Chasm, I had better views at Simpson's Gap.

On the way out of the Simpson's Gap section of the park after lunch, we stopped to enjoy the Ghost Gum Walk - an easy 15 minute stroll.

Wild flowers on the Ghost Gum Walk.

Angkerle Atwatye Standley Chasm

After our early – and cold – morning at Simpson’s Gap, we drove on to Standley Chasm for morning tea. This area is Aboriginal owned so a fee is charged to visit the chasm. Formed by ancient seabeds 2.2 billion years ago this is another fascinating insight into Australia's rich geological history. There is a nice café and camping is also permitted in the carpark area.

The inner walls of the chasm seem to glow.

Standley Chasm

 It’s an easy day trip from Alice Springs and another place worth a visit. The path up to the chasm is an easy 20 minutes return walk although we took much longer. Standley Chasm was very busy the morning we visited – perhaps the lure of a café and camping brought in many more visitors than Simpson’s Gap just down the road. We opted to return to Simpson’s Gap for lunch in the spacious picnic area.