Alice Springs

 10 – 15 May 2022

We had booked our campsite in Alice Springs so there was no rush to get there. We had plenty of time to be tourists. The first stop along the way was Ochre Pits. Ochre has long been used for ceremonies and other significant cultural occasions and is highly prized. Visitors to this site are asked not to touch the ochre but just looking at the astounding variety of colours is worth the short walk from the carpark.

Our next stop was Serpentine Gorge. There is a relatively short (2.2km return) walk to the gorge waterhole so we headed there and sat quietly waiting for birds to come in to drink. Lunch time was approaching so we set off again and stopped at Ellery Creek Big Hole for a picnic lunch. All through the ranges and gorges are visible signs of recent flooding, and Ellery Creek was no exception. The waterhole is much larger than last time we visited. The volume of water that must have flowed through is evidenced by the many fallen trees and sand scraped off the road, sitting in massive piles by a now dry crossing.

From Ellery Creek we continued towards Alice Springs with one last stop at Simpson’s Gap. We walked down into the gap – with the cold wind blowing – but Mick was rewarded with some good shots of a Kingfisher catching fish. We continued on to the caravan park which is situated out of town, on the south side.

The caravan park is in a lovely location with views of the ranges and a peaceful bush setting which is perfect for us. We were glad to be on a powered site at last as the nights were still extremely cold at 5° so our little electric heater was put to good use. We spent our first full day sorting, tidying, washing, shopping and catching up on emails and social media. We still had some firewood left so we borrowed one of the park’s fire drums and had drinks by a small blaze before dinner.

On our second day we headed off to the Alice Springs Desert Park. This is a fabulous location to observe native birds as well as to gain an understanding of desert habitats. There are aviaries and various animal exhibits including a nocturnal house. We spent a few hours wandering around – Mick looking for wild birds while I took in the extensive interpretative information. There are various talks throughout the day at different locations within the park which help visitors gain an appreciation for the habitat and cultural values of the area.

On our third morning we visited Olive Pink Botanical Gardens, mainly to photograph one of the resident bower birds in his bower, but also to have morning tea at the lovely onsite café. After our visit we headed into town to do some shopping and then home for lunch. We returned to town later in the day to do some more chores.

On Saturday morning we set off to drive down to the Ilparpa Water Treatment Plant. It is possible to arrange a visit and walk with a local guide but this requires an induction and a degree of luck getting someone available when you want to visit. We did that last time we were in Alice Springs, but this time Mick was content to look through the fence. In the afternoon we revisited Simpsons Gap and enjoyed a lovely time in the cool of the gorge. There was a big crowd there filming – something to do with the ABC’s 90^th birthday celebrations. Depite this, it was a lovely peaceful spot to spend some time.

Back at camp we enjoyed the company of neighbours on the first very warm night for quite a while. In the morning we packed up and headed north again, bound for Karlu Karlu.