Australia > Alice Springs

Alice Springs has quite a few interesting things to see; one of them happens every night. If you don't get out of town and watch a sunset, even just sitting off the main highway, you've missed something special. Some other things to do include:

• Stargazing - Alice Springs is in the middle of the largest land area without lights on earth, so the view of the Milky Way is unmatched unless you're on a dark boat in the middle of the ocean. Anyone from the city stopping on the road just out of town at night and tipping their head back is likely to fall over from the sheer shock of all those stars. Astronomy is popular in town; there's even a cafe devoted to stargazing: the Milky Way Cafe.
• Alice Springs Desert Park located outside of town is truly memorable in its examples of local flora and fauna. They give a number of interesting lectures, such as aboriginal use of local plants for food. The nocturnal exhibit is excellent, a very low-light building with offset day and night schedule to induce the nocturnal critters to come out during the day so people can see them. The best time to go to the park is early morning, before it gets hot; you can spend a full day walking the trails, going to the birds of prey exhibition where they fly the local aerial predators overhead, and getting the bushfoods and medicine tour.
• Alice Springs Reptile Centre is not very big, but it features over 30 species of reptiles, including snakes, lizards and crocodiles. You can even get up close and have a chance to feed some of them. Live shows run a few times daily. Open year round, except for major holidays.
• Olive Pink Botanical Garden - A desert botanical garden. Doesn't bloom much, but if you happen to get here after a rain, it's a really nice spot. Bring your sunscreen. There's a biography at Dymock's on the life of the lady it's named after, Olive Pink.
• Old Timer's Museum - located at the Old Timer's Place, off the main road into town from the airport before you get to the Gap. Really cool history of the outback, with a big collection of amazing stuff from the first white folks to hop a camel for the middle of nowhere. Definitely worth a visit.
• Adelaide House - the first stone building in Alice, located on the Todd Mall and well worth a visit if only for the absolutely amazing early air-conditioning system. Really cool display of old communications technology, like the bike-powered communications radio. Run by a couple old women who serve tea - an excellent place to have a sit-down. Nice and quiet.
• Outback Ballooning - Take a balloon ride and see the sunrise, have a champagne breakfast in the middle of the desert. Alice Springs has ideal weather for ballooning and the tour operators run almost every day of the year.
• Larapinta Trail - The Trail runs for 223km along the backbone of the West MacDonnell Ranges from Alice Springs to Mt Sonder. The grandeur and timeless beauty of the Ranges are the backdrop and setting for the Trail, which is divided into twelve sections, providing you with an opportunity to experience an ancient landscape at your own pace. free entry.
• Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve - Explore the 12 craters, which were formed when a meteor hit the earth’s surface 4,700 years ago. The Henbury Meteor, weighing several tonnes and accelerating to over 40,000km/h, disintegrated before impact, and the fragments formed the 12 craters. free entry.
• Horseback riding - Some local groups offer horseback riding tour of the local bush, to scenic lookout points, for all skill levels.