Where We Be
We eventually got to hold the smaller roo named Sasha,
who is six months old. Do you think Robin enjoyed this?
Alice Springs, Australia
The Red Centre of Australia is aptly named: it's
an enormous red desert that takes up most of
the center of the country. But there are oases
in the Outback -- and Alice Springs is the most
important. It sits at the heart of the Red Centre
and is the hub for exploring all things Outback.

We flew into Alice Springs from Melbourne and
picked up our car rental for the week. Our plan
was to spend 3 days in Alice Springs, then drive
southwest to Uluru (4½ hrs away) and spend 3
days there, then drive back on the last day to
Alice Springs for the flight home. This worked
out great: it let us save on car dropoff fees and
take advantage of weekly car rental rates.

Alice Springs is brimming over with fun things
to do but we focused on three main activities:
1) Historic Sights: We made time for Telegraph
Station, School of the Air, and Anzac Hill (but
there are lots more). 2) Kangaroo Sanctuary:
Just like it sounds: a haven for kangaroo that
have been rescued. You get to hold and feed
baby kangaroo and see them up close -- highly
recommended. 3) Desert Park: the number one
attraction here, an outdoor park that's all about
desert animals and their harsh environment.
The odd collection of creatures in Nocturnal
House is especially fascinating -- don't miss it.
This map gives a good sense of just how
extensive Australia's Red Centre is
This is the number one sight on TripAdvisor for Alice Springs. The park is all about animals
and their desert environment. We paid 32 AUD (~$21 US) each for admission for the day.
We did a combination of guided tours and self walks
through three different desert environments
Lots of free-flying birds call the Desert Park home, including this
Rose Breasted Galah Cockatoo (left) and Banded Lapwing (right)
This Australian Bustard can
actually fly despite its big size
The stone-using buzzard was just one of several
raptors and owls featured in the Free-Flying Bird Show
Good signage throughout the park made it easy to identify
and learn more about unusual animals like this Skink
Without question our favorite part of the park was Nocturnal House. The lighting was so dim that
we don't have many pictures to share -- but suffice it to say that Australia's nocturnal creatures are
fascinating -- from the bilbies shown above to hopping mice, malas, rat kangaroos, and ghost bats.
Getting to Alice Springs by air is the quickest way -- and it
gives you a good sense of just how vast and red this desert is
We picked up our rental car at the airport and drove to Desert Palms Alice Springs.
With the hot temperatures here, a pleasant pool is an especially nice feature.
Our flight day was all about getting settled in and buying groceries for the
week, but next morning we got busy sightseeing -- starting with Anzac Hill
The memorial honors Australia's war veterans, and its
placement atop a hill provides a good overview of Alice Springs
We saw this lovely Australian Ringneck as we descended Anzac Hill
We arrived in time for the 9:30 am guided tour. Alice Springs actually
started as a telegraph station so this was the birthplace of the town itself.
Robin taps out Morse code. Those blue thingies are 1870s
batteries that powered the telegraph line in the early days.
Originally Alice Springs was simply the name of this waterhole adjacent
to the telegraph station (shown above but dry at present). It was named
after Alice Todd, wife of Sir Charles Todd (station superintendent).
While the tour was interesting, we soon learned that a fly net is a vital piece of
equipment in the Outback at this time of year (April-May). Luckily they sold them in
the gift shop. Robin models one (although they work better when worn over a hat).
After the tour we did a short walk to the top of Trig Hill
Otherwise Trig HIll (above) will give you a quick taste of the Outback
From the top of Trig Hill you get good views of the station and the surrounding desert
We continued on to our next stop, School of the Air (12 AUD pp), which
offers long-distance teaching to students spread out all over the Outback
In the old days they used radio, now it's internet and video, but the
concept remains the same: connecting students of the same age in
highly dispersed locations. We got to watch two live teaching sessions.
Students get together in person with other classmates and teachers three or
four times a year in Alice Springs. During one reunion each child made a
quilt pannel showing what life was like in their little corner of the Outback.
Alice Springs and Uluru are smack-dab in the middle of the continent.
It's a 4½ hr drive between the two (ignore Google's 5½ hr estimate).
This Thorny Devil just sits and waits for ants to
wander by and licks them up with its tongue
The owner and creator of the sanctuary, Brulga, is highly personable
and leads the group on a fun and informative two-hour tour of the property
Of course the highlight is getting to see and hold the baby roos. Each person gets the chance
to hold one of the babies for about five minutes before passing it along to another person.
Seeing a little roo staring up at you is pretty cute! They really like to snuggle and be held close.
Meanwhile we toured around the enclosed sanctuary, which keeps the dingoes out,
and watched Brulga feed the bigger rescue kangaroos and tell us about their lives.
All told the sanctuary was able to release about 300 kangaroos into the wild last year.
Roos love to be wrapped up nice and tight  -- it reminds them of their mother's pouch
The kangaroos were extra lively because it was a cool evening --
we watched them hop at speeds close to 40 miles per hour!
The tour is in the late evening because kangaroos are nocturnal
and they're just starting to get active around sunset
The tour finished after 7 pm at the tail end of a fiery sunset. While not
cheap at 85 AUD (~$60 US) each, this experience was highly worth it.
Alice Springs Historical Sights
Kangaroo Sanctuary
Alice Springs Desert Park
Meet Kangaroo Dundee! The best thing we did in Alice
Springs was visit the Kangaroo Sanctuary towards sunset.
Around 5 pm that afternoon a bus picked us up and brought us to the Kangaroo Sanctuary.
We were greeted by two baby kangaroos wrapped in blankets named Jade and Sasha.
By contrast, Alice Springs is an oasis of green.
Those are lorikeets flying free overhead.
Our next stop was Telegraph Station (15 AUD ea)
Prior to 1872 a message back to England would travel by boat and take
3 to 4 months each way! The telegraph line reduced that time to 5 hours.
For a real Walkabout, you could always tackle the Larapinta Trail
The younger ones especially enjoy being fed milk from
a bottle. They don't need it at this age, but they like it!
This statue honors Roger, a famous (and big!) male kangaroo
who was "in charge" of the place up until his death
At the dingo habitat we saw just how high they could jump -- their cages
are specially designed with no right angles or else they could climb out
At the Free-Flying Bird Show we watched this Black Breasted Buzzard
use a stone to break open an emu egg! Click here for a short video.
Can you see the giant Stick Insects in this photo? Hint: there
are two of them, bending down like leafless branches of a tree.