Indulge in a variety of adventure activities including ballooning, quad bike riding, trekking, indigenous cultural tours and camel riding
The landscape below was rust-red and flat as a baking tray. Scattered salt pans and the skeletal remains of ancient mountains were all that survived the all-consuming desert sands. From 30,000 feet it seemed you’d have to be an archaeologist to find any sign of life in the Red Centre.
But we were about to discover a newly accessible oasis for adventure seekers. Besides visiting the area’s many natural attractions, you can also indulge in a variety of adventure activities including ballooning, quad bike riding, trekking, indigenous cultural tours and camel riding.
Golf is another option and within an hour of touching down we were immersed in a game on one of the world’s top 10 desert courses. The Alice Springs Golf Club, a verdant splash of green at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges, snakes its way through sacred Aboriginal sites and rocky outcrops beside Lasseter’s Casino.
Nourished by water from the artesian basin below the mostly dry Todd River, the Peter Thomson and Michael Wolveridge designed 18-hole championship layout was officially opened with an exhibition match between Greg Norman and Johnny Miller in November, 1985.
With green fees from $20 for 18-holes on weekdays you’d have to go a long way for a better game of golf. In fact, you’d have to go 1500km just to find another course – at Mount Isa or Port Augusta – and much further to find a course of the same calibre.
That night we dined at the Overlander Steakhouse, an atmospheric restaurant/pub that is popular with backpackers and young adventurers who make like cowboys on its raw beamed rafters when dinner is done – kangaroo, crocodile and emu feature on the menu.
At 4am the next morning we joined some American tourists in a paddock outside town rugged up against the cold while a tall, mop-bearded man inflated a giant balloon that carried 16 people aloft. In darkness we drifted slowly across the sky, propelled by a silent breeze and an occasional burst of gas-flamed hot air.
While we stood in a wicker basket 1000m above the old Ghan railway line, the eastern horizon turn red, orange and yellow as the sun climbed into a brilliant blue sky. The support vehicle sprouted a rooster tail of red dust as it raced to be near when we landed.
After skidding to a halt in arid scrub off Old South Road, we helped pack the dusty balloon away before celebrating with champagne, honey-glazed chicken, quiche and chocolate cake.
In the afternoon we boarded 4WDs and headed out to Ooraminna Homestead, a working cattle station where six generations of the Hayes family have survived since William and Mary arrived with their possessions on horses and bullocks in 1884. These days, former rodeo rider Bill and his wife Jan supplement the station’s income by hosting barbecues on the homestead’s patio – a great way for visitors to get a taste of outback life.
If you don’t mind a face full of dirt and lungs full of dust you can also get a taste of the Red Centre by joining Outback Quad Adventures to explore the outer reaches of Undoolya – the Territory’s oldest working cattle station. Quad bikes have replaced horses as the best way to get around many stations and at Undoolya you might just find yourself racing a big red kangaroo through a dry creek bed on the way to a spectacular waterhole backdropped by the West MacDonnell Ranges.
But for an even more thrilling ride coincide your visit to Alice Springs with the annual Finke Desert Race, a 460km event that rivals the Paris to Dakar Rally for off-road action. In the lead-up to the big race spectators can speed over a special prologue section of the track on quad bikes.
Staged as part of the Queens Birthday celebrations in the second week of June, the Finke Desert Race pits dirt bikes against Mad Max-type buggies with top speeds of over 200km/h. More than 200 motorcycles and 90 cars contested the 2003 event in front of 1200 campers who spread out along the track to watch everything from flame-belching V8s to nimble two strokes tackle some of the roughest desert tracks on earth.
In terms of outback entertainment, the Finke Desert Race is right up there with the famous Henley-On-Todd regatta and the spirited Camel Cup race day. When it comes to adventure - Alice Springs to mind.
Road: All-weather roads link Alice Springs with the eastern states via the Stuart Highway (NSW & Victoria) or the Barkly Highway (Queensland).
Air: Virgin Blue has regular services from Sydney to Alice Springs.
Train: Travel on the legendary Ghan from Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide.
Outback Ballooning
Includes pick-up from accommodation and champagne breakfast. Various launch sites off Old South Road near the airport. Daily flights are weather dependant but in the desert the odds are good.
Outback Quad Adventures
Includes pick-up from accommodation and two-hour quad bikeride. Undoolya Station at the foot of the West MacDonnell Range. Departures twice daily. Winter pick-ups (1 May - 30 September ) at 8am & 2pm. Summer (1 October - 30 April) 7am & 3pm.
Alice Springs Golf Club
Cromwell Drive, Alice Springs (near Lasseter’s Casino). All year.
Finke Desert Race
One of Australia’s top off-road events for dirt bikes and buggies. Start and finish off Old South Road – 460km round trip to Finke. Long weekend in June.
Ooraminna Homestead
4WD station tours, bushwalking, whip-cracking etc, Deepwell Station. By appointment.
Camel Cup
Eight races and carnival with belly dancers etc, Blatherskite Park. July
Henley-On-Todd
Famous (bottomless) boat race, Todd River. September
January: 22 - 35ºC
July: 5 - 20ºC
Winter is the best time to visit the Red Centre, when days are warm and dry but nights are very cold.
4WD
