Beyond the postcard: Two travel writers on the best of the Red Centre

Travel writer Leah McLennan has spent years exploring Central Australia. What she loves about the region is the breadth of experiences it offers – from showstopping sights to off-the-beaten-track discoveries.

“It has those big blockbuster things – it has Uluru, and it has Kings Canyon, and it has the Larapinta Trail,” McLennan says. “But I just love all the natural waterholes and the gorgeous places to swim, and the freedom that comes with that. It’s full of adventure.”

And one of the best destinations in the Red Centre, McLennan feels, is that quirky small town some 1,500 kilometres from the nearest city: Alice Springs.

Don’t let the coordinates spook you. Despite its remote location, Alice Springs is surprisingly easy to reach, with direct flights from major Australian cities and many of the Red Centre’s most rewarding experiences accessible from town.

“It’s a really exciting destination and a melting pot of different cultures,” McLennan says. “There’s just so much creativity around, and so many interesting people and interesting festivals… it’s a pretty funky and unique place”.

McLennan isn’t the only travel writer to have logged some serious kilometres in Central Australia. Nannette Holliday was there when the first big hotels opened in Alice Springs in the 1980s, and penned the very first official travel guides to the Territory’s outback driving routes in the 1990s. Now based in Darwin, she still makes regular trips to Alice, which she considers an essential first stop on any trip to the region.

So, with decades of experience between them, where in the Red Centre would McLennan and Holliday recommend you seek out – beyond the typical tourist trail? Here are their top picks.

Do

McLennan says planning a trip around a festival is a great way to see Central Australia – and there are plenty to choose from. Two of the biggest on the calendar are Parrtjima, the light festival that takes over the Red Centre every April, and Desert Mob, an arts festival held every September and October.

“Desert Mob brings together fabulous desert culture in the middle of Australia – lots of artist talks, art markets, exhibitions,” says McLennan. “There’s so many different artists displaying their works, and you want to buy it all. It’s just so much beautiful stuff.”

If you’re inspired to take an art tour of your own, Art Tours of Australia offers the chance to try your hand at watercolour painting amid the spectacular surrounds of Simpsons Gap.

McLennan also enjoys taking advantage of the Red Centre’s incredibly dark skies by stargazing at Earth Sanctuary, where you can enjoy guided tours of the constellations by astronomers, sit down for a gourmet dinner under the stars or even book an overnight stay in a private tent. The dome-shaped tents that dot the red earth make the sanctuary “look like something from Mars,” she says.

And to scratch her adventure itch, McLennan likes to explore the East and West MacDonnell Ranges. She recommends setting the coordinates for Ormiston Gorge, a 90-minute drive out of Alice, as the trip is “pockmarked with beautiful gorges – every 30 to 40 minutes there’s somewhere new to pull into and go for a swim.”

For a less physical outdoor activity, Holliday recommends a walk up Anzac Hill, in the centre of town, at sunrise or sunset, which takes around 15 minutes. From the summit you’ll get a panoramic view of the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, “and the sun coming up or going down completely changes the light – it’s really stunning”.

Eat

“In a really small town of Alice Springs, you’ve got loads of options of places to eat and cafes to go to,” McLennan says. The range of local and international cuisines is delightfully diverse, so much so that a single day on a plate could swing from bush tucker to bahn mi and local craft beers with ease.

Her pick of the bunch, though, is Warung Makan, an Indonesian restaurant in the centre of town. It was first recommended to her by a local tour guide as the best Indonesian food you’ll find outside of Indonesia – a “big call” that McLennan says she now agrees with.

“We tracked it down, and it’s such a humble restaurant, where you can sit outside on the ramshackle tables and chairs,” she describes. “Often, it’s completely full, and you have to wait to get a table. It is very down to earth and has the best food – mi goreng, gado gado and the beef rendang was just amazing. It’s BYO, so we grabbed some long necks from around the corner to have with dinner.”

McLennan is also a big fan of an overnight trip to Kings Canyon, a four-hour drive west from Alice, where you can camp or book a luxury villa at the Discovery Resorts King Canyon. In fact, she had one of the best meals of her life there.

“They have a degustation dinner. You’re outside at a table next to the open fire, and it’s just dish after delicious dish. It was amazing.”

The dinner, called Under a Desert Moon, is a signature of the resort: capped at 16 guests, set out in a secluded spot away from the resort and lit by a canopy of stars.

For casual eats in Alice Springs, Holliday loves Bean Tree Cafe in the Olive Pink Botanical Gardens, which serves saltbush smashed avo and lemon myrtle tea in a “relaxing and very beautiful” location.

Stay

McLennan is a dedicated adventure traveller who loves to camp “in a four-wheel drive with a rooftop tent” – something she’s done many times in and around Alice. But for her next trip she is eyeing off a stay at The Sturt Desert Pea House, a gorgeous mud brick Airbnb-style property on the outskirts of Alice Springs, inspired by the floral emblem of the NT and set against the ochre backdrop of the Red Centre.

Holliday, meanwhile, is a self-confessed five-star traveller who likes to sleep in comfort. When visiting Alice Springs, she goes with one of the classics – Crowne Plaza Alice Springs Lasseters or Hilton DoubleTree Alice Springs, the latter of which has a view over the MacDonnell Ranges.

But as Holliday sees it, the best part of the Red Centre is something you can enjoy wherever you’re staying and wherever you go: the colours.

“It is one of those places where the colours are going to wow you,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what the season, you’re going to be wowed by the colours that Central Australia has, that you’re just not going to find anywhere else.”

Alice Springs is more than just a destination; it’s a feeling, a connection, a story waiting to be told. Head for the heart. Head for Alice Springs. Discover more inspiration to start planning your Red Centre adventure here.