The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-28 · by Katie Cunningham
Anna Dakin has a message to anyone dreaming of a trip to Central Australia: “There is so much more to do than just go to Uluru.”
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Dakin → have → Uluru
Dakin has lived in Alice Springs for the last eight years and works as a tour guide, running art-focussed expeditions of the local region.
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Dakin → live → region
She made the move to Australia’s Red Centre from London after visiting on a holiday and falling “totally in love” with the natural landscapes.
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She → make → landscapes
“Uluru is incredible, and not to be missed, but the West MacDonnell Ranges – that’s the reason I moved to Central Australia,” she says.
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she → miss → Australia
There’s an energy in the landscape of Central Australia that I haven’t picked up on anywhere else in the world.
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I → ’ → world
So how can you go beyond the postcard and really tap into that unique Red Centre energy?
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you → go → energy
Here’s some expert local advice.
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advice → ’ → ?
Any great trip to Central Australia should start with getting to know Alice Springs, a town unlike any other.
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trip → start → other
Local musician Katie Harder says Alice is home to “a great arts community” that punches above its weight in terms of talent.
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that → say → talent
To get a feel for the town’s vibrant creative scene, she’d recommend seeking out Watch This Space, a multi-purpose arts space that plays host to exhibitions, workshops, performances, screenings and book launches.
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that → get → exhibitions
One of the more surprising venues in town is The Black Wreath, a massive heavy metal space that last year hosted performances from over 400 artists hailing from 10 different countries.
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that → host → countries
Visitors are also spoilt for choice when it comes to visual art.
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it → come → art
“We’ve got more art galleries per capita in Alice Springs than anywhere else in the country,” says Dakin.
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Dakin → get → country
Perhaps the best-known gallery in Alice Springs is Araluen Art Centre, which hosts an annual program of exhibitions, performances and film.
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which → know → exhibitions
But some of Harder’s top picks include the Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, which showcases watercolour paintings by the descendants of Albert Namatjira, and 8 Hele Gallery.
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which → include → Namatjira
The latter is “where you can see some of the highest quality Aboriginal art in a really tucked away spot, down a back alley in the industrial area”.
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you → see → area
“You wouldn’t necessarily know it was there if you didn’t know that it was there, but I think that’s one of Alice Springs’ best-kept secrets,” she says.
More to the menu
For brunch Harder recommends hitting the cafe next door to Araleen Art Centre, Yaye’s, “run by a young Argentinian man who’s really grown that space into something really delicious, and authentic to where he’s from”.
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he → know → where
For dinner, she’d go to Tropic of Capricorn for “interesting cocktails and tapas-style food”.
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she → go → cocktails
Dakin the local-made alcoholic ginger beer at Alice Springs Brew Company (“it’s a 10 out of 10″).
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it → make → 10″
Stuart Ord, an Alice local who has long worked in tourism and consultancy, loves Alice Vietnamese, an off-the-radar spot tucked away by the airport.
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who → work → airport
“They grow all of their own herbs.
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They → grow → herbs
Their specialty is fish,” he says.
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he → say → ?
“I enjoy taking people out there for something a little bit different.
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I → take → something
You feel as though you’re driving out in the middle of nowhere when you go to this restaurant, and it’s really quirky.”
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it → feel → restaurant
Events for (quite honestly) everyone
Speaking of quirky, Alice is home to a calendar full of curious events that bring out subcultures of all stripes.
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that → speak → stripes
And its 2027 iteration is set to be big: Blacken Open Air X: SOLAR, the festival’s milestone tenth anniversary event, will electrify Alice from 30 April to 3 May.
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X → set → May
Then, every June Alice plays host to Tatts Fink Desert Race, a big motorbike and buggy race “for your revheads, which adds another 15,000 people to town,” says Harder.
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Harder → play → town
Drag and cabaret showcase FabAlice tips its hat to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in March (“because in the film, the bus ended up at Lasseter’s [Hotel Casino] here,” Ord says) and in August there’s the Henley on Todd Regatta, the world’s only dry river boating event, in which a Flintstone-style ‘boat’ comically races on the sandy Todd River dry bed.
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boat → tip → bed
It’s not a festival, but year-round you can drive seven kilometres out of town to the kooky National Road Transport Museum, which Ord affectionately refers to as the ‘Trucking Hall of Fame’ – a museum devoted to trucking history as well as artefacts of the old Ghan railway.
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Ord → ’ → railway
“You can spend a good four or five hours out there,” he says.
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he → spend → hours
Alice’s offering of quirky events is as generous as they come, as one would expect of a place that puts on a much-loved annual beanie festival.
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that → come → festival
If you have a niche interest, chances are, Alice has you covered.
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you → have → interest
Adventure near and far
When adventure calls, you have two options: Alice or beyond?
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you → call → options
The good news is you can’t go wrong.
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you → go → ?
Alongside offering plenty of experiences in its own right, Alice is the perfect “base for going on a proper adventure into the outback,” says Dakin.
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Dakin → offer → outback
She recommends picking up supplies at Desert Dwellers in town before going bush.
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She → recommend → bush
Otherwise, it’s easy to hire camping gear from Nomadic Camping.
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it → ’ → Camping
The obvious starting points are the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, which begin just outside of town and stretch for over 150 kilometres in each direction.
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which → begin → direction
Both are full of “so many amazing places” to explore, says Dakin.
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Dakin → explore → places
“For people who like to go on a decent hike, start at Standley Chasm and go up to the top of Brinkley Bluff for a proper big hiking day,” Dakin recommends.
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Dakin → like → day
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
