| The Red Centre, Northern Territory: Discovery Trails |
Arltunga: the first substantial European settlement in Central Australia, Arltunga is an historic mining ghost town that has been perfectly preserved by the dryness of the surrounding desert.
The Explorer's Way: a drive connecting Adelaide with Darwin, that follows the route of John McDouall Stuart, a famous Australian explorer who was the first to traverse the continent in 1862.
Old Ghan Heritage Trail: a cross country trek that follows the path of the old Ghan train from Port Augusta, SA, to Alice Springs, NT.
|
|
Barrow Creek: a small settlement at the foot of a slope among the red mesas of the Watt and Forster Ranges. It was the site of one of the most violent clashes in Australian history between Aboriginals and Europeans.
Davenport Ranges National Park
Wauchope: A service town and gateway for visitors to The Devils Marbles. The settlement was established to service the mining communities in the area (wolfram was mined to the east of the town) as well as the Barkly Tablelands cattle industry.
The Savannah Way: one of Australia's ultimate adventure drives with large sections suitable for both 2 and 4 wheel drive vehicles. Stretching across far northern Australia through the Gulf Savannah of Queensland, the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Savannah Way is a combination of sealed and unsealed major outback roads and covers the 3700km from Cairns via Borroloola and Katherine to Broome in the west.
The Outback Highway: a series of sealed roads and dirt tracks linking Winton, Qld, and Laverton, WA. At 2,800 km, it traverses the inhospitable arid heart of Australia, the great outback. It passes through Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is being developed to provide an inland route between southern Western Australia and northern Queensland as an alternative to the National Highway 1 along either coast.
|
| Visiting The Region: The Facts |
How to get there: by road: the main highway from north to south (Stuart Highway) is sealed bitumen all the way from Port Augusta to Darwin, but other roads in the region vary from sealed bitumen to sandy bush tracks that require a 4WD vehicle.
The Red Centre may also be approached by road from Mt Isa in far west Queensland via the Barkly Highway.
By rail: Alice Springs is linked to Darwin, Adelaide and the rest of Australia's capital cities via The Ghan. Alice Springs to Darwin is a 24-hour journey; Alice Springs to Adelaide is a 24-hour journey. Two services per week operate in each direction from May to November. Outside of these months, there is one service per week in each direction.
By air: Daily flights operate from all Australian capital cities to Alice Springs. The town is a good base to tour the other famous attractions of Central Australia and most visitors to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and Kings Canyon go via Alice Springs airport.
|
The best time to go: Autumn (March to May) is possibly the best time of year with warm days and cool nights and not much variation. In Summer (Dec-Feb), daytime maximums are generally in the high 30’s but never above 45°C, but dry air and cool nights help to make these temperatures very tolerable. In winter (June-Aug), night time temperatures can fall below zero degrees Celsius and sometimes thick frost in the morning can look like a carpet of snow. These mornings are usually followed by very pleasant afternoon temperatures in the low twenties. Spring (Sept-Nov) is the most exiting season of the year with big changes in temperature from day to day, thunderstorms, hail and dust storms. It is also the wildflower season, usually peaking in September and early October.
|
|
|
