Review Topic:  Sights & Attractions

Strike me pink, the Todd River’s got water in it! Absolute disaster - The locals couldn't believe their eyes and the word went around town "We'll have to cancel the mighty "Henley-on-Todd" boat race!" The Todd River only has water in it for a very brief period, a week or two, the last time in 1997 - and wouldn’t ya know it, right at the time of the annual boat race. The river “flows” through Alice Springs, smack dab in the centre of the country.

The "Henley-on-Todd" is the only boat race in the world that does not need water. In fact, must not have water. The humour in the outback is about as dry as the climate, and many years ago someone decided to have a dig at the British and their very pukka old school-tie boat races by having a hyphenated-title race in a dried up river bed. The entrants have to construct their own boat shells out of whatever materials they can find, leaving room for their legs to stick out of their bottomless "craft." Then, when the starter's pistol is fired the competitors would run for their lives holding their boats around them. The only things wet at this boat race each year are the copious quantities of beer consumed by the thousands who turn up to cheer the "boat crews" on. They actually have an insurance policy against water!

This "boat race" is just a wacky modern bonus to the many natural wonders that attract over half a million tourists to Central Australia each year, and the bustling city of Alice Springs which has got everything, even a Casino, and even a blasted McDonalds or two.

Alice Springs is not only in the geographical center of Australia but also the center of the area's white settlement. "The Alice" as the locals call it, is an oasis surrounded by rugged beauty, and vast distances. Its strange emptiness is accentuated by a population so sparse that in many areas you can drive 100 miles without encountering a soul. Perfect! The soil here changes color and intensity as the early daylight strengthens and then fades again towards dusk. Fantastic to watch, especially around dusk.

If rain falls beautiful wildflowers spring up everywhere, only to die off in the heat, often one hundred and twenty degrees plus. There are no permanent rivers in this area, which averages a rainfall of ten inches per annum but only in a good year -- and is sometimes as little as two inches per annum, even zero!

The 22 native species of animals include dingoes (the wild dogs native to Australia), small kangaroos, lizards and snakes, so you can’t go hungry - Always eat ‘em fresh, but dead. All have developed dry-area survival techniques.

Natural oddities abound in Central Australia, proving that Mother Nature is very canny indeed. A species of frogs has evolved a survival technique by covering themselves with mucous -- they then bury themselves in the sand where they live in a form of suspended animation which can last for years, even as many as ten or so. They await the next rains and when these arrive, the frogs revive. Coming out of their mucous coating, they breed in the temporary creeks, puddles and waterholes that form after the rains, then go into hibernation, with the next generation of frogs going through the same cycle after the next downpour, often several years away

Another incredible phenomenon can be found on Ayers Rock itself, roughly 150 miles from Alice. A pre-historic variety of tiny freshwater crustaceans known as "fairy" shrimp and "shield" shrimp enjoy their short lifecycle in the puddles that form on Ayers Rock after "rain," laying eggs which can last for many years. The eggs are impervious to the dry and heat. When the rare rains come to Central Australia forming water puddles in the crevices of the giant monolith, the shrimp eggs hatch out, beginning a frenzied life-cycle which again terminates as the water dries up. Scientists have discovered that these species have not altered in 150 million years. When you’re on a good thing, stick to it?

Though Central Australia is arid and very hot in summer, the heat is dry. There are really only two seasons, Summer (November - March) and Winter (April - October). Summer temperatures are in the high 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and low 60's during the night. Winter days are in the low 60's with a minimum of a few degrees above freezing at night.
As in America's West, or so John Wayne told me, it was the arrival of the railway -- in 1929 -- that brought the first major change to Central Australia. The advent of the Ghan, (the train named after the handful of Afghan camel drivers who were the transport system for the early explorers and later the first hardy European settlers), brought supplies and a relative comfort of travel to this almost unknown corner of the world. We went on the old Ghan back in the mid 1970’s, absolutely fantastic. Now it’s all new - no thanks.

The early explorers to the area spread the word about the huge, arid Australian inland and the enormous rock formations with their awe inspiring, rugged beauty. Geologists among the explorers were puzzled by these giant sandstones that loomed above the vast, flat plain. They concluded that these were the tips of huge mountains, formed 500 million years ago during the Cambrian Era when Central Australia was a huge inland sea. I don’t remember this - must have been too young, but they reckon that these mountains extend as deep as 16,250 feet below the sandy surface.

Ayers Rock is impressive indeed! It is the world's largest monolith, a staggering 1144 feet high with a 8.8 miles circumference. Energetic and/or mad visitors can climb the steep sides, taking care on the smooth surface caused by countless centuries of erosion. Those who make it are rewarded by an unforgettable view across the colorful desert plain. Those that don’t are dead.

It really is a wonderful part of the planet. Tourists can sleep under the stars, or stay in 5 star accommodation - absolutely anything you want. You’ll find me in a motel, thank you very much.

I’m no make-out Dundee, but the top motel at Ayers Rock is shaped like a crocodile!






Recommended: Yes