State Government
Alice Springs Desert Park - General Enquiries
Alice Springs
NT, 0870
we did the day tour and the night tour, the noctural tour is great, a fenced off section of the park where thye house extinct animals in the wild such as mala, bilby, hopping mice, poteroo, bandicoot in the hope that they csn be released into the wild when the ferral cat population is under control, hard to believe ina place like central australia there are no restictions on how you keep domestic cats such as having to be indoors/enclosed at night??? they take you through with a torch at night and show you the animals in their natrual habitats and give lots of informative and conservation infiormation on the animals. not cherap especially for a family but very worthwhile. runs for about an hour after sunset and cake and hot drinks provided after.
I had always planned to come back to Alice Springs and visit this park and finally got the chance. I must say it was very worthwhile and informative and very worth the entry. The park is set in the majestic foothills of the Macdonnell Ranges and all around there is the iron-rich red earth. The desert is alive and teeming with plants and animals. They also offer a nocturnal visit to see how the desert comes alive after dark. I didn't have time to come back but I plan to one day. The desert changes a lot in the seasons and I now plan to come back to see it in the wet season.
The real great thing about this park is their guides and tours - especially the nocturnal house which was different to what you'll hear at zoos and the like. The setting here too is really unique, it actually is in the wild - being on the edge of the Macdonnell ranges, which also makes for some genuine beauty. It's also easy to find your way around, well signposted.
Having said that, the price of entry to the park doesn't really match the not-so-large size of the park. If it was anywhere else than in the middle of nowhere I'd say it wasn't really worth the money (especially if you've got a family), but given that most of the time if you're here you'll be on holidays or the like then it could be worth the money.