Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
communications room; allow another 30 minutes or so to browse the small
museum. Some of the recorded conversations between doctors and patients are
intriguing. There is a nice garden cafe and a gift shop.
8-10 Stuart Terrace (at end of Hartley St.).
&
08/8952 1129.
www.flyingdoctor.net. Admission A$6
(US$3.90) adults, A$2.50 (US$1.60) children 6-15. Mon-Sat 9am-5pm (last tour departs 4pm); Sun and pub-
lic holidays 1-5pm. Closed Christmas and New Year's Day.
School of the Air
Sitting in on school lessons may not be your idea of a vaca-
tion, but this school is different—it broadcasts by radio to a 1,300,000-sq.-km
(507,000-sq.-mile) “schoolroom” of 140 children on Outback stations. That's as
big as Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, and Japan combined—
or twice the size of Texas. The attraction is to watch and listen in when classes
are in session, but outside class hours you may hear taped classes, and browse the
kids' artwork, photos, video, and many other displays in the well-organized vis-
itor gallery. Free 30-minute tours run throughout the day.
80 Head St. (2.5km/1
1
⁄
2
miles from town).
&
08/8951 6834.
Admission A$3.50 (US$2.30) adults, A$2
(US$1.30) seniors and children 5-16, A$12 (US$7.80) families. Mon-Sat and public holidays 8:30am-4:30pm;
Sun 1:30-4:30pm. Closed Christmas, Boxing Day (Dec 26), and New Year's Day. Bus: 3, or take the Alice Wan-
derer (see “Organized Tours,” below).
ORGANIZED TOURS
AROUND TOWN & OUT IN THE DESERT
The
Alice Wanderer
bus
(
&
1800/722 111
in Australia, or 08/8952 2111) does a running loop of town
attractions every 70 minutes from 9am, with the last departure at 4pm. Hop on
and off as you please, and enjoy the commentary from the driver. The bus
departs daily from the south end of Todd Mall. Tickets are sold on board and
cost A$30 (US$20) for adults, A$25 (US$16) for seniors and students, and
A$15 (US$9.75) for kids 4 to 14. Call for a free pickup from your hotel.
The bus calls at most of the attractions above, plus the
National Road Trans-
port Hall
of Fame; the
Ghan Preservation Society
(formally the Old Ghan
Museum), housing the original Ghan train that plied the Adelaide-Alice Springs
line from 1929 to 1980; and
Panorama Guth,
an art gallery housing a 360-
degree painting by artist Henk Guth of central Australian landscapes.
The company can also tack on a Desert Park tour for an extra A$25 (US$16),
and also offers a tour to the rocky West MacDonnell Ranges.
Many Alice-based companies offer minicoach or four-wheel-drive day trips and
extended tours not only of Alice, but also of outlying areas including the East or
West Macs, Hermannsburg, and Finke Gorge National Park. Among the well-
regarded ones are:
Discovery Ecotours
(
&
08/8956 2563;
www.ecotours.com.
au);
Alice Springs Holidays
(
&
1800/801 401
in Australia, or 08/8953 1411;
www.alicespringsholidays.com.au); and
Alice Springs Tour Professionals
(
&
1800/673 391
in Australia, or 08/8953 0666; www.alicetourprofessionals.
com.au), a one-stop shopping place for a number of reliable tour operators and
adventure outfitters. See also “Exploring the Red Centre,” at the beginning of
this chapter, for companies running tours throughout the area.
Several companies run tours by motorcycle or four-wheel-drive ATV (all-terrain
vehicle). One option is
Central Oz Tours
(
&
08/8953 4755;
http://centraloz.
biz).
ABORIGINAL TOURS
I recommend those offered by the
Aboriginal Art &
Culture Centre
(see “Seeing the Sights in Alice,” above). All their tours
have Aboriginal guides. Their
half-day tour
features an explanation of the
