Some suggestions for 3 or 4 days in Alice Springs please.

Hire a car.

There is a bitumen road out to the east and another out to the west.

Each of them give access to several spectacular gorges.

There is also the truck musuem if you are into that sort of thing. Anzac hil in the middle of town has a great lookout over alice and do it at night as well.

Alan

Go to the tourist information centre for a start, they will be able to tell you anything about the place that you wish to know(or they should be able to).Been there 4 times and enjoyed it every time.The Desert Park is a "must see", Transport Hall of Fame(allthough looking a little on the tired side)and have a look at the huge solar power setup nearby, West McDonald ranges is a good day trip....and many more..cheers

Jim,

the old Telegraph Station is a must just to the north of town. Original "Alice Spring" is in the creek bed there as well. A drive out to the Western Macs taking in Ormiston Gorge, Standley Chasm, Glen Helen Gorge and other attractions is also a must. Time it so you are coming back into town with the sun low behind you as the late afternoon colours of the ranges are simply spectacular.

Take in the sunset from the Anzac Hill above town as well. Heaps to do and see. Was through there last week on the yearly sojourn. Always enjoy the place.

As an aside, don't leave cameras, phones or electronics visble in your hire car at all. Smash grabs are rampant at the moment, even in "secure" caravan parks.

Enjoy your break.

Mick

We are in the Alice now enjoying exceptional weather...agree with above suggestions....the Desert Park is great .... the Araluen cultural precinct offerings are a must in my view too (particularly the Strehlow exhibits)...a day drive out to Glen Helen with gorge visits on the way is a good intro to the ranges (particularly Ormiston gorge). We did hear the other day that hire cars were scarce...might pay to book in advance. Lots to enjoy up here...have a great time !

Jim,
Take a gander at this thread http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Topic/103720/Help_sought_for_dumb_questions.aspx?ky=&sn=&p=%2fForum%2fDefault.aspx%3fpn%3d5 ... plenty of things there for you.
Cheers
John

Jim, drop into my place for a cuppa and I'll show you how good the bloody drawers are in my Prado you sold me.. love em :-)

The only place I wouldn't go is Simpsons Gap. They charge you to go in, and then do very little upkeep on the place. We were very quickly disappointed in what they have done to the place.
There were other stops in the West Mac's that aren't maintained and were much more pleasant, and enjoyable.

The West Mac's is the more popular, but the east is well worth visiting as well. Not as many people out there, but closer to Alice than the West. Having said that the West is more spectacular.

Other than that, as mentioned the telegraph station is well worth the time to check out.

There's also the aviation museum on Memorial Drive in the cultural precinct. It's on the site of the original Alice Springs airport. Beside the two hangars there's another small building that houses the remains of the aircraft "Kookaburra" that crashed during a search for Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Entry is free, but there is a donation box for visitors to drop in a gold coin.

Graeme

Gday Jim,
I reckon you've got some pretty good advice on the town stuff, and if it was my choice Id put The Transport Hall of Fame and Conellan Hanger at the top......Reptile centre sounds pretty good these daystoo apparently and desert parks alright if your into that sort of thing.
If you want to camp out of the way let me know.
If you went up a couple of years earlier I would have taken you for a tour....LOL
Watch out for the young blackfellas at night!!!!! Use a taxi and be careful!!!!
Where are you staying?

Cheers

Jim,

Its an ancient landscape with an ancient culture. Get out in the wide open spaces. There is a lookout on the side of Namadjirra Drive in the west Macdonnels where you can observe 500 million years of geological history. Not many places in the world you can see such history. The layers in the rocks are incredible. There are fossilised stromatilites near ellery creek big hole. Gosse Bluff further west is the site of a comet impact 600 million years ago - its a ring of mountains, absolutely fascinating...

Complete the loop by coming back via Hermansberg and the amazing stories Surrounding Albert Namaitjirra.Mount sonder is beautiful which namajirra famously painted. Not sure how fit you are, but Ormiston gorge walk is great. Mt Zeil in the west Macs is the highest mountain west of the great divide - its such an impressive mountain range. In town the old telegraph station is good and I always like the flying doctors.

Palm Valley is awesome, you can do a day trip but it is hard yards.

Say g'day to some Anangu people, its Yeperenya (caterpillar) law country. Find an aerial photo of the Macdonnel ranges and be amazed at how the ranges look identical to the yeperenye when they follow each other in a long trail. If you are high enough when you fly in you may notice the sting of ranges running east west.

Enjoy !

If you have the means, I'd forego the car for a day and do the helicopter charter tour - the greatest way to get around and the view is something else. Not to mention you get to see things and go places off the tourist route.