MacDonnell Ranges and Alice Town Highlights Small Group Tour

Our first visit of the day is at Anzac Hill, where you will be able to take in panoramic views over the town of Alice Springs and the surrounding MacDonnell ranges. You may be able to capture one photo to cover the entire town. Anzac Hill is a memorial dedicated to those who served in Australia’s defense forces during all international wars.

Your next stopping will be at Flynn’s Grave Memorial, the resting place of Reverend Flynn, the founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. We make short stopping to relax and enjoy the changing colours of the magnificent West MacDonnell Ranges and get some photos. our experienced tour guide brief about John Flynn's contribution to Australian society.

Simpson Gap features the towering cliffs of Simpsons Range, a permanent waterhole and opportunities to spot resident wildlife, ancient Red River Gums with a taste of Central Australia. Simpsons Gap is a significant site to the local Arrernte Aboriginal people and was the mythological home of giant goanna ancestors. We will take you on a short, easy walk alongside a picturesque dry creek bed that leads to a dramatic gap in the MacDonnell Ranges and a waterhole rich in native wildlife, flora, and geology. Sometimes you may even spot you might see Black-footed Rock-wallabies along the walking track into the rocky slopes gap. After enjoying your sightseeing walk you will serve bush tea and coffee by our tour guide.

The next stop on your exploration of the West MacDonnell is a picturesque walk at Standley Chasm. After Mrs Ida Standley, who in 1914 became the first school teacher in Alice Springs, this place was named Standley Chasm. Walking access to the dramatic 80m sheer rock-face of the chasm is along a well-maintained trail (1.2km/15mins each way), following the natural creek bed with seating & interpretative signage. Angkerle Atwatye, “the Gap of Water”, is a striking geological formation with significant botanical, bird-watching & wildlife photography appeal.

Your next visit is to Araluen Arts Centre. You will get an excellent opportunity to get a closer look at Albert Mamatjira's arts, learn about unique natural history, follow the evolution of the landscape and fascinating creatures, and explore the panoramic landscapes of the West MacDonnell Ranges. The Araluen Arts Centre aims to develop a collection of artworks that reflect a permanent record of art practice in Central Australia. Araluen arts center holds a comprehensive collection of paintings by Albert Namatjira.

Your next exciting place is Royal Flying Doctor Service Alice Springs Tour Facility. See, experience, and learn through the wonder of technology the heroic tales of the birth and growth of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Learn about the history and the activities of the RFDS’s pilots, engineers, doctors, and nurses, and the patients' experiences that are carried out and cared for daily. Learn the importance of the RFDS to outback Australians and the medical care required to service isolated regions.

Your next visit will be to Alice Springs School of the Air Experience. The Visitor Centre brings to life an integral and unique facet of the children’s lives in the Australian Outback. It offers travellers the opportunity to learn about the history of 'The World's Largest Classroom', reveal stories about the school from afar and life on the land, and share in the dreams, achievements, and journeys of Outback students. The experience includes a film, a guided presentation about our unique history, and the ground-breaking techniques that make it possible for our remote students to participate in school classes despite the challenges of time, distance, and isolation. You might even be able to observe a teacher conducting a live lesson in one of our five broadcasting studios right before you! However, at certain times, live lessons will be replaced with pre-recorded lessons.

Your next stop will be Pack a picnic, watch the local wildlife, or follow a short walking track into Emily and Jessie gaps. The two small gaps in the Heavitree Range are important spiritual sites to the Eastern Arrernte Aboriginal people. Many places in the surrounding landscape are associated with the same caterpillar Dreamtime story, and form a 'Dreaming Trail'. Emily Gap is a significant sacred site where the caterpillar beings of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) originated. These caterpillars formed Emily Gap, and many of the topographic features around Alice Springs radiated out to the edge of the Simpson Desert. At Emily Gap, you can see a large rock painting depicting the caterpillar dreaming. At this stage, we cordially invite you to participate in our afternoon bush tea.

Temple Bar Gap/ Honeymoon Gap is a small gap south of Larapinta Drive opposite Simpsons Gap, 14km west of Alice Springs. The gap is of great significance to the Arrernte people, the traditional owners of the land. The name Temple Bar Gap fell out of favour following the site becoming the honeymoon location for Robert (Bob) and Victoria (Vicky) Darken who married at the Alice Springs Methodist Church on 25 June 1942. Bob Darken was given a week's leave from the army and the couple planned to camp for a week at the gap and borrowed a car and a tent. The couple had repeated issues with the car and it rained for most of the week so, concerned for their safety, friends decided to visit them regularly; they said they were "going to see the honeymooners" or "going to honeymoon gap". It was not until 1981 that the name of the pass was officially changed to Honeymoon Gap, and in 2004, the NT Place Names Committee agreed that the official name of the gap should remain Temple Bar Gap.