Alice Springs Desert Park

A walk through the desert as it actually works, at the foot of the West MacDonnell Ranges seven kilometres west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), on Arrernte Country. A 1.6-kilometre trail moves through three built habitats — Desert Rivers, Sand Country, Woodland — each planted and stocked to show how Central Australian life is organised around water, or its absence. The park was shaped with the Arrernte people around the Akngwelye and Yeperenye Altyerre — the Wild Dog and Caterpillar stories — and Arrernte guides lead much of the cultural interpretation. In the Nocturnal House you can see bilbies, mala and thorny devils awake and active, animals the park has helped breed back from the edge; outside, a free-flying show puts wedge-tailed eagles and other raptors overhead. Run by the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission since 1997, with Advanced Ecotourism accreditation and a serious conservation record behind the displays. Open daily; allow most of a day.