Alice Springs Desert Park — Attraction in Flynn

Incredible, beautiful, a must-see attraction in Alice Springs

This was honestly amazing, and I'd say if you go to Alice Springs you really have to come visit the park.

It's in beautiful surrounds, near town and easy to get to but far enough into the bush that it feels isolate and natural. Sitting right up against Tjoritja/the West MacDonnell range, it's a lovely spot to be.

First, we went to watch the (free) bird show, which I'd highly recommend. They have lots of birds fly through the stands, over your heads, and teach us about birds commonly found in Central Australia. While we were there, Sophie and Angus ran the bird show, and did a fantastic job. The falcon and wedge-tailed eagle were particular favourites, and I got to get a photo with a snowy owl perched on my hand after the show which was super cool. They charge a small fee ($10) to get a photo with the birds afterwards, which I though was more than worth it and a great way to give back to such a meaningful place.

We then walked around the park and saw most of the exhibits. Seeing the emus up close was great (they're huge!), but my personal favourite was the bird enclosures. The park is filled with small buildings attached to large outdoor enclosed areas, and you go throuhg a set of double doors to get in and see the birds. When you walk in, it's quiet and you'd think it was empty, but if you sit quitely for a few minutes all the birds come out and walk, fly, and sing around their little home, it's amazing.

I couldn't recommend this more highly, I had a blast. Next time I come to Alice, I'll be...

A really interesting park. We had a limited 4hr visit between 8.30am - 12.30.. but could have spent a lot longer here, as they have a programme of events throughout the day until 3pm (ish) and you can also do nocturnal visits separately depending on which ticket you purchase.

4hrs was only just long enough to whizz round and do x3 of the programmed events .. without stopping for lunch.

The park is rural with gravel and dirt tracks, but all flat and easily accessible. You could walk it in flip flops, but I recommend trainers as it's quite dusty red sand.

There are x3 areas to visit ..Desert Rivers Environment; Woodland Environment and Sand Country .. each with panel displays; various aviaries and animals to look at (emus, dingoes, kangaroos & nocturnal animal house).

The park has a "big" feel to it because of the mountain range back drop + all the flora and fauna, but is actually quite quick and easy to walk around.

We visited on 5th November & by midday it was as 39C.. dry heat.. as hot as a sauna. They have regular shaded stop off points along the pathways, most of which have freezing cold filtered water fountains. DO NOT VISIT THIS PARK WITHOUT A REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLE.. .YOU NEED TO BE DRINKING A COUPLE OF LITRES OF WATER TO AVOID HEAT STROKE !

My advice would be to get there as soon as the park opens as 7.30. We arrived at 8.30.

The nocturnal house was really interesting and the free flying bird show + how to survive in the desert talk were fascinating.

The park also has a cafe and gift shop.

Staff super...

We went to this park on a whim and only planned to spend the morning there. We ended up being there almost until closing and then coming back to do the night tour. We loved the talks! They were all so different and informative. Thank you Doug for being such an amazing teacher. We learned so much and it was hard to leave. Maybe you could start doing some TED talks for all the world to hear your ideas, experiences and knowledge. The boys happily watched the bird show twice, enjoying the repeat aspects of it and also the differences between the two shows. The setting of the park is astonishing too. I had thought the Australia desert was beautiful in its own unusual way. But then seeing what they’ve done at the desert park, restoring the land there to a more appropriate idea of what the desert looked like before European settlement, was a whole other experience. They’ve worked so hard to restore the desert to what it should look like and it was an inspiration to see the possibility of how we could bring the rest of this country back into shape. It was also wonderful to see wild wildlife using the park as well because it was such an amazing habitat. The nocturnal experience was outstanding too. To see Australian marsupials that I’d never heard of in their natural environment is a totally unique experience and our guide answered every question thrown at her!

We had lunch at the cafe, hot chips and toasted turkish bread sandwiches that were super tasty. The signature smoothie was delicious and they used Bonsoy in the...