With daily non-stop flights from Melbourne to Alice Springs and only less then 3 hours flying, Alice Springs is a good destination for a long weekend.

We went with a small group of travel agents for the Camel Cup, sponsored by Voyages Hotels and Resorts and the opening of "The Barra on Todd" a new seafood restaurant.

The first night we stayed at the Alice Springs Resort a 4 star hotel situated on the banks of the Todd River, which had just completed a major refurbishment. It is within easy walking distance from the town and housed the new seafood restaurant " The Barra on Todd" which had a wide range of wonderful seafood.

The second night we stayed at Lasseters Hotel & Casino. It is a 5 star hotel with fantastic conference facilities and set against the stunning MacDonnell Ranges. It is beautiful to go for a nice long walk or even better you can hire bikes and go for a nice ride around Alice Springs. It is very easy to get around by bike, because Alice is fairly flat.

Friday afternoon we did a tour around Alice Springs with Tailor Made Tours. Went to Anzac Hill and enjoyed wonderful views over Alice Springs and had afternoon tea at Simpson's Gap. I would have loved a bit more time at Simpson's Gap for a good walk and to "spot the rock wallaby".

The best thing we did was a Quad Bike Adventures tour. F A N T A S T I C. So much fun and you get soooo dirty. Outback Quad Adventures operate on Undoolya Station, the oldest working cattle station only 15 minutes from Alice Springs. We did the morning tour. You go riding for a couple of hours and with the stunning MacDonnell Ranges in the background. And if you are lucky you see cattle grazing. To top it all off, we had the best gourmet bush breakfast. They also do an overnight tour with camping under the stars and gourmet dinner and of course gourmet breakfast again.

After the Quad Bike Adventure we had much needed shower and went off to the Camel Races. On the way to the races we were lucky to see The Ghan go past.
Very impressive! It certainly is an attraction and everyone stops to have a look. It was good to see that the carriage with the vehicles was quite full. Lots of people will put their car on The Ghan, train it one way and drive the other way. We did have fun at the Camel races. It is very funny seeing camels race but a couple of hours was enough for me. I guess being with a group made it more exciting.

A must is a visit to world class Alice Springs Desert Park. Unfortunately we didn't get there early enough to have a good wander around. But we had dinner there Saturday night and got a feel of the area when we had to walk to the venue. They have great facilities for all sorts of functions. According to Richard Attenborough it is one of the best in the world.

You get a really nice feel about Alice Springs. The people are wonderful and every one you speak to loves living in Alice Springs.
There are great restaurants; there are lots of activities; there is nightlife;
There is wildlife and there is friendliness.
And……I had a lot of fun.

The Red Centre certainly is not only ULURU, it is also ALICE SPRINGS.

Ria