RANGE ROVERS
A journey through the Red Centre will leave the most well-read individuals feeling illiterate. The English language just doesn’t have enough words for ochre colours and their variants. At our disposal we have ‘red’, ‘orange’, ‘yellow’; the slightly more exotic ‘maroon’, ‘rusty orange’ and ‘red-brown’; and, for those less conscious of sounding like tosspots, ‘vermillion’, ‘burnt umber’ and ‘like the sole of my Louboutin’s’.
“Wine red” ventures Mum on her fourth glass, while “tangerine” and “mandarin” spring to the mind of the ever-alert Dad while wandering the fruit aisles (for a change) in Alice Springs’ Coles.
Still, this arsenal falls short; but when you’re left speechless by a place, you know it’s worth it.
Any journey through the Red Centre is incomplete if it doesn’t include the West MacDonnell Ranges, also known as Tjoritja, conveniently accessible from Alice Springs via the attraction-crammed 370km loop formed by Namatjira Drive and Larapinta Drive. An adventure here can be as easy, or as hard, as suits your taste; the West Macs cater to sightseeing, wildlife observation and floating on inflatable flamingos, just as they do to calf-defining long-distance hikes, remote camping and adrenaline-pumping 4WDing.
GORGEOUS GORGES
To begin your initiation into this world of gorges, gaps and chasms, leave Alice and drive 20km down Larapinta Drive to arrive at Simpsons Gap. Don’t burst your lungs on the flamingo just yet; there’s no swimming in this
