When you arrive by plane in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, the first sign you read at the airport is in Central Arrernte: Werte (welcome). From the moment you set foot in this town, it’s very clear that this is a place where language, culture and connection to Country run deep.
Central Australia suffered fewer blows from settler Australia than areas on the east coast. Walking through Todd Mall you’ll hear in excess of seven different Aboriginal languages spoken by people who hold unbroken ties to their ancestral lands, much of which they hold either native title or freehold title over, recognised under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.
Climbing here, you are keenly aware that you are climbing on someone else’s land, where people hold an
