A Land of Extremes: Central Australia

Central Australia is both beautiful and challenging. In summer, the heat is scalding; in winter, the chill brings frost. Its landscape can be dangerous. Tourists that wander away from vehicles on outback highways in the height of summer face consequences. In this place, the wrong decision made through an error in judgment can be costly.

Roadtrips through the huge reaches of land come to mind. When driving the last stretch from Coober Peedy in South Australia to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, the owner of the underground hotel we stayed at in Coober Peedy warned us about the pitfalls of the recent rains. He informed us that encountering eagles on the highway might be potentially dangerous as because of the deluge more animals were about and therefore there was more roadkill. Feasting on this roadkill meant the eagles were heavier and slower to leave the ground when vehicles approached, increasing the risk of them shattering the windscreen.

The rugged MacDonell Ranges of remote Central Australia

The old adage, 'Always take water with you,' is key to survival, even for quick jaunts out of town to local sites such as waterholes. If you break down, or if you must make an extended stop for any reason, hydration is paramount. There is also the mantra of always telling someone where you are going in case you become stranded and don't return as planned. If you do find yourself stuck on the side of a highway it is a matter of survival that you don't abandon your vehicle, the only source of shelter in a brutal climate. Each summer, there are always occasions where a search and rescue operation is triggered because someone is missing. 

However, although Central Australia can be dangerous, if you stick to the rules and listen to the locals, you will experience this place in its fulness. Within its isolation blossoms a sense of freedom, of opportunity, and the chance to breathe away from crowds. Threaded down through the generations are the stories and dreamings of the traditional owners who have read this landscape with clarity longer than anyone else. They know its beauty and its harshness. 

Countless stories of those who come to Alice Springs in Central Australia for only a few months and end up staying years abound. Nonetheless, it is also a transient society made up of goodbyes as people return to other cities. The turnover in residents injects dynamism and freshness into the community, preventing it from stagnating like so many other country towns. 

This place will change you.