Alice Springs Desert Park wasn't far away , so that was the destination for today . Not knowing what to expect turned out to be the best way to go . We arrived , paid our entry , then went back to the ute for some lunch before tackling the park . There are wildflowers everywhere here - probably have been seeded , but the views were stunning - the rain has also been a big help with them . Here are just a few .
Here's a Sturts Desert Rose , they are flowering everywhere at the moment .
Near the entry is a really cool hand carved seat .
More flowers later , time for some birds . There are aviaries all around the park showing you the varieties of birds that live in the desert . Some you can walk through , others you can view through large perspex windows - stunning birds - I'm not going to show them all - that would take too long !!
A Painted Finch
Superb Blue Wren
The park has all different areas representing what you find here in central australia - desert rivers , sand country & woodland - birds and animals are all from these areas . There is also a Nocturnal House showing off a lot of creatures you wouldn't have a chance of seeing normally .
We wandered along and were heading toward the nocturnal house - not sure of which direction , when a whip tailed lizard appeared and headed off the direction we required , before jumping back into the undergrowth 20m further up the track .
Here are a few of the occupants of the nocturnal house .
Legless Lizard
There are many more skinks , gecko's , snakes , pythons , bats & birds and Bilby's , it's an outstanding display !!
Here's some more flowers .
There are guided short tours in a variety of places during the day , and are well worth tagging along with . One we wanted to do didn't start till 3:30pm - the birds of prey show - that wasn't a problem , the time passed quickly , we were amazed at how much time we spent in the aviaries , just sitting and watching the birds flying and hopping all around you - spectacular !!!
The birds of prey show was great , a Barn Owl crawled out of a hole in a tree stump and flew down to the handler , before flying around and over the top of us and everyone seated in the amphitheatre . The birds were millimetres above your head , I had to duck a couple of times - just an instinctive reaction when they are that close !!
Then a Curlew appeared - not really a bird of prey - more a victim of cats & foxes - so more prey . As anyone who has heard them at night will know , they make a horrid screaming sort of noise - should be enough to scare anything away !!
Next was a Central Boobook Owl
Then we had the speed show - a Brown Falcon showed off it's speed - up to 120klm/hr !! A magnificent , very streamlined bird !!
Next up were a Whistling Kite and a Black Kite - the difference being in the shape of their tails . The Whistling Kite has rounded tail feathers , and the Black Kite has pointed tail feathers . They were just perpetual motion during the show soaring in & out of the amphitheatre , close to your head again and scaring girls in a school bus group .
It was a bit disappointing that they didn't have a Wedge Tail Eagle in this show - they are amazing . We learnt later that you can do another show with a wedge tail - for another $30 each - we were too late for that show and after paying $32 each for entry into the park , probably wouldn't have done it anyway !!
Time had disappeared , we went through a couple of the areas that we'd missed earlier as we made our way back to the exit .
The verdict - today was excellent !! well worth the entry fee , but we should have been here earlier - as it was we spent just over 5 hours here , you could spend the whole day !!!
A final photo of the West Macdonnell Ranges as we left the park .
There is also a light show that is starting tonight , images will be projected onto the ranges in the photo above . It is on for 10 days , stay tuned !!
A map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q5pB-EpapEQikTPHaDnKx_EEBgU&usp=sharing
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