Alice Springs Holidays - Art and Culture

Eastern Arrernte Rock Art Tour

Ruperts Country Aboriginal Departing from Alice Springs, travel east along the MacDonnell Ranges. Visit the site where the Caterpillar Beings emerged from deep within the earth in the time of Creation. Your knowledgeable driver/guide will tell the timeless story as depicted in ochre on the rocky walls of Emily Gap. Further along the ranges, explore Corroboree Rock and hear of it’s traditional importance as a storage place for the ceremonial artifacts of the Eastern Arrernte people.

Leaving the sealed road behind, traverse the 4WD track into N’Dhala Gorge, an exceptional rock art site featuring Panaramitee style engravings estimated to be over two thousand years old. We have hours to examine this cultural treasure house, which contains over 5,900 individual petroglyphs, storage sites for ceremonial objects and shelter sites. Look around with a trained guide on hand to answer your questions and provide an insight into the people who carved them.

Hand Stencil A gourmet picnic lunch ensures plenty of energy to explore. Taking a back track home allows you the space and time to absorb the day as the broad expanse of Central Australia rolls past. Stop along the way for afternoon refreshments set against the unending panorama of red soil plains and the East MacDonnell Ranges. Return to your accommodation in Alice Springs approx 5.00pm

Western and Southern Arrernte Art Tour

Head out into Western Arrernte country this morning. Travel through pastel colored mountain ranges as the two lane road becomes a single strip of highway, then finally on to a dirt track as we reach our first destination for today. Wallace Rockhole Aboriginal Community was established in 1983 as an outstation settlement of the former Lutheran Mission at Hermannsburg. Your driver/guide will introduce you to a local guide who will accompany you on a leisurely walking tour of the Rockhole.

Rock Art Wallace Learn of the traditional and modern life of the Western Arrernte people who live here and see rock carvings and hand stencils up to an estimated 8,000 years old. After the tour there is ample time to visit the art centre and gallery. A fantastic opportunity to purchase a huge variety of local art at community prices. Today’s next adventure is the 4WD track through the Waterhouse Range into Lawrence Gorge. Learn of the vital significance of the refuge environment provided by these ranges for the Western and Southern Arrernte people. Hear of the traditional connections between these related language groups and the ancients stories of the land around you.

Honey Ant, Inkamala Your energy restored by a gourmet picnic lunch, travel onwards to Rainbow Valley or Ewerre as it is known to the Southern Arrernte people. Your informative guide will show you the evidence of their long occupation in the form of rock engravings, paintings, grindstones and stone tools. There is plenty of time to explore this registered sacred site and afternoon refreshments to keep you going. Finish the day watching the setting sun transform the sandstone bluff into a glowing wall of reds, oranges and yellows against the foreground of the claypans. Premium Australian sparkling wine and a delicious platter of Tasmanian cheeses and fresh produce compliment nature’s finale to the day. Return via sealed road to Alice Springs approximately 1.5 hours after sunset.

Art is a very individual thing, and with so many styles and famous artists in Central Australia, please contact us to help you identify the best options for you.

"Alice Springs Holidays, Exploring The Red Centre in Style"

So forget the crowds and join us in the Red Centre for a truly notable Australian Outback Experience.