PHOTOGRAPHY
NORTHERN TERRITORY
ALICE SPRINGS
Storied city of the Northern Territory, Alice Springs is the jumping off place for numerous adventures. Alice Springs is the third largest town in the Northern Territory, Australia. Popularly known as “the Alice” or simply “Alice”, Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory. Its population in 2011: 25,186. The town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The region where Alice Springs is located is known as the Red Center, and is an arid environment consisting of several different deserts.
PALM VALLEY & HERMANNSBURG 1997
A unique valley with vegetation found only here, Palm Valley, located in the Finke Gorge National Park, is an east-west running valley in the Krichauff Range 123 km (138 km by road) southwest of Alice Springs. Palm Valley and the surrounding area is the only place in Central Australia where Red Cabbage Palms (Livistona mariae) survive. The nearest specimens are 850 kilometres away in Queensland. The valley is indicative of central Australia’s tropical past, whereas the region is now largely dry Central Ranges xeric scrub.
The average rainfall for Palm Valley is only 200 mm per year. Although the gorge usually appears dry, there are some small pockets of semi-permanent spring-fed pools that allow the unique flora in this region to survive. During significant rainfall in the region, an expanses of water can be witnessed flowing through the valley gorge. During such events, a variety of aquatic life such as desert fish, shield shrimps (Triops australiensis), tadpoles and frogs can flourish.
ULURU / AYERS ROCK 1997 & 2000
Uluru also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs, 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. The area around the formation has many waterholes, springs and rock caves as well as ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Kata Tjuta, also known as The Olgas, are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia