Alice Springs and around: One week itinerary

Take a day in Alice Springs to get your bearings. Exploring more of Central Australia will be easier after that. The town is easily traversed on foot and there is plenty to see, so get an early start. And the best place to begin is Anzac Hill, from where you get a 360-degree view of the town, its surrounds and the fabulous MacDonnell Ranges. Try to get there for sunrise if you can. It's something special.

You could refer to the 24-hour itinerary to guide you as to where to spend your day. Or you might enjoy hopping on and off a town bus tour and dropping in to the Royal Flying Doctor Service or the Alice Springs School of the Air. In the afternoon you could call in to the Alice Springs Reptile Centre and meet some of the world's deadliest snakes, many of which live right here in the Red Centre.

This morning hire a four-wheel drive (or sturdy vehicle suitable for dirt roads) as we are setting off for the picturesque West MacDonnell Ranges. But first we'll spend the morning at the Alice Springs Desert Park, which is the best place to be introduced to this ancient and arid landscape, its origins, and the birds, animals and plants that live here. The Park is about 6km west of town along the Larapinta Drive. Try lunch at the Coolamon Café right in the Park.

After lunch, continue along Larapinta Drive and along the way be sure to visit Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm. About 40km or so out, turn right on to Namatjira Drive to the Glen Helen Homestead, 133km west of Alice. You'll be spending the night at Glen Helen, where you can get a delicious meal at the restaurant, then relax with the homestead's resident musician, all within cooee of a well-stocked bar.

If you are there at the right time of year, take a dip in the Glen Helen gorge waterhole and follow up with a glass of wine on the homestead verandah as you take in the remarkable views of the ancient cliff face, which fringes the riverbed. Make sure you book ahead for a room (or camping spot if you prefer to sleep under the stars) and a table in the restaurant.

There is a choice here. If you are enjoying Glen Helen so far and feel like stretching your legs, why not spend another night and take the day to climb the mighty peak of Mt Sonder, the NT's fourth-highest mountain. Reaching its summit will give you unparalleled views of the West MacDonnell Ranges. The climb (not a climb in the technical sense, more of a steady uphill walk) starts at nearby Redbank Gorge, about 20km west of Glen Helen, from where you can access the trail, which takes about six hours return.

This walk is in fact the final section of the famed Larapinta Trail, something to tell your friends when you get back. The trail spans 223km from Alice Springs and can be done in 10 to 12 days. Also at Glen Helen, you can take a helicopter ride to get a bird's eye view of the trail and the ancient landscape across which it winds. If you choose this option, bear in mind you will need to drop one of the subsequent days in this itinerary.

Alternatively, take the day to get back to Alice Springs, visiting the best waterholes and gorges the West MacDonnells has to offer along the way. Start at Redbank Gorge where a short walk will bring you to sheer cliffs and a narrow gorge where you can swim in a picture postcard waterhole, and, if you dare, brave your way through a combination of swimming and climbing to explore the inner sanctum of the gorge. It is recommended you use a flotation device such as an air mattress when swimming through the gorge. The water is deep and cold.

When you have had enough, retrace your steps back toward Glen Helen. But don't take the turnoff. Instead, keep heading towards Alice until you hit the sign for Ormiston Gorge, a few short kilometres down the road. Ormiston is a great place to relax and spend some time, or take one of the many walks on offer. You can get details of the walks at the Ranger Station. The Ormiston Pound walk is among my favourites in Central Australia. It is easily accessible, and takes only a few hours.

The road back to Alice Springs is alive with turnoffs to secluded gorges, waterholes and points of interest including the Ochre Pits (once used by Aboriginal people to mine materials for paints), prehistoric Serpentine Gorge and awe-inspiring Ellery Creek Big Hole, where you'll want to go in for a swim. Be back in time for dinner at a restaurant of your choice in Alice Springs (see "Where the Locals Dine"). But don't return the hire car. You'll need it tomorrow.

Having covered to the west of Alice Springs, today we head south to a navigational landmark used by early explorers and pioneers, Chambers Pillar. The road can be rough, so take it easy. This extraordinary red and yellow sandstone feature is a remnant of rock, which once extended well above the current level of the landscape.

The top of the feature is protected by a layer of hard rock containing silica and iron, which now stains the upper part of the pillar. On the way out, stop at Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve. Here you will see carvings and petroglyphs (images incised into the rock) which convey the ancient beliefs and history of the local Aboriginal people, the Arrernte. Early morning and late afternoon are the best light for photographs here.

We'll head north and east today to where you can try your luck at fossicking for gems — 120km along the Plenty Highway to Gemtree in the Harts Range. Tag along behind a guide in a hunt for garnets, gold and zircon. Make sure you pack plenty for lunch and bring lots of water. If you are lucky enough to find a gem, gem cutters based at Gemtree Park can polish and set the stone into a piece of jewellery for you to take home as a memento of your trip. All this and you'll be back in Alice Springs in time for dinner.

Relax in town for the morning. Perhaps take in breakfast or brunch at one of Todd Mall's many cafes and allow some time to browse the art galleries where you'll find an extensive range of fine indigenous art. This will get you ready for some heart-pounding action in the afternoon as you take a quad bike tour of nearby Undoolya Station, the Territory's oldest working cattle stations, east of Alice Springs.

As well as the rollicking good fun of bouncing along desert trails, you may spot a kangaroo or two. By day's end there will be just enough time to brush off the dust, take a shower at your hotel, and settle down for sunset drinks and dinner on the deck veranda at the Juicy Rump.

It can't be the last day already? Before you go, take in some history at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station historical reserve, just 4km north of the town. Here you can cook breakfast on barbecues, so you'd better pack plenty of bacon and eggs for the hotplate. Trace the history of the area through the station's historic buildings from its early years as an operating Telegraph Station, the stolen generation and the war years.

There are guides and interpretive displays, a kiosk and acres of open parkland for any ankle biters to run amok. The Telegraph Station marks the start proper of the 223km route of the Larapinta Trail. But you won't have time for that today. I like to walk to the trig station on a small hill to the north of the historic settlement. It's peaceful, a nice place to sit and contemplate one of Australia's most stunning landscapes. And when you've had enough of that, it's probably time to head on home.