It’s eight months since my trip out to Australia’s red centre via the comfort of the Ghan Railway (to read about my trip on the Ghan, click here). We stopped at Alice Springs for a tour, and I chose the lovely Desert Park, seven kilometres out of town.

Since then, I’ve been wanting to return to check out the town, and in particular the surrounds: Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm in the beautiful Macdonnell Ranges, places I’d read about as far back as primary school.

And so a couple of weeks ago I took the bull by the horns, organised the flights – Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs, organised a half-day tour of the West Macdonnell Ranges and headed out.

The half-day tour started at Anzac Hill, a memorial to all members of the Australian and New Zealand armed services who fought in the various wars since World War 1. It’s also of significance to the local Arrente people, who know it as “Untyeyetwelye”.

From there, we passed through the town and out towards the mountains.

Twenty kilometres from Alice, we stopped at Honeymooner’s Gap, named after a young couple, Bob and Vicki Darken who honeymooned there in 1942, for a quiet walk in the sunshine along the dry Todd River.

Kate, one of my compatriots on the bus, insisted I have a photo taken. I’ve still got my cardigan on, which shows that April is cooler and a good time to visit.

Not too long after that we arrived at the track to Simpsons Gap. I’d always thought of the red centre as  desert and so was surprised at how green it was.

This is part of the Larapinta Trail, for anyone interested in serious hiking.

The cliffs rose around us as we arrived at Simpsons Gap. What a beautiful spot. There was still a bit of water here in this part of the river, creating a pretty pool and adding to the scene.

I could have hung around here all morning but I was eventually dragged away to continue the tour. A relaxing morning tea followed (I love morning tea in the bush) after which we moved on to Standley Chasm.

Standley Chasm was named after Mrs. Ida Standley, Alice Springs’ first school teacher. She taught not only conventional reading, writing and arithmetic but also music, singing, drawing, health, hygiene and polite manners. She was eventually awarded an MBE for her services to education. Her last surviving student, Mort Conway, at 95 years of age in 1999, described her as “a woman and a half”

It was a 20 minute walk to the chasm and again I was surprised at how green it was.

The eighty-metre sheer rock face of the chasm is nestled in a private flora and fauna reserve, managed by the local Arrente people. I took loads of photos but none really did the job, so eventually I gave in and just hung around this ancient place.

On the way back to town, we stopped at the grave of John Flynn, a marvellous man who implemented ‘a mantle of safety’ that would bring medical, social and religious services, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service, to isolated outback communities.

We arrived back at the hotel around 12.30. It was a terrific tour, just right for anyone who’s not up for the 10 to 12-hour ones also offered.

I stayed for four nights at Stay at Alice Springs Hotel, which stretches from Leichhardt Terrace along the Todd River through to Todd Mall – a very convenient spot. The rooms were nice and reasonably-priced, as I remember it.