Alice Springs is a mecca for Aboriginal art, so a gallery hop is the perfect way to get to know the local history and culture. We’d recommend taking a walk through the Namatijra Gallery at the Araluen Arts Centre first to set the pace. Afterwards, head to the Aboriginal-owned and -run establishments like commercial gallery Papunya Tula Artists and cooperative Tangentyere Artists Aboriginal Art Centre, before eyeballing the woven splendours central desert fibre artists Tjanpi Desert Weavers.

This 16-hectare botanic garden was named after the unconventional anthropologist Olive Muriel Pink, who at the age of 72, pitched a tent between two trees in 1956 to campaign for the area to be declared a native flora reserve. Those two trees still stand today and are now surrounded by curated gardens of 250 rare and threatened species of desert flora, including bush foods, medicinal plants, wattle and mallee trees. Meander around the garden before climbing up the easy Annie Meyers Hill walk, which takes about 30 minutes return. If you’re lucky you might spot a black-footed wallaby or euro (a kangaroo-wallaby cross) among the rocky cliffs.

Head into the suburbs to take a gander at this creative precinct. Here you’ll find contemporary Indigenous art gallery RAFT Artspace and an art supplies store if you’re feeling inspired by all the red terrain and rocky outcrops. Next door is Elbowrkshp, a collaborative design studio by Elliat Rich and James B Young, who collectively design and make objects that speak of the surrounding landscape. James also works as a custom shoemaker and outfitter, so the studio is filled with all manner of tools, leather and shoe lasts. And there’s coffee caravan The Coffee Horse serving up lattes and sweet treats just outside for a post-browse caffeine hit.

Leave the city behind for a day by heading into the stunning desert terrain of the West MacDonnell Ranges. You could make it as far as the majestic Ormiston Gorge or Glen Helen Gorge, but if you’re short on time head straight to Ellery Creek Big Hole. This spectacular gorge comprises an absolutely freezing waterhole surrounded by dramatic red cliffs. Pack a picnic to enjoy on the sand and jump in for a refreshing swim (if you dare). Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap are two more sites worth a pause for a short walk and an abundance of quartzite ogling on your return route to the city.

There’s no doubt that you could camp out in the wild and wait quietly and patiently for a kangaroo, dingo or camel to stroll (or bounce) past, but you can also get up close and personal with myriad outback creatures under more time-savvy conditions. Head to The Kangaroo Sanctuary to cuddle a baby kangaroo, the Alice Springs Desert Park to witness echidnas, emus, dingoes, bilbies, eagles and even a thorny devil or two, or take a camel ride at sunset with Pyndan Camel Tracks.