Sunday, 11 September 2011
Alice Springs Treasures
A few years ago I needed to travel to Alice Springs to collect the essence of the Sturt Desert Rose.
I had not been to the interior before, nor could anybody tell me when the Sturt Desert Rose would be flowering. A clairvoyant friend of mine told me that she would be house sitting that November and perhaps that would be a good time to visit as I would have a contact. As it happened I also ran into a couple who had been living in the Alice for 8years. We came accross each other at the Olive Pink Gardens (a must see if you are lucky enough to visit Alice Springs). This contact was on a Sunday morning at the cafe located in the Gardens, where my friends were having a leisurely breakfast.
The only data I had been able to glean about flowering times, was from Parks and Gardening clubs, and all of them said it flowers after rain. but nobody could guess when that might happen. As it turned out the Todd River had flooded two weeks before I arrived and the downpour was quite spectacular and totally unexpected. It had occured after I had booked my tickets, so that was a nice omen.
I had a hire car which had a travel restriction i.e. not to go off road. In light of this I only ventured up to 50 kms from the city. The Sturt Desert Rose was growing at the end of a street, two streets away from my accomodation, and I had permission to collect the flowers from street plants, both here and on the Ross Highway which heads south from Alice Springs. So early my first morning I made my first collection, then two more the next day (to be on the safe side as it would have been an expensive exercise if something had gone awry).
I did the real tourist bit and visited every possible location within my restricted radius. I managed quite a bit of walking, every day around the streets and parts of the Larapinta Trail around the Telegraph Station.
The School of the Air is a facinating place, as is the Flying Doctor Service premises. The Desert Park and Olive Pink Gardens were my absolute favourites, the energy of both locations is quite special.
I have included some photos for your enjoyment.
I had not been to the interior before, nor could anybody tell me when the Sturt Desert Rose would be flowering. A clairvoyant friend of mine told me that she would be house sitting that November and perhaps that would be a good time to visit as I would have a contact. As it happened I also ran into a couple who had been living in the Alice for 8years. We came accross each other at the Olive Pink Gardens (a must see if you are lucky enough to visit Alice Springs). This contact was on a Sunday morning at the cafe located in the Gardens, where my friends were having a leisurely breakfast.
The only data I had been able to glean about flowering times, was from Parks and Gardening clubs, and all of them said it flowers after rain. but nobody could guess when that might happen. As it turned out the Todd River had flooded two weeks before I arrived and the downpour was quite spectacular and totally unexpected. It had occured after I had booked my tickets, so that was a nice omen.
I had a hire car which had a travel restriction i.e. not to go off road. In light of this I only ventured up to 50 kms from the city. The Sturt Desert Rose was growing at the end of a street, two streets away from my accomodation, and I had permission to collect the flowers from street plants, both here and on the Ross Highway which heads south from Alice Springs. So early my first morning I made my first collection, then two more the next day (to be on the safe side as it would have been an expensive exercise if something had gone awry).
I did the real tourist bit and visited every possible location within my restricted radius. I managed quite a bit of walking, every day around the streets and parts of the Larapinta Trail around the Telegraph Station.
The School of the Air is a facinating place, as is the Flying Doctor Service premises. The Desert Park and Olive Pink Gardens were my absolute favourites, the energy of both locations is quite special.
I have included some photos for your enjoyment.
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