Alice Springs Desert Park, 22 September 2025
The Alice Springs Desert Park is just on the edge of town (about 5km away) and is easy to reach on the #400 / 401 bus which runs at roughly one to one-and-a-half hour intervals (with the first bus at 7am on weekdays, and 8.45am on Saturdays). You get off at the Albrecht Oval, and just follow the shared cycle/walking path for about 900 metres. Opening time is 7.30am and entry fee is AU$39.50.
All the birds and other animals at the park are inland species, found naturally within 400km of Alice Springs apparently.
I loved this park. It is brilliant. I arrived just after opening time, and it took me until 12.45pm to do a full loop, and then I stayed further until about 3.30pm so I could catch the 3pm bird show.
If someone had told me that I would spend eight hours at a park with just eight aviaries, a nocturnal house, and three further enclosures (for kangaroo, emu and dingo), I would have been doubtful. Yet I spent almost two hours just on the first three aviaries, which are clustered quite close together a couple of minutes from the entrance.
All the aviaries are themed around habitats. Three of them are walk-through aviaries. The other five are all of the same basic design, having a large viewing "porch" with the aviaries having windows. There isn't much issue with reflections or glare because the viewing area is covered over.
The aviaries in the order you see them (if going clockwise around the park):
Rivers Edge aviary
Housing: Spinifex Pigeon, Dusky Grasswren, Inland Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, Painted Finch, White-fronted Honeyeater, Grey-headed Honeyeater (unsigned).
Riverbed aviary
Housing: Australian Bustard, Princess Parrot, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike.
Waterhole aviary
A walk-through aviary housing: Australian Little Grebe, Pied Stilt, Grey Teal, Peaceful Dove, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Australian Ringneck, Princess Parrot, Budgerigar, Hooded Robin, Purple-backed Fairy-Wren, White-winged Triller, Rufous Whistler, Crested Bellbird, Zebra Finch, Golden-backed Honeyeater, Masked Woodswallow, Western Bowerbird.
Gypsum Pan aviary
Housing: Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, Southern Whiteface, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, Rufous Whistler (unsigned), Orange Chat. There was also still a sign up on this aviary for Rufous-capped Emu-Wren but they only had one bird and it had just recently died.
Spinifex Grasslands aviary
Housing: Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, Chiming Wedgebill, Eyrean Grasswren, Black-faced Woodswallow, Pied Honeyeater (unsigned).
Flowering Woodlands aviary
Housing: Numbat, Diamond Dove (not seen), Peaceful Dove, Rufous Whistler (unsigned), Crested Bellbird (unsigned), Masked Woodswallow.
Living Woodlands aviary
A walk-through aviary housing: Slater's Skink; Little Buttonquail (not seen), Spinifex Pigeon (not seen), Diamond Dove, Peaceful Dove, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (unsigned), Princess Parrot (not seen), Mulga Parrot, Bourke's Parakeet, White-winged Triller, Rufous Whistler, Chiming Wedgebill, Crested Bellbird, Splendid Blue Wren, Inland Thornbill (unsigned), Black-faced Woodswallow, Zebra Finch (unsigned), Pied Honeyeater.
Woodland Communities aviary
A walk-in aviary housing: Gidgee Skink (unsigned), Inland Dotterel, Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, White-winged Fairy-Wren, Orange Chat.
The Nocturnal House is fantastic, easily the best I have ever seen. Instead of tiny boxes the animals are in large to huge enclosures, belying the idea that spaces "need" to be small to enable the animals to be seen in the dark, and especially belying the idea that rodents should be in little cubes. Almost every animal here was seen well (only two were not seen). The visitor spaces were also great - almost like a public aquarium rather than the narrow corridors of a typical nocturnal house.
Nocturnal House list: Mala (Rufous Hare-Wallaby), Burrowing Bettong, Greater Bilby, Golden Bandicoot (not seen), Mulgara, Red-tailed Phascogale, Western Quoll, Ghost Bat, Spinifex Hopping Mouse, Greater Stick-Nest Rat, Central Rock Rat (not seen); Bush Stone-Curlew, Tawny Frogmouth; Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko, Centralian Rough Knob-tailed Gecko, Bynoe's Gecko (sign was unlit, probably not present), Woma Python, Stimson's Python, Centralian Carpet Python, Mulga Snake; Wolf Spider (just labeled as Lycosidae; not seen); plus three additional invertebrate tanks which were empty (one was still signed for Piedish Beetles).
The nocturnal section was "book-ended" with diurnal corridors for reptile tanks, which were not large but not small either, and all nicely landscaped.
Gidgee Skink, Desert Rainbow Skink, Desert Skink (not seen), Central Ranges Rock Skink, Spinifex Legless Lizard, Central Bearded Dragon, Central Netted Dragon, Centralian Earless Dragon, Cane Grass Dragon, Thorny Devil, Pigmy Mulga Goanna, Desert Death Adder; Blistered Pyrgomorph (Grasshopper), Acacia Stick Insect, Golden Orb-Weaver.
Further photos in the gallery: Alice Springs Desert Park - ZooChat
The Alice Springs Desert Park is just on the edge of town (about 5km away) and is easy to reach on the #400 / 401 bus which runs at roughly one to one-and-a-half hour intervals (with the first bus at 7am on weekdays, and 8.45am on Saturdays). You get off at the Albrecht Oval, and just follow the shared cycle/walking path for about 900 metres. Opening time is 7.30am and entry fee is AU$39.50.
All the birds and other animals at the park are inland species, found naturally within 400km of Alice Springs apparently.
I loved this park. It is brilliant. I arrived just after opening time, and it took me until 12.45pm to do a full loop, and then I stayed further until about 3.30pm so I could catch the 3pm bird show.
If someone had told me that I would spend eight hours at a park with just eight aviaries, a nocturnal house, and three further enclosures (for kangaroo, emu and dingo), I would have been doubtful. Yet I spent almost two hours just on the first three aviaries, which are clustered quite close together a couple of minutes from the entrance.
All the aviaries are themed around habitats. Three of them are walk-through aviaries. The other five are all of the same basic design, having a large viewing "porch" with the aviaries having windows. There isn't much issue with reflections or glare because the viewing area is covered over.
The aviaries in the order you see them (if going clockwise around the park):
Rivers Edge aviary
Housing: Spinifex Pigeon, Dusky Grasswren, Inland Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, Painted Finch, White-fronted Honeyeater, Grey-headed Honeyeater (unsigned).
Riverbed aviary
Housing: Australian Bustard, Princess Parrot, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike.
Waterhole aviary
A walk-through aviary housing: Australian Little Grebe, Pied Stilt, Grey Teal, Peaceful Dove, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Australian Ringneck, Princess Parrot, Budgerigar, Hooded Robin, Purple-backed Fairy-Wren, White-winged Triller, Rufous Whistler, Crested Bellbird, Zebra Finch, Golden-backed Honeyeater, Masked Woodswallow, Western Bowerbird.
Gypsum Pan aviary
Housing: Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, Southern Whiteface, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, Rufous Whistler (unsigned), Orange Chat. There was also still a sign up on this aviary for Rufous-capped Emu-Wren but they only had one bird and it had just recently died.
Spinifex Grasslands aviary
Housing: Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, Chiming Wedgebill, Eyrean Grasswren, Black-faced Woodswallow, Pied Honeyeater (unsigned).
Flowering Woodlands aviary
Housing: Numbat, Diamond Dove (not seen), Peaceful Dove, Rufous Whistler (unsigned), Crested Bellbird (unsigned), Masked Woodswallow.
Living Woodlands aviary
A walk-through aviary housing: Slater's Skink; Little Buttonquail (not seen), Spinifex Pigeon (not seen), Diamond Dove, Peaceful Dove, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (unsigned), Princess Parrot (not seen), Mulga Parrot, Bourke's Parakeet, White-winged Triller, Rufous Whistler, Chiming Wedgebill, Crested Bellbird, Splendid Blue Wren, Inland Thornbill (unsigned), Black-faced Woodswallow, Zebra Finch (unsigned), Pied Honeyeater.
Woodland Communities aviary
A walk-in aviary housing: Gidgee Skink (unsigned), Inland Dotterel, Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, White-winged Fairy-Wren, Orange Chat.
The Nocturnal House is fantastic, easily the best I have ever seen. Instead of tiny boxes the animals are in large to huge enclosures, belying the idea that spaces "need" to be small to enable the animals to be seen in the dark, and especially belying the idea that rodents should be in little cubes. Almost every animal here was seen well (only two were not seen). The visitor spaces were also great - almost like a public aquarium rather than the narrow corridors of a typical nocturnal house.
Nocturnal House list: Mala (Rufous Hare-Wallaby), Burrowing Bettong, Greater Bilby, Golden Bandicoot (not seen), Mulgara, Red-tailed Phascogale, Western Quoll, Ghost Bat, Spinifex Hopping Mouse, Greater Stick-Nest Rat, Central Rock Rat (not seen); Bush Stone-Curlew, Tawny Frogmouth; Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko, Centralian Rough Knob-tailed Gecko, Bynoe's Gecko (sign was unlit, probably not present), Woma Python, Stimson's Python, Centralian Carpet Python, Mulga Snake; Wolf Spider (just labeled as Lycosidae; not seen); plus three additional invertebrate tanks which were empty (one was still signed for Piedish Beetles).
The nocturnal section was "book-ended" with diurnal corridors for reptile tanks, which were not large but not small either, and all nicely landscaped.
Gidgee Skink, Desert Rainbow Skink, Desert Skink (not seen), Central Ranges Rock Skink, Spinifex Legless Lizard, Central Bearded Dragon, Central Netted Dragon, Centralian Earless Dragon, Cane Grass Dragon, Thorny Devil, Pigmy Mulga Goanna, Desert Death Adder; Blistered Pyrgomorph (Grasshopper), Acacia Stick Insect, Golden Orb-Weaver.
Further photos in the gallery: Alice Springs Desert Park - ZooChat
