Journey into Australia's red centre

By RUTH PETERS

Four-wheel drive is by far the best way to explore Central Australia, and Alice Springs is the best place to base your adventure.

On the doorstep of Alice Springs are the West Macdonnell Ranges, a spectacular array of gorges, gaps and waterholes, while to the east is the tip of the great Simpson Desert and its endless red sand dunes and wilderness tracks.

My first 4WD adventure takes me to the northwest corner of the Simpson Desert, along the old Ghan railway tracks, following the historic overland telegraph line.

The 160km trip to the unique sandstone formation of Chambers Pillar is a bumpy ride across private cattle stations and along the foothills of vast mountain ranges.

After a couple of hours' driving you catch the first glimpse of Chambers Pillar. Towering more than 40m above the Simpson Desert plain, the pillar was formed from sandstone deposited and worn down over 340 million years.

The upright formation protrudes high in the landscape and according to a traditional Aboriginal story, it stands as a reminder to those tempted to marry across wrong family lines that the penalty is banishment from the clan.

After a quick photo opportunity from the top of a hill looking across the plain, with Chambers Pillar in the distance, we descend into the Simpson Desert.

If you thought the 4WD trip to this point was bumpy, you're in for a big surprise. We hit the red sand, undulating up and down the dunes, weaving in and out between the wildflowers, mulga, spinifex and ancient desert oak trees, making our way to the base of the Pillar.

After the easy climb to the foot of the sandstone structure, this tour takes you on a history lesson.

For more than 100 years, explorers, Aborigines and tourists have carved their names in the sandstone as a reminder of times gone by.

Possibly the most famous of explorers to carve his name was John McDouall Stuart, who in 1862 completed the first European crossing of Australia from Adelaide to Van Diemen Gulf, passing through the Red Centre.

From one 340-million-year-old sandstone structure to one of central Australia's anomalies, my second 4WD adventure takes me to a valley of palms in the middle of the desert. Starting in Alice Springs and heading west out to the 133,300ha West Macdonnell National Park, we leave the asphalt road behind us after an hour and turn into Finke Gorge National Park.

We bump along the dry bed of the Finke River, said to be the world's oldest river still flowing its original course - although for most of the year there is no water in sight.

While the 4WD throws you around a bit, it is worth it when you see the unusual site of hundreds of palms in the middle of Central Australia.

The beautiful Livistona Mariae Palms are remnants from millions of years ago when Central Australia was lush with tropical forests.

Today, Palm Valley is like an oasis in the desert, standing out amid the dry river and the surrounding rocky national park.

Back in Alice Springs, but not in a 4WD, a visit to the art gallery of Dutch-born artist Henk Guth allows you to take in even more of the scenery surrounding the township.

The highlight of the gallery is the 6m-high, 60m-long, canvas oil painting which captures a 360-degree view of central Australia.

Guth's stunning panoramic is of the view from historic Alice Springs Telegraph Station, spanning the Simpson Gap and West McDonnell Ranges, the Olgas, and around to Uluru.

Guth, who migrated to Australia from Holland in 1960, made a name for himself painting scenes of Kings Canyon, Simpsons Gap, Palm Valley and Uluru, many adorning the gallery walls.

But perhaps the most famous of paintings on display is The Twin Ghost Gums by renowned Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira.

Two white gums frame the picture, with their soft green leaves leading the eye through to just one of the West Macdonnell Ranges' magnificent mountain formations.

If you take trip out west, keep an eye out for the real twin ghost gums.

* The Outback Experience runs full-day 4WD tours to Chambers Pillar starting from A$148 a person ($171). Tailormade Tours runs full-day 4WD tours to Palm Valley priced from $99 a person.