Alice Springs is the main town of Australia's Red Centre, sitting almost exactly in the middle of the continent, and a rental car is the standard way for visitors to explore the vast desert landscapes surrounding it. Alice Springs Airport has car rental desks operated by international and local companies, and picking up a vehicle here is straightforward, since most visitors fly in specifically to base themselves in town before heading out to the region's major natural landmarks by road.
The best-known drive from Alice Springs is south to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, home to Uluru and Kata Tjuta, a journey of roughly four and a half to five hours along a well-paved but very long stretch of highway through open desert country. Many visitors break the drive at Kings Canyon, a dramatic gorge in Watarrka National Park that adds a worthwhile detour on the way to or from Uluru rather than a direct there-and-back trip. Closer to town, the East and West MacDonnell Ranges offer shorter day-trip drives into gorges and waterholes, giving visitors a taste of Red Centre landscapes without committing to the full Uluru journey.
Australia drives on the left, which takes some adjustment for visitors used to right-hand traffic, and outback driving around Alice Springs comes with its own set of real precautions. Distances between fuel stops can stretch well over a hundred kilometers on some routes, so topping up whenever a station appears rather than waiting until the tank runs low is standard practice out here. Wildlife, particularly kangaroos and cattle, is a genuine hazard at dawn, dusk and after dark, and many visitors avoid driving between towns at night for this reason. Road trains, the long multi-trailer trucks common on outback highways, need a wide and early overtaking window, and heat, glare and long monotonous stretches call for regular rest breaks on any Red Centre road trip out of Alice Springs.