Central Australia and Summer. Two words that, when put together can make even a blast furnace operator cringe. But it’s not like that at all. Read my holiday review to find out why there's nothing like summer in Australia's Outback!

When people think summer in Central Australia they automatically assume that its going to be 45 degrees during the day, 30 over night and it will be impossible to experience the place.

Whilst the temperature range is about right, summer brings with it some awesome changes in Central Australia.

To start with, if you want to swim in natural rock pools, this is the time of year, especially the Ellery Creek Big Hole. Ellery Creek is in the West MacDonnell Ranges, and whilst its usually very cold (due to the fact that it backs onto a large gorge which puts it in shade), in the middle of summer, it provides a beautiful refreshing break in your touring.

Alice Springs is located just 28km south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Around the Summer Solstice, the sun is directly overhead of Alice Springs at midday – therefore, if you are out and about at solar noon – your shadow is directly under you. So, what makes that a tourist attraction? Well, its not the fact that you don’t have a shadow (although that’s cool) it’s the fact that just 50km west of Alice Springs is a place called Standley Chasm.

Standley Chasm is named after a former teacher in Alice Springs by the name of Ida Standley. I won’t go into what she did, but she was very influential in Alice Springs during her time.

Standley Chasm measures 80 metres into the air, with shear cliff sides, only 5 metres apart. Standley Chasm is fantastic at all times, but its at its absolute best between an hour before and an hour after solar noon – especially on the Summer Solstice.

Whilst it is hot in the summer, it’s more then bearable, providing you listen to warnings and also listen to your body.

As we live in a semi-arid climate, it is usually very dry (less then 5% humidity). What this means is that it can be 45 degrees outside, but it doesn’t feel like it because you don’t get all sweaty – the low humidity evaporates it.

Whilst this means you won’t end up with sweaty wet clothes, it also means that you might not realise just how much water you are losing through sweat. This means that, even when doing light exercise (walking around town or the like) you are at risk of dehydration.

The simple rule to remember on your outback adventure is that for every hour of exercise, you should have 2 litres of water. Now this doesn’t mean go for an hour then have a drink – it means to consume it over the hour. More water is needed according to the exercise you are doing. I have seen too many people come to Alice Springs with just the water bottle from the aircraft they arrived here on and expect that this will suffice. Take it from a Desert Dweller – it doesn’t. Remember, the difference between a decent water bottle and a small container from an aircraft is a visit to the Emergency Room at the hospital (I can say that with authority as I’ve been there myself!).

By far however, the best part about Alice Springs and Central Australia during the summer months is the increased chance of rain. Alice Springs generally gets on average 365ml of rain each year (for the Australians, that’s just enough rain to fill a beer can), and the majority of this comes in the Summer months. As the weather for Alice Springs generally comes from the North West – we receive the left overs of Tropical Cyclones from northern Western Australia. By the time the ‘cyclones’ arrive in Alice Springs, they have blown out their winds, however still carry a large amount of rain. It’s these conditions that make our rivers start to flow.

I’ve seen a lot in my time in Central Australia, but, seeing the Todd River start to flow is a truly amazing sight. Although we are 1500km from the nearest coastline, when the river first flows, it looks almost tidal.

Of course, when you live in a semi arid location, where we have roughly 330 days without rain throughout the year, we make the most of it when one of the 26 rainy days come along. When word gets around town that the river is flowing, everyone converges on the river banks to watch the flow. It’s truly an amazing sight. Although people do it, resist the urge to raft down the river – there’s lots of hidden rocks, sticks and other things which can cause damage – not to mention the fact that the river drops 100m over an 8km river length just north of Alice Springs, so the water builds up quite a flow.

November is the time of year that residents of Alice Springs start to keep an eye on the weather radar – in the hope that we will again see the red and black markings to the North West of Alice Springs, that once again indicate that the Todd River is waking from its slumber and is ready to bring a fresh year to us here in Australia’s beautiful Red Centre.

Do you have any holiday reviews about spending summer in the Red Centre? Comment below to share your NT holiday reviews with fellow travellers!