Welcome to Alice's Secret, the best, smallest, friendliest and most unique hostel in Alice Springs - perfect to relax and to explore the beautiful surroundings. Our little family run hostel is located in Alice Springs, a small town right in the middle of Australia’s red desert heart, the perfect place to pause and experience the unique spirit and magic of the outback. But how did two Europeans li
ke us (German and Swiss) end up here? This is a question we‘re asked quite frequently when guests meet us for the first time. It’s a story of being open for life and what it has to offer, a story of taking opportunities, a story of dedication and love. As you may guess, it can’t be told quickly, but we’ll try and give you at least an idea to start with ;-)...
After travelling some parts of this beautiful continent in 2008, Seb was offered a sponsorship as a storemanager on a station about 350km out of Alice Springs. He decided to take this unique opportunity and migrated permanently. Hence he spent the following 4 years „out bush“, living a station life. As a part of his job he would drive to Alice on a regular basis to get supplies for the store, but because of the long distances, he‘d often have to stay in town over night before heading back out. Seb could’ve stayed in a fancy place like a 5 star hotel, it would’ve been paid for, but as a traveller at heart he was looking for something more homey and down to earth... aaand guesss what...that’s how he found out about a little hostel called „Alice’s Secret Travellers Inn“. Even though it looked quite different back then, it had it’s charms. It was not only the ideal spot to securely park the fully loaded troopie, the relaxed and chilled atmosphere also allowed to get a good night’s sleep before the long drive back out to the station. Over time Seb kind of became a regular at Alice’s Secret, got to know the previous owner and the two became friends. So time passed but after four adventurous years as a bushstore manager Seb felt the urge to pack up his van and hit the road again. He was drawn towards the sea and wanted to go and explore all the other stunning parts of Australia he hadn’t been able to travel to so far. So, to get organised for his trip, he pulled up at Alice’s Secret one last time, or so he thought...
Life, or lets say Wayne, the former owner of the hostel, had different plans laid out for Seb...so all of a sudden he had to choose between travelling in to the unknown in his van and becoming a hostel owner in the outback town of Alice Springs. Well, we all know which option he decided to go for...and that’s how Alice’s Secret started to evolve into the green, colorful, quirky and peaceful little oasis it is today. And how about the other half? Well, there’s no good story without a little bit of romance, is there :-)? Miriam bumped in to Seb while passing through Alice Springs in 2016. What started off as a brief encounter, turned into a friendship and into love ;-)...
Hence Miriam migrated to Alice Springs in 2017 and joined Seb on his mission to fill his guests’ backpacks with wonderful and unique memories to take home.
