One animal we hadn't really got a close look at on our travels round the country was a snake. That was until today!

We were on a gentle stroll around Wave Rock when Richard threw me into a moment of panic by calling out for me to stand still. For a split second my mind whizzed through possible deadly creatures that could be in my path and I settled on a snake. As I looked round there it was, a long fat snake slithering among the undergrowth only two feet away. We watched it for a few minutes and took some photos and a video. I looked it up later and identified it as a diamond python.

We'd driven north from the Stirling Ranges about 350km to see Wave Rock. The journey took us through field after field of wheat, interrupted only by bright white salt lakes. We had our windows down and noticed the air temperature outside getting warmer, I even rolled up my trousers and took my trainers and socks off to keep cool.

However it wasn't until we got out the car at our destination that the heat really hit us. It was 36 degrees in the shade with no wind. We haven't been in a temperature like that since Broome and it was completely unexpected. The evening also stayed warm - I only needed a short sleeve top and didn't need the sleeping bag + duvet + hot water bottle overnight like normal.

Wave Rock is a massive piece of granite which has become exposed over the last 60 million years as the softer rocks around eroded away. What's left is a 15 meter high rock wall in bands of various shades of yellow, brown, black and grey, and curved like a surfing wave about to break. It was quite an impressive sight made more amusing by watching people pose for a photo in a surfer's position.

The only downside to our visit was the plague of flies. They just wouldn't leave anyone alone. They preferred crawling into the corner of your eyes rather than chew on a nutella sandwich or lump of meat. Thank heavens for our fly nets which we wore everywhere!

Katy