Hello to everyone,

I am back in Alice Springs after having an amazing few days seeing Uluru, Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta. My 20 day trek finished on Wednesday night and most people have left which is a bit depressing having been with them so long. I a here till tomorrow afternoon and will then fly to Melbourne and spend my last two days in Australia there before flying to New Zealand on Monday! Can't wait.

Now let's get down to business- here you have what I have been doing for the past 12 days:

On Sunday 1st April I was still in Darwin and woke up at 6.30am after only 4 hours sleep. We left and drove down Arnhem Road to go on the Spectuacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise on the Katherine River. The boat left at 9am and almost straight away we saw a couple of 3 metres saltwater crocodiles (no freshies as the salties eat them!). We were sitting in the prime position down the bottom next to the open window right where they would be jumping so was amazing when we saw one approache the boat from the river bank. He got closer and looked at the meat being dangled above him and eventually jumped out of the water with his whole 3 metre body being in the air; as you can see I got a couple of awesome pictures. Soon after a 4 metre + croc came near the boat and swam about 2 feet away from me just beneath the window (bit scary) but he didn't get out as far due to his size. Before the cruise ended we saw a few more and the guy even said that it was one of the most productive in a long time as there usually arn't that many because the river was at full flow after the wet season. We were all really pleased (only cost 25 buck- 10 quid) with the trip and after going to a visitor centre stopped off at the didigeridoo hut near the Stuart Highway. Here the didges are made by local aborigines and sold to the shop therefore you couldn't get any more authentic so I bought a really nice one and got it shipped home (had a choice of 3 but narrowed it down due to the way it played and sounded). We had lunch at Berry Springs but couldn't go for a swim as the water was to fast and turbulent. Next stop was Litchfield National Park where we stood next to 4 metre high Cathedral Termite mounds and saw some magnetic termite mounds; these ones face north to south so can get the right temperature from the sun- clever little b******s. Burley Rock hole was next and a great place to go swimming and jumping as its basically a load or rapids and pools (did my awesome dive here) then we walked about 3 km to Florence falls which were stunning. Me, Simon and the girls swam underneath them and onto a couple of ledge so jump through them then me, Katie and hannah climbed up a cliff for a high rock jump. On the way to the campsite Mark spotted a snake in the road so went back to try and get it but as we did a car ran over its head...nice; it was an extremely venemous brown snake (4th most in the world) so would of left it anyway. Our place for the night was Litchfield Camp ground which was empty as it had been underwater 3 weeks earlier. The evening was spent having a BBQ (we ate my tasty fish I caught in Darwin) and just chatting around the table with the owner who was Mark's mate (had a couple of drinks as well of course).

In the morning Mark gave us a bit of a lie in as not much was happening during the day. The bus left at 9am, with the temperature already exceeding 30c, and spent a couple of hours driving towards Katherine (I had a sleep on the way and listened to my ipod). Mark decided to take us 20km off the road to Nitmiluk National Park for lunch and then did a hike up to the upper pools near edith falls but wasn't the best as it was so incredibly hot. We got to Katherine 40 minutes after and once there me, Simon and Hannah went food shopping (as we were cooking again) then once I saw I had 8 mozzie bites on my arm we left to go to Manyallaluk which was a short drive down the road then 35km of dirt road away. The tents were set up and after meeting the main aboriginal guy, John, and his nephews the girls went swimming in a not so nice looking pool and then we got showered and changed. Me and Mark played footy with the kids and prepared loads of damper bread and our meal for the evening- ratatoille. As we sat down to eat the stunning food Simon had basically done himself the other Lets Trek Australia group who were heading north turned up and we met them but found out they didnt get on very well and it was full of older and annoying people; so glad we had the group we had it was unbelievable. The only normal guy was the driver Adam and unfortuntely for me the most irritating guy ever latched on to me as I knew some Jersey girls he went to uni with. Before most of the others went to bed me and Simon played the didigerdoo with John and Mark then John told us some aboriginal stories; I couldnt really understand most of them as he mumbled and didnt speak very loudly. The whole area was an alcohol free zone but after most people had gone to bed me, Simon, Mark and the girls had a couple of sneaky Vodka Cruisers with an Italian girl from the other trek, then turned in about 12.30am.

On Tuesday morning everyone had to get up early so that the Aboriginal Experience day could begin. First of all we sat down listening to an introduction from John and his colleagues then in 3 groups we walked around the compound (John was our leader) getting taught about the various uses for iddferent plants and trees and roots (red for painting) as well as seeing a poisonous cane toad which Mark discretly killed (they are a pest and it is an Aussies right to kill the damn things). We turned off up a hill with the two resident dogs following (had done since we left) saw a few more cool things including a tree the locals wipe over them so Kangaroos cant smell them in a hunt. We went to a lookout over the area then went back down to the shelter for lunch which included damper bread and kangaroo tail! Spear throwing was next on the agendar (I threw it a long way but too high) then two women showed us basket weaving; some baskets can take up to a month to make. I then had a go at painting on a small wooden slab but even though my picture of a beach (we were using red, white and yeloow ochre made from rock and water) the others looked a tad better and more aboriginl.haha.The last thing we did was to make fire which turned out to be something I was very good at as I had the right technicque of small hard bursts of twisting a stick into another stick. The others tried but everytime I have to finish off and get the fire going! quality. The annoying trek group followed and we followed shortly after saying goodbye to everyone and thanking them for a once in a lifetime experience (enjoyed it more than I thought I would). The bus stuggled to hit 70kmh down the dirt road so Mark was pleased to be back on the Stuart Highway to spend about 2 hours heading south to Daly Waters Pub. We set up camp behind the pub and while everyone was relaxing me, Simon and Carmen went inside the one of Australia's most famous pubs for a cheeky pint and to observe the thousands of photos and memorabilia inside. I had a shower and put on some halaf descent clothes for once then went back inside for more pints and a great Barramundi Burger and chips (its a fish). I took loads of photos, including John Mallet's Jersey note he had put up, and put my own passport photo on one of the beams near the entrance to the pub (had to be done as its basically a right to do when your in there). All of us chatted and drank outside for a bit and with the numbers depleting (including Mark who was tired) me and Simon played some pool then looked around the place before having a tasty beer with some guys in the campsite (they had a boat with them) and going to bed.

At 5.30am Hannah and Jane pulled down the inner bits of mine and Simons tent which wernt that funny but I carried on sleeping and sorted it out in the morning. We left Daly Waters at 9am, with me sitting in the front seat next to Mark for the first time, and carried on driving south for about 4 hours to Tennant Creek under clear blue skies (30c) and with loads of butterflies flying about and getting killed on the grill and windscreen (was a massacre); the land came alot more open and desert like with the road just runing straight through it all. Everyone was getting restless just listening to the same old cd's over and over again so the girls started drawing on themselves and eventually me and Simon who looked like pirates so was quite funny to the locals of Tennant Creek when we walked around with it on (a red rooster was opening that day and was basically the biggest event in the towns year.haha). Had lunch in the caravan park then left after me and Simon went halves on a 57 dollar crate of beer (well expensive as in the middle of bloody no where). On the way to Devils Marbles I almost fell asleep but Mark put the Powderfinger cd I really like on and I woke up straight away, was quite funny. As we came over a hill you could see the many marbles spread over a large area in the distance and we stopped next to the two most famous ones. Here we had cool brochure-esque like photos inbetween the marbles then Mark drove off and we walked around them. I saw a really cool marble I had seen on a website in the distance so walked to it and climber up and jumped over a big crack to get to it. The others followed me but the girsl struggles with Jane almsot falling down the crack but I caught here when I saw she hadn't quite made it (could of been well bad). I took some realy cool photos including the one of Simon pushing it to me then at the carpark we climbed to the top of a big stack of marbles and watched the sunset with a couple of beers only to find out the high bit we were on was where we would be spending the night-oh yes. As the sun went down me, Simon and Mark took some amazing photos of ourselves as silhouettes with the light behind us then as it was dark we all headed over to the bus. My group prepared Chili Con Carne (got bean juice over my foot. tasty) then packed up and collected our stuff to take to the top of the marbles; I only took my sleeping bag (first time i used it), camera and water bottle. Up on the top, all 6 of us lay down in a line so we wouldn't fall off the cliffs on 3 sides of us then eventually went to sleep after looking at the millions of stars above us.

No one got much sleep as it was windy most of the time and cold in the morning and I woke up properly at about 6am because it was getting lighter. We all observed the beautiful sunrse in the distance then climbed back down and left but not before taking a look at a massive holiday home complete with big 4x4 on a trailer attached to the back. I was sorry to leave the Devils Marbles as they were probably the best natural feature I have ever been to and will certainly try and see them again. About 30km south mark took us to Wycliffe Well which is the unofficial UFO Captial of Australia so there was lots of alien pictures and models outside as well as hundreds of newspapers cuttings about UFO sightings (I bought a place mat). A little drive later, after passing Ti Tree and Australia's most central pub we stopped at the Red Centre Farm for mango wine tasting and gorgious mango ice cream. A further 50km down the road was Airelon which had a massive town name on the hill as well as a giant statue of a black aboriginal man above it which we climber to the top of and looked out at the view; We were only 135km from Alice Springs so I was quite excited. After leaving the tropics and crossing the Tropic of Capricorn about 30km north of Alice Springs we finally arrived, did some shopping then left again to head West into the West Macdonnall Ranges and down to Glen Helen Resort about 140km away. We set up the tents close together and dived straight into the pub for happy hour and had about 3 drinks. Mark then preared Barritos for dinner which were extremely good besides the fact I filled them too much and they fell apart everywhere. Out of nowhere the group started to have some deep interesting conversations about religion and teaching (nice to have them every now and again) then typically all went to the pub for some more drinks, pool, and darts before leaving at closing time. Before bed me, Mark, Katie, Hannah, and Simon walked over to the gorge under moonlight, crossing a cold river in the process then some of them went skinny dipping in the gorge; I chose not to as the water was cold and it was cold outside so didnt want to be ill. We went to bed after walking back to the campsite.

On Friday we were packed and ready by 8am then walked back to the gorge, this time in daylight. Most of us swam across the with me, Simon, Katie and Hannah wearing our shorts on our heads which was funny. On the other side we spent ages walking up a valley over stones to see a couple of cool rock formations although the more famous Organ Pipes wern't nearly as impresive as the Caterpillar on the other side. Instead of swimming back through the gorge we climbed around the edge then left Glen Helen with Marks mate, who was the bar manager, to Orminston Gorge. Here we walked up a fair bit to an impressive lookout over the giant gorge system and went near the edge before walking down to the river running through the gorge to relax and lay in the sun for a bit. To get back to the car park we walked along the river and over thousands of massive stones. Lunch was made surrounded by loads of annoying flies (Katie did a me and cut her toe badly) then we drove East to the Ochre Pits which were 10 metre cliffs of difference coloured rock the indigenous people used for painting and spirtiual uses. Mark took us to Serptentine gorge which he had never been to before and involved a 5 km drive over rocks and dirt then a 1.5km hike. The gorge was quite small and we were intrigued as to what was through it so most of us swam in the cold water or tried climnbing round only to discover a massive beautiful cliff coloured bright red in the sun. We stayed here for a while then back at the car park found out the area was very important for conservation and wern't allowed to swim in it as well as it being sacred to the Aborigines.ooops. Our last stop before going back to Alice Springs was at Elery big hole. The massive water hole was full of people because of the Easter weekend but few were in the water itself so we jumped in and swam all the way to the other side through the gorge and stayed on a small grassy area for a while before having to swim back and get back in the bus for the hour drive to Alice Springs. We ended up staying at the YHA hostel in the centre as Annie's Place had mucked up our booking but we wern't too fussed and after dropping off the bags we went over to Bojangles for a couple of drinks. We all felt clean because of the amount of clear fresh water we had swam through so went straight down to Annie's Place without heading back and ate a tasty 5 dollar camel lasagne there. Me and Simon got some jugs to share and soon enough it was just us, Mark and Jane left as well as this girl from Brisbane and her dad who joined us for a while. Mark got us some shots and jugs of Jim Bean to last us till closing time at 2am then we spent the next couple of hours walking around the streets and sitting in the van till almost 5am. Was a great night.

The day after was spent doing very little indeed for once so was a good thing. I lazed about for a while then got a big burger and chips for lunch for under 10 bucks then spent ages using different internet cafes to upload my pictures on. It was already about 5pm so I used the hostels internet to use msn then me and Mark when back to Annie's Place for food and some drinks with the two people we met the night before. I was in bed before 1am after a great relaxing day. I found Alice Springs not to be as boring as I have been told and I actually quite like the place although there are loads of aborigines hanging around everywhere making you feel uneasy but besides that its a nice relaxing outback town.

Easter Sunday! Woke up at 6.45am and Mark left at 8am to drive the 45 minutes over to the camel farm. Here we got on our camels, mine was one of the tallest and was called Bundy, and rode around along tracks for about half an hour with the camels trying to eat everything they saw; camels are so much easier to ride than horses and look a lot cleaner as well which was a bit surprising. We left and drove west towards Uluru, stopping at Erlunda Petrol Station on the way for food and where you turn to go south. An hour later we had lunch then headed west again to King Creek Station, stopping for wood and spotting Mt Connor (same size as Uluru) on the way. At the station (about 40km from Kings Canyon) we went quad biking so had to wear covered shoes and trousers in the baking heat as well as helmet and gloves. After being introduced to quad biking we got on our 250cc 5 geared quad bikes in order of fastness so I went second behind mark! The guy took us along straight fast roads and some tougher sand and dirt sections wiht loads of corners and at one point I hit the top of one, almost flipping it, and went into a tree (nice branch sticking out the quad bike); Simon overtook me at this point. At the halfway point we got off the bikes only to find how sweaty we were then completed a hard low gearing rocky section and drove past a landing strip. Near the end, at one of the many stops to wait for the last person, we waited ages for Hanah who turned out flipped her quad bike on top of her but managed to re right it and only hurt her ankle. We all had a great time and besides being sweaty were covered in red dirt. When we left I listened to my ipod for a bit (was back near the back of the bus) and stopped to look at a Thorny Devil Lizard Mark had been searching around for ages to find; the lizard was small enough to put in your palm and was really cool coloured and spikey (was the best lizard I have seen and I held it for a bit). At Kings Canyon Resort we checked in only to find the whole place really busy (busisest I have seen a place since Cairns). The evening was spent sitting in the shelter by the tents, eating stir fry and Anna's rick cakes and being next to the fire chatting. Before we went to bed I put my photos on Marks laptop and showed everyone.

For the first time in ages we had a really early start of 5.30am but due to slow people didn't leave for an hour. We arrived at Kings Canyon car park not long after and commenced on the 6km (plus extras) hike, first of all going up a really steep hill to get to the canyon rim. Once at the top it became flattish, just walking inbetween rocks and difference formations; me and Mark went ahead and threw small stones at the others from the top as they walked past. I got some cool photos of the canyon then we went ahead again followed by millions of flies (Mark gave me some repellant he had) down to a lookout where we went right up close to the edge of an insanely steep shear cliff and overhang. You could see the Garden of Eden from here and that is whare we went next, after a long walk down another gorge to get to it; the are is basically a big waterhole surrounded by plants and trees when everywhere else is just rock with nothing on it. As I left to go up the other side the others had caught up so me and Mark waited at the top for them, looking over at the thousands of little domes scattered over the place. We got to the car park about an hour later after walking along the side of the canyon then down some steep rocky outcrops still surrounded my flies. I had an ice cream while waiting for the others then we eventually left about 10am. All of us were really tired so slept most of the way to our lunch stop at the Mt. Connor Lookout two hours away where we also saw a big salt flat in the distance on the other side. 100km from our destination we stopped at Curtain Springs for more beer and found out that it was the base for a 1 million acre + cattle farm with the huge mount connor nestled in the middle of it. At long last after waiting much of my life to see it- Uluru (Ayers Rock) appeared about 50km away so was extremely pleased. Soon after we arrived at the purpose built resort town of Yulara (can accomodate 5000 guests) to set up our campsite then within half an hour were back on the road again to drive to Kata Tjuta to start the 7km Valley of the Winds Walk. Kata Tjuta is located near Uluru and consists of about 36 massive domes of congolomerate rock; the highest point being 200 metres higher than Uluru so pretty big. At the first lookout you got a good view of the side of the domes and I saw a Jersey guy i knew from the year above me at school (weird). Me and Simon jogged ahead with the others following into the domes and up to the top of a valley big for the second lookout. A group photo later and we slowly made it down the vally and onto a large plain bit where you could see most of the bigger domes in a line. The flies were here in great numbers so we spent little time stopping on the way back to the car park which was still 3 km away and I arrive just as the sun was setting. On the way back to Yulara we took fantastic pictures of the domes from a few kilometres away with the little light we had. Anna's group made pasta and simon made various types of bread when we got back as well as a few beers we bought in Curtain Springs. Me, Mark and Simon sat by the fire and played the didgeridoo for a while until half the group had gone to bed and some of us just mucked around for a while with 5 of us in Simons tent at 2am before going back to my own one.

On Tuesday I was the first one up at 6.30am as I knew that I would be climbing Uluru this morning. We arrived at Ulur after a half hour drive at 8am. Me, Simon, Kate and Mark prepared to climb the rock as the others started the 10km base walk! (The traditional owners of Uluru, the Anangu, request people don't climbe the rock and all the tour guides and books try and put you off but I never had a doubt I was going to do it) We commenced the climb up the world's most famous rock at 8-10am, with little more than hiking boots and a bag (more than some of the many Japanese tourists had with them!).The first bit was straightforward but you got to realise that as surface was fairly flat you had to find grip yourself by pressing hard into the rock. Soon the metal chain began to take you up the hardest bit of the climb and was all I was holidng onto the whoe way up with vertical clfifs about a metre either side; it was damn scary and hard to look up or down so I kept a low centre of gravity and just kept going. It only took us 40 minutes to get tot eh top of the highest bit from the bottom and luckily there was a flat area you could happily rest on to observe the view and the insane angle you just walked up. The second half was simple and was over a wide area and loads of up and down bits over the many ridges. At long last, only an hour after starting (for fit people it takes about an hour and a half) we made it to the highest point of the big red rock where there was quite a few people and only a small metal marker for confirmation. We spent an hour up here taking photos, looking at small weird fish in the water, going down to some trees and made a couple of calls (haha) then went back down to the top of the chains. This was the bit I was most worried about but found it do much easier than I thought I would and ended up using various styles to get back down including normal walking, the spider, holding on for dear life, abesiling and running down the last bit at the end. I was so pleased with myself for doing the climb it was unbelievable and would of totally regretted it if I hadn't done it. The other wern't back yet so we drove along to see if we could see them then Mark dropped us the Cultural Centre and went back for them. Here we sat down had an ice cream and some wedges and just chilled for a while. I bought some postcards and had a brief look in the centre then we left to go back to the campsite and spent the afternoon doing nothing but lie down and chat, as well as looking around the supermarket and shopping centre. At 5.15pm we got back in the bus for the drive down to the sunset viewing area (we managed to avoid the busier coach bit as we had no logos on the side so could blag it was a hire car). We sat down on chairs from the back, had cheese and champagne and sat around waiting for the sun to set and bring out the various colours of Uluru. I took loads of photos and managed a few good ones when the rock went really red but only for a minute as it ws really cloudy (loads of flies again to try and ruin the experience but didn't work). For our last group meal on the road we of course had a BBQ conisting of chicken, burgers, damper bread, rice and beer and then stayed up for a while chilling and going to bed reasonably early around midnight.

On the last day of the 20 day trek we all woke up at exactly 5-15 to be in the bus 15 minutes later and down at the sunrise viewing area half an hour later; rare for everyone to be ready and up so quickly. Some coaches were already there but in general we were one of the first so got a good spot where you could se the whole rock unhindered. Slowly but surly it got lighter and I took a photo every 4 minutes to show the difference with the colours on the rock. Finally, after waiting in the cold for about 40 minutes the sun rose about the ground and made Uluru go bright red then as it got higher went its usual orange colour so was amazing to watch the transformation. Like clockwork the coaches all left at once and we followed not so long after to go back and pack up the campsite and tidy everything up. Everyone worked well together and we were all packed, and cleaned just after 9am to Marks utter amazement. Just after we left Mark spotted another Thorny Devil (3rd one) and decided we would take him with us, building a home for him soon after with red dirt in a box. During the drive all the diaries were passed round for peoples comments, emails and phone numbers and they were still being done a while later when we had lunch at Erlunda. The final 2 hours to Alice Springs (exactly 200km away) were really relaxed and felt great being on the bus wiv us all talking abou the trip and how we would somehow meet each other in the future with the usual- i'll come to jersey comments as you speak so much about it.haha. Mark arrived at the All Seasons Hotel at 3.30pm to officially end the trek so after 20 days was a bit depressing as I know it was unlikely I would ever see any of the people on it again, except Simon in Auckland. 7 of us checked in (I was sharing with Simon) and spent the next 3 hours just washing and watching television (has been missed); saw neighbours only to discover a tonne of stuff had changed...shall I tell you or not? We got ready while watching the really funny Wedding Crashers then walked up the street with the others to Bojangles Saloon and Restaruant (10 minutes away) to meet Mark, Brendan and Kate. I got a pint then ordered food with everyone else- I ordered an 800 gram Bigger Buggar Rump steak! Most of the group were putting bets on as to how long it would take me with most being around 15 minutes so when the big steak came I just got stuck in and finished it in an insane 5 minutes and 45 seconds. Only half the group were watching me finish it as the others thought it would take far longer so the look on their faces was impressive.haha. I was stil hungry and needed a bit more of a challenge but I did it and got a certificate in the process. Brendan gave a speech about Mark then we most of us left to walk down to Annie's Place where we drank for a couple of hours and took loads of funny photos of us all seeing as it was the last night. The bar was quiet so closed early an we had to go back to the hotel and just watch tv for a bit before going to bed in a nice double bed for once.

Yesterday (sorry about the extraordinary length of this but it had to be done) we checked out the hotel at 10am then got food in town and said goodbye to Katie and Jane who were leaving on the airport shuttle. I went back oto Annie's with Hannah and Anna and spent 4 hours on the net putting all my amazing photos on for you guys to enjoy. I left at 4-40 and walked to Melankas where I met Dan and Dave who I hadn't seen since Byron Bay about 6 and a half weeks ago. I spoke to them about various things for ages then we had a drink and some 1 dollar hot dogs and they got food at Annies Place where we chatted and drank (Dave was on water as he worried about his kidneys after a heavy east coast!) before they left at 9pm. I went back to my room and watched tv for a couple of hours and went to sleep.

Today I woke up and have been on this damn computer for the past 5 and half hours doing this and speaking to people on msn so can't wait to finally get off it in a second.

I will update this again when I am in Auckland probably around Tuesday/Wednesday next week. So there you have it, all my Australian adventures completed. Hope you enjoyed it and look forward to New Zealand which promises to be even better!

Bye bye and hope your eyes dont hurt too much from reading this novel of a blog

Ant