Well, you know you're doing alright when the hotel has a sunken bar right in the middle of the swimming pool, don't you? You don't even have to get out to get a drink - just swim up to any of the underwater marble bar stools attached to the side, plonk yourself down without getting out of the water and order a drink. What unashamed luxury. Alice Springs tends to be a base for backpackers passing through the centre of Australia, as it is easy to pick up a tour fr...

We had to be up at a ridiculously early time this morning to prepare for the long day in front of us, so early in fact that I hadn't previously been aware that such a time of the morning existed. On the way out of town on the coach, we passed probably the most optimistic tourist attraction I've ever seen in my life, in terms of initial cost against any possible return - the so-called Min Min encounter. Opened in April 2000, this ultra modern attraction set somebo...