Friday 25th March - Drive to Adelaide. Vanny has to be there tomorrow so we spent the whole day driving to get there. Australia is so big!

Saturday 26th March - arrive in Alice Springs. It is here that we bid farewell to Vanny. Having spend just about 24 hours a day together for the past couple of weeks, it was a bit emotional! Vanny, you may have been cramped, cold and expensive, but you got us where we needed to go and you will be remembered fondly!

Sunday 27th March - Adelaide. Like Melbourne, there didn't seem much to do here, but it probably didn't help that we were there on a Sunday when nearly everything is shut. The first place we saw that was open was the Scientology office. You know you've got problems when you're choosing between popping in there or going to Mass just for something to do! We did find a lovely market though, selling every kind of fresh food imaginable. We also saw lots of pianos dotted about the city. They are just there for anyone to come along and play, which is nice!

Monday 28th March - Coober Pedy. After a looong overnight bus ride we finally arrived in Coober Pedy. It's described in all the brochures as a must-see - a genuine opal mining town. What they don't tell you is that all the major mining stopped in the 70s and all that remains is a dusty, fly-ridden little town. There is very little to do other than go on a tour of a mine, visit an opal shop, or hop on a minibus for a drive out to the surrounding landscape. We had exactly 24 hours here, and we had been worried that wasn't going to be long enough!

We did the inevitable mine tour, which was actually quite interesting. Most of the residents of the town live underground in caves and they took us round to see an example home. The advantage of living underground is that the cave maintains a steady temperature in the low twenties. If you want an extension you just need to get a digger in and away you go. And there's always the chance you might strike opal - everyone tells the tale of a couple who, every time they dug a room, found opals. Apparently they ended up with a twenty room house and AU$200,000 in opals! We also did a sunset tour of the scenery, which ended with drinks overlooking the desert as the sun went down. I say desert. Due to unseasonal rainfall this year, instead of barren red desert we were greeted with lush green views of trees and bushes. Our guide told us the last time it looked like this was ten years ago, so it is a treat that we got to see it like this.

Our hostel was underground, so we slept 6.5m below the surface. It was basically a cave, sectioned off into dorms with breeze blocks, and no doors or curtains between our beds and the corridor. It made Vanny look like luxury accommodation!

Tuesday 29th March - arrive in Alice Springs. After another looooong bus trip (where Chris got to see his longest road train yet - 4 trailers long) we're in Alice Springs. This is our third state, and third time zone, in Australia. Tomorrow we're up bright and early to go and see Uluru, which we're both really looking forward to.

Bye!
Lindsay and Chris