I have just returned from what I can honestly say was one of the best experiences of my life! We went on a three day/two night 4WD safari to Uluru National Park with Wayoutback Adventures, being picked up at 6am on Wednesday at Alice Springs. There were a group of eight of us plus our fantastic tour guide Tony, a proper outback adventurer with a massive beard and a penchant for Marlboros, Red Bull and the taste of kangaroo flesh...

By 7am we'd already stroked a dingo and Jim had had a camel ride, which may have impaired his ability to reproduce in the future. Then we headed towards Kings Canyon, stopping only to hunt for witchety grubs and to admire more camels (there are over half a million of them in the outback) and wild horses. The landscape was amazing - vast expanses of desert, with the scenery changing every 10km or so as the vegetation altered due to proximity to water.

Our afternoon was spent climbing Kings Canyon which was incredible. To get to the top you had to climb Heart Attack Hill which was a pretty apt moniker. Coupled with the extreme heat (mid-30s) it was a bit of a grueller! The view from the top was worth it though, looking down into the canyon and out into the desert, with vivid red rock towering above us still.

In the evening we set up camp and ate roasted kangaroo tail (well Jim, Tony, Jannine and I did - the others weren't so keen) plus a more civilised dinner of roasted veggies, rice and chicken. Then we slept in swag bags, around the camp fire, under the stars. Quote of the day was from Jim "So then Tony, have you ever dabbled with a kangaroo anus?"

Had another 6am start on day two and set off for Kata Tjuta, which is a Pitjantjatara word meaning 'many heads'. It's an enormous series of rocks - 36 red, steep-sided domes about 32km west of Uluru. We followed the 7.4km Valley of the Winds walk, affording the most spectacular views I've ever seen. It was even hotter on the second day and you're not really meant to attempt the walk in the afternoon because of the heat but we were doing the entire safari in reverse for logistical reasons. When we made it back to the campsite we headed up to a sandhill to watch the Uluru and Kata Tjuta at sunset, accompanied by sparkling wine, hummus and crackers - awesome! Then we cooked tea back at camp and settled down for a very short sleep... Quote of the day on day two came from Tony "We're trying to make a decision here and Gemma's just talking about hummus."

Day three had a 3.30am start so that we could be packed up in time to be at Uluru to watch the sunrise. We were already doing the base walk when the sun came peeping up from the horizon. It was just incredible watching the rock turn from brown to a vivid crimson as the sun illuminated its surface. And Uluru was just so much bigger than I had imagined (over 9km in circumference)! We headed towards the Mutitjulu Waterhole and because we were so early, we didn't have to share the view with any coachloads of Japanese tourists (Tony seemed to have a quietly simmering hatred of coaches!).

The late morning was spent in The Cultural Centre learning more about the aboriginal people before Tony cooked us up at a barbecue at one of the huts and then we headed back on the five hour drive to Alice Springs. As we drove through vast expanses of outback I was thinking over my life and, whilst I still haven't had my epiphany, I just realised again how lucky I am to be here and experiencing all of this. I want to keep travelling forever!

When I look back at what I've been up to in the past week I can't really believe it's real... I've been to see The New Pornographers, explored Melbourne, met Karl Kennedy, petted a dingo, eaten a kangaroo tail, hunted for witchety grubs, slept under the stars in the outback, climbed Kata Tjuka and King's Canyon and watched the sunrise at Uluru. AWESOME.

Love you all loads x x x