For the trip from Alice Springs to Cairns we went on a bus called the 'Desert Venturer'. This involved a 3 day road trip across the outback, travelling mainly on long straight dirt roads with empty horizons in all directions!

The bus picked us up on the 9th April at 6am (still dark) and the trip began with a beautiful sunrise, complete with the odd kangaroo jumping away as it heard the bus approaching. First stop was at an Aboriginal Community where we had a toilet stop and a wander around their local art shop. It was interesting to visit a settlement so far out in what felt like the middle of no-where. Next stop was even more remote as we turned up a few hours later at a tiny Cattle Station (Jervis Cattle Station) complete with it's own shop and petrol pump. We then stopped off at a huge, bright red termite mound - 5m high and as hard as rock. Lunch was under the shade of the only tree in sight, a welcome break from the scorching sunlight. All the way we had been driving on unsealed and very bumpy roads. In the afternoon we crossed the Northern Territory/Queensland boarder, put our watches forward by 1/2 hour and of course got off the bus for the obligotary photo! The ground here was cracked earth with lots of dry river beds. The driver also acted as a tour guide and told us all sorts of information about the places and landscapeswe were passing through. In this area the cattle stations were having to move all of their livestock off the land as there was not enough food due to the drought, despite the fact that their estates are often bigger than England! As the sun set we found a very picturesque spot to watch it as it dissapeared behind a water pump belonging to a nearby cattle station. We pulled up for the night at Wirrelyerna Cattle Station (pronounced 'Wirreyana' and is the Aboriginal for 'flat land'). There was just one man living here, along with hundreds of cattle, some dogs and a kangaroo!! The kangaroo's name was Mary and we were able to stroke her. Her owner have her a can of beer in the evening which she drank out of, then in the morning she had a cup of coffee (she would reject this if it didn't have sugar in!) along with a slice of toast!!! We had to be carefull to keep the gate shut so that she didn't get out and become food to the hungry dingos wandering about outside (wild dogs). That evening we were given a full rioast dinner which had been entirely cooked over the open fire! Then Alex and I chose to sleep outside, under the amazing stars - made even brigher once the generator had been switched off (no other buildings in sight in any direction on the horizon!).

I was woken up at about 5am by a strange sctatching sounds by me head. I opened my eyes expecting to see Alex awake and was extremely supprised to find myself staring into the eyes of Mary the Kangaroo who had her front legs up on my bed and was peering down to look at me!!!! We woke up with the generator, and set off just as the sun rose - this time we sat near the front and got an amazing picture of a pair of kangaroos running/jumping along the dirt road in front of the bus. Stopped in Boulia and walked through the town/village, before continuing our journey through an even more arid landscape, this time with black sand as far as you could see. Stopped off at a pub (again just a building with nothing else in sight on the horizon!) where I met a 6year old girl who insisted on showing me her whole collection of opals and giving me as many as I could carry until I explained that I only had one small bag with me and couldn't carry them all!! Todays lunch was at Cairisbrooke Station, this time a sheep station and we had a BBQ in one of their sheep shearing barns! We then drove to the top of an escarpment (the only hills in sight) where we visited a cave with aboriginal paintings. Our driver told us about some of the meanings of the artwork - it was used as a form of communication. Also had an amazing view right out over the plains. Next stop was at the slightly larger town of Winton - home to Waltzing Matilda, Qantas Airlines and Dinosaurs! We had a drink and met a very eccentric man who told us he had worked on a cattle station all his life and had never left Queensland! He said he spent most of his time riding horses or motorbikes while rounding up cattle! We spent the night at Hughenden, in a hotel/caravan park. The bus door broke which meant that it couldn't be locked and Alex was given the job of tying the door shut from the inside then climbing out of the roof air vent and down a ladder (this had to be repeated in reverse in the morning to open the bus again!!).

Set off again before sunrise, today seeing the transition between desert and grasslands to thick rainforest. We stopped in the Atherton Tablelands for a walk through the rainforest (watching out for leaches) to Nandroya Falls. The water was freezing so I stayed out and took photos while Alex went for a swim! The bus dropped us off at a hostel in Cairns where we changed before going out for a free dinner! wandered around Cairns and along the waterfront, before heading back to the hostel for a few games of pool and a much needed early night!

The next morning we picked up our campervan which we have until we leave Australia at the end of may....