It's 38 degrees and I'm melting!

We've just arrived in Alice Springs ready for a hiking and camping trip around the red center; the area right in the middle of Australia; the desert!!! We'll see Ayres Rock, Kings Canyon and we'll camp out under the stars in a 'swag'. It all sounds very exciting and adventurous; however, in real life I think it's just going to be a very sweaty few days!

Our Manly experience is quickly coming to an end and we will be so sad to leave! Late last night, after a beautiful walk along the harbour and a yummy steak dinner (thank you a soooo much Corinne and Jaryd!!) we packed our small, hand luggage sized backpacks (after seven and a half months away from home we've become very good at packing light!) with everything we would need then it was up early this morning for a three hour flight to the center of Australia.

The heat hit us like a brick as soon as we stepped off the plane. It's that dry, relentless kind of heat that you can feel beating down on you that just doesn't let up. We were greeted by Miles who drove us back to 'Toddys' (the hostel) where he explained how the week would work and what we would need. He then pointed us in the direction of the town so we could explore and get anything else we might need. As we were only carrying hand luggage, there were a few toiletries we needed to pick up so we got our key, dumped our bags and set off on the 15 minute walk in to town. On the way we watched in amazement as the aborigines sat around, drinking and shouting and pushing their many children around the streets. It's a very strange place and I was pleased not to be a lone female traveller. We picked up everything we would need (including 6 litres of water as advised by Miles!) and headed back, dripping with sweat and exhausted. We've been told that we're in for a three hour hike tomorrow. In 38 degree heat. Not so sure what we've got ourselves in to here!!

It's a far cry from our last few weekends! First up was a trip to the Hunter Valley wine region...

We'd hired a car and bought the trip off of groupon so it worked out to be pretty cheap for what it was which was a good job too as George's job had decided to let go of their casual staff with no notice effective immediately! Which meant 3 weeks of just me working and living off my wages only; I was delighted!

Anyway(!), It was a two and a half hour drive which felt like nothing after our American and New Zealand road trips! The sun shone all weekend; we learnt about and tasted lots of wine and beer; we relaxed on our balcony while kangaroos hopped passed through the vineyards; we learnt about the Hunter Valley's 100 year old shiraz vines; we drove into town to explore the quaint little shops, taste chocolate and fudge and walk around the beautiful gardens. All in all, very relaxing. I'd booked the Monday off so on the way home we thought we'd make the most of the car and make a detour to Palm beach. This is where they film Home and Away; we never imagined that they would be filming that day... but they bloody were! We saw Alf in his hat and a few of the school kids filming a scene on the beach. We walked right through the shot! I'm sure they won't cut us out!! ;)

This was one of my favourite days in Australia. The beach was stunning and we took a walk up to a beautiful lighthouse. We then played around in the sea for a few hours and sunbathed. We drove along the coast back to manly and stopped at a few of the beaches along the way. Our last stop was in Colloroy where we picked up fish and chips and ate them while the sun went down. After all of that, we thought we'd use the car to our full advantage and drive to the cinema too.

The rest of the week went as normal for me but George was feeling a little useless. He spent some time looking for a job but we decided that he was better off doing some planning and organising for the rest of our trip. Not sure he liked this role reversal but it was the card we'd been dealt. After a few days and a bit of research, we found that our Alice springs trip would be cheaper if we flew from Sydney rather than waiting until after our east coast trip like originally planned so I decided to finish a week earlier too. After settling into life in Manly and working for 5 months we were both feeling excited about travelling some more.

There was no way I was coming to Australia and not visiting Rashidah! So last weekend we took a late night flight to the cosmopolitan city of Melbourne! We packed the weekend so full of activities that we've only just recovered!

Friday: city sightseeing! After a night in Nomads hostel we then walked along the Yarra river. Our day consisted of; breakfast in degrave street, exploring the alleys and laneways, hopping on and off the free city tram and visiting the Incredible Queen Victoria market. We then walked along south bank, sat in the beautiful gardens and explored the expensive shops in the arcade with its mosaic floors and pretty tea rooms. After all of that, it was time to visit Rash and Adam who greeted us with tequila, beer and wine! By 7pm both boys were crashed out, leaving us girls to enjoy the Thai take away to ourselves and have a catch up.

Saturday: the great ocean road! We were up early and caught the same train as Rash as she headed in to work. A luxury (and very comfortable) coach picked us up from federation square and we then headed out of the city, stopping at a pub for morning tea then the arch marker where we got some good snaps. We continued along the long and winding road, beside the coastline and through great otway national park, stopping at various viewing points on the way. Thank goodness George's hangover wasn't too bad and we could both enjoy the incredible views, very happy that we didn't have to drive ourselves. We had fish and chips in Apollo Bay then it was time for the real spectacular sights of loch ard gorge, London Bridge and the 12 apostles. Groupon really delivered! After all of that we took the more direct route back to the city, grabbed a quick burger and headed back to Rash' s house. More wine and catching up led to another late night...

Sunday: Phillip Island! Another great groupon deal! This day was jam packed full of weird and wonderful things! Firstly our train was cancelled so we had to take a last minute taxi (could've done without that expense!), making it just in time for the mini bus. The first stop was another wildlife park (we have pictures of us feeding kangaroos coming out of our ears!) Then we stopped along the coast just in time to watch a group of pelicans being fed. After that we were taken to a chocolate factory where we played games and won chocolate, watched it being made and then had curry for lunch :S all included! The next bizarre stop was on Churchill island which is an island within Phillip island! And there we went to a farm; we milked a cow, fed a horse, cracked a whip and watched a sheep being sheared. Yup. That's right. We milked a cow. 'Amaze n things' was next on the itinerary. It was just like PUZZLEWORLD in New Zealand, identical in fact with the addition of a vertical slide which George enjoyed! Then we were whisked off to a koala sanctuary, a seal viewing platform where we had dinner and eventually it was time for the little penguins. It was freezing cold so we got a blanket and some hot drinks then sat on the viewing platform and waited. As the sun set the little penguins became more and more brave and they waddled up from the shore towards their homes. There were hundreds of them and it was an amazing experience. I very much wanted to pop one in my backpack!

We were back in the hostel by 12 that night. Straight to sleep then up on the skybus back to the airport the next morning.

I've now completed my final week working at the day care; I felt sad to say goodbye to the very sweet little toddlers with whom I'd made such good friendships although I definitely won't miss the toilet training aspect! I am definitely refreshed and ready to go back to teaching and will most probably be more grateful now that I've seen what's on the other side!

I'm so excited to be travelling again but just can't believe how quickly time is flying by.

I will write again after our camping trip! If I can muster up the energy that is!!!!!!!