3 Day Adventure into Australia's Red Centre including Uluru, Kata Tjuta and The Olgas

I can't believe I nearly didn't book to come to the Red Centre...it really shouldn't be missed by anyone going to Australia. Though my first impressions were somewhat confused as I was expecting dry, red sand desert and scrub like I had experienced driving up the West Coast or even the drive north of Port Augusta-Cooper Pedy way! But the land is actually semi-arid so was a lot greener than I imagined. The $7 I spent on a ridiculous looking fly net was probably one of my best buys in Australia though...and apparently this was 'nothing' compared to the peak summer months our guide said, I don't think I would be able to cope. I HATE flies.

There was a good bunch of us, from all over as usual- American, Canadian, German, South Korean, English, Irish, French, Dutch etc. We made a campfire at night and sat round and talked. We slept in 'swags' under the stars...(Swags are basically like a big sleeping bag made with tent material and a comfy foam mattress underneath). It was awesome, the stars were great. But it was actually full moon so I didn't get to see as many stars as I wanted as the sky was lit up by the moon.

We saw Ayers Rock at sunset and also got up for sunrise...it was beautiful.

I have to admit, 'The Rock' was actually way more interesting than I had expected. The whole tour was better than I expected, which is always a good thing. It was full of surprises; I really wasn't expecting it to be such a diverse landscape as it was. There are parts of Australia which are definitely more fun to road trip and explore yourself, however I do feel like the Red Centre is best done on a tour, if you are lucky enough to get such a great tour guide as we did, because it was like a continuous learning curve and she really knew her stuff and definitely have us more insight than the typical speech she'd probably told by the company. It is really important to learn about it all properly so you can get a better understanding of the cultural and natural significance of the entire National Park and of course the Aboriginal People. We all learnt so much about the area, the cultural significance of the land and the Aboriginal people. It was a 3 day 2 night tour run called Outback Safari run by Adventure Tours....

The first day we were picked up at 6am and boarded the mini bus, there were 17 of us and we had a really chatty tour guide called Rachel. We had quite a long drive most of the morning so we just slept and then chatted to others to get to know the group.

Uluru is one of the great natural wonders of the world and most people consider it to the spiritual heart of Australia. After experiencing it for myself I really do agree with most who think a trip to Australia is not complete without a visit to the area. It stands 348m and is made of sandstone. The base walk was 10km which we could do at our own pace. Unlike the tourist filled sunset spots, not as many people do the full walk so you did the large majority of it in peace, without passing many other travellers.

Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon were both just as impressive as the rock though, if not more. The Valley of the Winds hike is a trail through the weathered domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) it was really cool.

Hiking Kings Canyon was definitely one of the highlights of this tour. It started with an intense 180m steep climb, which of course I loved and raced to the top with another guy on the tour. I enjoy nothing more than getting my heart pumping first thing in the morning. The Garden of Eden within the Canyon contains botanic remains of ancient rainforest. So many times I forgot I was actually 270m above ground level as you came round a corner to find a natural waterhole or different shaped craters . It was so silent, and a bit eerie I guess but it feels so great standing by the edge of a cliff looking out on the horizon taking in the fresh air and breathtaking surrounds. Photos don't do any of this tour real justice. It's something you should try and experience for yourself at some point.

It's really quite sad when you think about what has happened to the Aboriginal people and where they are at now, the large majority of one's tourists or local Australians would come into contact with do, sadly, live up to their stereotype of being drunks, loud, aggressive and often smelly. They can be quite intimidating when you see them hanging out in the parks, drunk, shouting things at you, or like the time I was in Freo, West Australia and this 'Abbo' women starting approaching people who were alone begging for money but in a very intimidating way. Now they are seen as the outsiders, when in fact the Aboriginal people have been living, and surviving in these lands for thousands of years, whereas the 'European' invasion which began to make Australia how it is today, only happened 200 years ago...it's all very interesting to observe. Not sure if it will ever really get better...quite sad really.

The food was great on tour, in fact you probably eat way more on a tour than you do usually because it's included...we had chicken burgers, chicken and vegetable stir fry, spag bol, homemade garlic bread cooked in the fire oven....yum yum.

Also did I mention I won the WEETABIX Challenge...I was actually ill that day and didn't think I'd even come close but I thought I'd give it a crack...the concept is simple, you just have to eat a piece of Weetabix as quick as you can...though it's not as easy as it sounds because it is SO dry and basically its extremely difficult to shallow after the first mouthfull ...the first guy got 1 min 30 seconds, the 2nd girl got 1 min 33 secs, poor Chris took 2 minutes then Alan got 1min 12 and I thought no way can I beat this, everyone on the bus counts you in...I managed 54 seconds...the world record is 42 seconds. Hahaha. The guide told me I'd made the new record for any person on the tour...it must be all those dry crispbread crackers I'm used to eating. It was a proud moment...haha.

My prize was a cute furry little kangaroo bookmark!J