Our taxi ride to Kuta airport was not without its dramas! After negotiating a rate the driver conveniently had no change and expected us to levae him the 20000 extra but we managed to scarpe together change which left him only 1000 short. We tried to convince him this was the fairer deal but his response of spitting on us, throwing the coins back at us and roaring off in anger showed he clearly didnt agree! Expecting to catch up with Zak on the flight we were a bit concerned when we saw 1 empty seat and no sign of him anywhere. We later found out he'd missed the flight so would be staying in Bali for a few more days before heading straight to Cairns.

We spent 3 hours trying to sleep on the floor of Darwin airport before catching another flight to Alice Springs. Maybe we were still asleep, but when the tannoy asked 'could passengers Nikki Gray and Leanna Allman please proceed to the gate as their plane is waiting to take off' we realised we had maybe been a bit to casual over drinking our teas! As we arrived into Alice springs airport we couldn't believe the vast expanse of red sand and rock that is Austalias Northern territory (and is the size of Europe), and that Alice springs is the only town for 1500km.

After 3 hours waiting for our hostel transfer we were met by our driver and got on our way. She told us they were having a quiet spell as people were put off by how hot it was, it wasnt until we stepped out of the sir conditioned airport to meet 45 degree heat that we appreciated what she meant! We followed the Todd river to our hostel, which was actually just a river bed as the water above the surface just evaporates so flows underneath. We were assured that if we got lost out in the bush we just needed to dig to get water as the nearest building/shop would be at least 100km from wherever we were. Feeling slighlty scared we were cheered by the news we would be upgraded at our hostel as our prebooked triple room was no longer needed. We ended up with a suite with its own kitchen, dvd player and tv, a sofa and thankfully air conditioning. Seeing the opportunity to save some money and take refuge from the heat we headed into town to stock up on food to cook our own meaks and rented a dvd. We are now members of Blockbusters Alice Springs! We were surprised by the aborigines in the town who seemed to be excluded from the rest of the community, almost ignored and spent their days sitting around on the grass. We later found out this is becuase the government gives them money to live but because their culture was so different they dont understand what to do with it. They end up dtiving cars until they blow up and are given new ones, end up with health problems because they arent used to the fast food and the children aren't allowed to school until they are 15 which segregates them even more from the white children. It was quite sad to see as they walk around as if they've given up hope.

The next day we went back to town to buy ourselves hats for tomorrows trip. Not liking any of the sensible ones we opted for traditional cork hats hoping the corks in front of our face would help deter the flies that try to get into every orifice! We went up Anzac hill where we could see how small Alice Springs really was in comparison to its surroundings, hired another DvD and played domestic goddesses again cooking another homemade meal.

Up at 5 the next day and on a bus to our new accomodation where we dumped our bags and joined 18 others for a 3 day tour of Ayers rock and its surroundings. Our fellow passengers included a russian, irish man, austrians, germans, french, canadian, american, swedish, dutch, japanese, 2 other englishmen and our hyper aussie tour guide Leith. We drove the 5 hours to Kings canyon stopping to buy fly nets for our faces (the corks werent working too well!) and then walked across it for 3 hours on the hoteest day of the summer so far (45 degrees in the shade!). Half way round we stopped at the garden of Eden, a place where we could swim and cool off, and it really was paradise! Back on the bus and to our bush camp for the night, a patch in the middle of the Australian outback. We gathered firewood while our guide cooked us thai green curry (cos we were starting to miss that after 2 months in Asia!) out of the transit and we wall sat round the fire eating and chatting. We slept under the stars in swags and sleeping bags although the heat and wind blowing sand in our faces the next morning made for an uncomfortable night.

Up again at 5am and a 3 hour drive to the Olgas, or valley of the winds. Although these are higher than Ayers rock above the ground, Ayers rock is considered more superior because it extends 6km below the ground and is a monolith (lone rock). We spent the next 3 hours walking again but thankfully not as hot as the day before. The russian who insisted on being the first to do everything was left disappointed when the 4 English launched an attack and reached the end before him! On to the cultural centre to find out more about the Aborigines and what Ayers rock means to them. We found out they believe the rock to be very sacred and so dont want people to climb it but as its still government controlled they can't actually stop you. The centre had a book of apologies from people who had climbed the rock but had since regretted it after experiencing bad luck when they returned home. That and the fact that 45 people (reported) have died climbing it had our minds made up for the next days visit to the rock. We stopped at a campsite for a much needed shower and then headed to 'the rock' to watch the sunset. As the sun hadnt been out all afternoon this was a bit of a non-event, although eating dinner in front of it was an experience in itself. Because of rain that night we had some shelter in a campsite where Leanna managed to find an outdoor kitchen worktop and Nikki a bench to escape the floor which was crawling with bugs. Leanna still suffered though from the beetles and moths dropping on her from the ceiling!

Up again at 5 to catch the sunrise over Ayers rock, but another disappointment because of the rain, and bad news for those who still wanted to climb as it was now closed (the Russian was particularly annoyed!). Instead we all walked the 9km round the base and with the Russians motivation dented we secured another British victory. A very long and sleepy ride back to Alice Springs stopping briefly at a camel farm where people could have a ride. We may have enjoyed the experience more if we weren't all feeling so guilty for eating their mates in last nights dinner, camel chilli! We weren't told thats what we were eating until later, otherwise Nikki might have gone for the veggie option. Leannas trip was made a bit more uncomfortable when a fly flew into her ear and our do it yourself job of tempting it out with raspberry squash failed. It did get a few laughs from the other passengers though! After some advice from an outback nurse we decided to head to Alice Springs after hours surgery when we got back. After great expense Leanna was told the fly had dropped out on its own but she did need a good ear clean! We checked into our new hostel and signed up for 3 days work as cleaners, solving the problem of what to do in this sleepy (and very hot) town for the next 3 days and paying for our beds and food. We met our tour group for dinner and drinks in the hostel bar where we finally got to taste some decent wine!

A restless nights sleep for Nikki who seemed to have picked up a tummy bug and so spent a lot of time in the bathroom and the next day in bed (maybe camel chilli didnt agree with me but no one else seemed to suffer!). Leanna went off to work on her own at 9am and spent a tough day vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and bar, and changing the beds. We were told we'd be finished by 12 so when an exhausted Leanna returned at 3pm with feet covered in blisters and minor injuries from falling off the top bunk we began to regret what we'd let ourselves in for. Feeling much better now Nikki can join her for the final days hard graft before we fly off to Cairns...