Day 33

Hello all! I have had a really busy but fantastic three days being a tourist! Yippee! And for those of you who have expressed concern/envy - yes I am a little bit sunburnt (but only a little!) and have lots of freckles:)

Friday morning I was picked up just before 6 to head to my first stop on the trip - a camel ride! Suprisingly smooth, even when my camel (Blacky) decided to go for a run! Made it all the more exciting...

Second stop was the Olgas - about 30kms from Uluru. They are absolutely stunning and mind-boggling huge. We did a walk of about 6.5kms round them, and the lookout at the top was fantastic - worth the climb! The evening was spent watching the sunset at Uluru (with about 500 other people!) and then to the campsite for a night out in swags under the stars. Fabulous view but not conducive to getting any sleep...

Not that there was time for much, as we were up and about by 4.30am to see the sunrise over the rock. Far more beautiful than sunset, and defiately worth the early start:) We then hiked around the rock which is a walk of about 10kms - and was really good, both because it is really impressive and because there was opportunity to learn lots about Aboriginal culture, history and traditions linked to Uluru itself.

A long drive to King's Canyon in the afternoon, and then a helicopter ride over the canyon! Expensive, but worth it for the view...

Swimming and a barbeque at the campsite in the evening, and another night out under the stars.

Up again at 4.30 today to climb the canyon as the sun rose - stunning! And probably a good thing to avoid the 500+ uneven steps during the heat of the day! Another long hike around the canyon, with some seriously impressive views and breathtaking scenery...

Then the long drive back to Alice and to Santa Teresa bright and early in the morning! Out for dinner with some people from the tour tonight and then my tourist days are over for another two weeks....

In answer to some "conversations" this week - I miss you all so so so so much - wish you could all be here with me:)