"Right guys, grab yourselves a swag and give it a good shake to get rid of any scorpions, snakes and spiders that are probably living in there!" 

Tour guide Rory puts us all instantly at ease about the prospect of sleeping in the outback.

ALICE SPRINGS

As hard as it was to tear ourselves away from Perth and the comforts of life with the Bolton's, we set off, ever onward to the red centre.

Life in Alice couldn't have started any better, as we quickly discovered that Alice Springs possibly has the greatest airport in the world. As we entered the luggage collection area, we were confronted by a totally free bar. Not just a crappy plastic cup with a taster, but full bottles of booze. Our rucksacks did 4 full circuits of the luggage carousel before we reluctantly moved away from the terminal.

We were visiting Alice primarily for one reason - Uluru (Ayers Rock). We had previously booked on a 3 day tour which covered all the main sights and would involve a bit of bush camping under the stars in something called a Swag??! Of course it goes without saying that we were both feeling a little apprehensive about this, especially with Dan's arachnaphobia and LJ's skin being a mosquito's favourite banquet.

THE TOUR

So, at 6am on Tuesday morning 25 of us loaded our gear and sleepy bodies onto the tour bus and set off on the 6 hour drive through the desert to Kings Canyon. Now I think most people would agree that 6 hours is a pretty substantial distance to travel, add to this the vast expanses of nothingness and the fact that we probably only saw 3 other vehicles during the entire journey and it makes you understand just how massive, but empty this country is.

We arrived at Kings Canyon, eager, excited and hot....bloody hot. Lucky for us the weather was being kind and the temperature had dropped to just 44degress for our 3 hour hike up and down a huge canyon - great. Rory our fantastic guide, reiterated to us on numerous ocasions to make sure we all had our hats and plenty of water because people actually do die doing the hike we were about to embark on - again, great. The start of the walk begins with a climb up one side of the canyon which is worryingly named 'heart attack hill', our previous enthusiasm had somewhat wained and only 10 minutes into the walk we were both knackered and the sweat was free flowing.

The walk was great though, the scenery was stunning and the group camraderie was developing nicely. Our packed lunch was enjoyed in the surroundings of the Garden of Eden billabong, a beautiful natural waterhole where we all cooled off with a refreshing swim. Life in the outback was already agreeing with us.

From here we all hopped back on the bus and resumed the journey south to our camp for the night, but not before a pitstop at the pub (possibly the only one for 1000km), for much needed bevvies and our delicious supper. It was all that was needed to prepare us for our first night in the bush.

The camp was just as you'd imagine, camp fires, beer and chat till the wee hours, it was great, although we were all slightly regretting it the following day when Rory woke us all up at 5.30am for breakfast. Another day on the road.

Our destination for day 2 was first the stunning Olgas rock formations, followed by our first glimpse of the 'big one'. We had another great hike around the Olgas spurred on by Rory's great stories of Aboriginal culture and the significance of the places we were seeing.

Next up, after lunch, was the short drive to The Rock and a short introduction of its history. The guide book explains that even the most jaded 'seen it all' travellers will still be blown away by it's massive presence in the middle of the desert, and it's not wrong. It's huge. What makes it more impressive is that there's literally nothing else around for miles and miles. It was the centre of Aboriginal life for thousands of years and paintings and carvings can still be seen at the rocks base. We were shown where different bedrooms once had been, along with the kitchen and communal rooms, a fascinating insight.

Sunset at the rock was followed by another night under the stars. The whole group had really 'clicked' and we met some great people and it really was a shame when the trip began to come to an end. It has already become a highlight of our trip so far.

BACK TO ALICE

We arrived back at our hostel on Thursday evening, feeling, looking and smelling like we weren't part of civilisation anymore, but nothing that the nicest shower of our lives couldn't cure. We all had an excuse for a final group blowout as we had our 'last supper' meal and drank the night (and most of the following morning) away and for the 4th consecutive morning we watched the sun come up.

Our time in Alice and the 3 day tour itself has been absolutely cracking. Our hostel in Alice is easily the friendliest and best place we've stayed so far (nothing to do with the dirt cheap bar attached or the pool) and the people we've met over the last week have been some of the best, more addresses to add to our contact list. Cheers guys.

Our flight to Cairns leaves in 2 hours and a whole new adventure begins on Monday when we pick up our combi. Obviously, we can't wait.

Get ready Kerryn & Pete, we're coming to get you!

Love to you all, us x