Aaaaghhhh ... we may be stranded in Alice Springs!!!! We tried to book our train to Darwin to leave tomorrow as planned and there are no available seats until the 29th August (we leave Oz on the 25th!!) We are so raging because we have already paid for the unlimited train ticket (the same ticket we have been using for all our travelling) and this would be our last opportunity to use it! We are currently in a travel centre looking for planes, cars, camper vans etc, whilst Christine is trying to work out whether or not she can afford to stay any longer in Australia with the extra travel expenses!! This may possibly be our second run of bad luck (...remember how it comes in 3's like on the last road trip?) because when we were out on Friday night Michelle's camera was stolen! We were on a night out with our tour group from the camping and after having dinner and drinks in our hostel, we went along to Melankas bar (which is basically one of the two places to go out in Alice). We were around a table taking silly photos of each other so someone must have noticed her using it and then next thing we knew it was gone! We spent ages looking for it and asking all the staff and security etc but no luck. So we went to the police station yesterday to report it but it is unlikely that she will get it back unless they find it in a pawn shop. She is going to claim it on the insurance but apparently she will only get about half of what it cost. She is so gutted because although she has some photos on her site, there are still loads that hadn't been downloaded plus many funny videos of us all. :'0( Enough bad stories though ... like I said we had such an amazing time on our camping trip!! :0) We left early doors on Wednesday and first stop was the camel farm for a camel ride! It was a really short ride but although the camels that some of us had seemed really lazy they did manage to go for a run with us on them, hee, hee, poor things!! I swear I thought Michelle was gonna pee herself on them - it was hilarious! Later that day we arrived at Kings Canyon. This was a fab day and the weather was great but it was certainly the toughest day of the tour. The first climb we had to get to the top of the Canyon is called 'Heart attack hill'!! When you see the photos you will understand why! It was really tough but everyone made it up eventually - even the two older ladies from Iceland, who I think were the oldest people ever to go on Mulga's tour!! We spent most of the day hiking around Kings Canyon with regular stops for Chris (our tour guide) to fill us in on all the geology, nature, etc of the area. We ended up running a little behind schedule this day - maybe Chris was walking slower than usual as he was too busy reciting the whole of Braveheart, Trainspotting and attempting to mimic our Scottish accents! It was dark by the time we arrrived at camp - although we were just thankful to actually get there because something broke on the bus on our way there, some kind of belt but not the fan belt...I think! Camping was cool! When we first got there a few of us ran around in the dark looking for fire wood whilst Chris and some others cooked dinner and set up camp. For dinner we had chilli con carne a la Chris! It was yummy but the next day Chris revealed that it was actually made from camel and not beef! He says he didn't tell us coz we wouldn't have eaten it. I said we would have ... but then, maybe we wouldn't have!! Oh well it was still nice though! We chatted around the camp fire for a while, looked at the stars and then went to bed. Bed did not consist of a tent though - we were literally sleeping under the stars! We had sheets, a sleeping bag and a swag! It was so surprisingly not cold in the swag and it was very cool (cool as in amazing, not as in almost cold) falling asleep looking up at the stars out in the middle of nowhere! Day 2 we went to Ayers Rock - or Uluru as it is known to the Anangu people who have claim to the area and the rock. Chris told us all about the history behind the rock and the mythical stories which give it it's spirituality. It was really interesting and certainly gave me a better understanding as to why the Aboriginals find it so sacred. We spent some of the day as a group but then Chris left to get the bus fixed whilst some of us walked right around the rock and others climbed to the top. Christine, Michelle and I decided not to climb as they really do urge you not to, so we felt good for that. Christine ended up with major sunburn following our big walk though. I keep telling them - sunburn is not clever and it's not cool! ;0) Following our walks and talks we drove to the sunset veiwing point to watch the sunset over Uluru. Here we had a few beers and dinner - sweet and sour chicken, vegetable and rice - which we helped to prepare. The sunset was lovely but quick. We spent most of the time here carrying on with Chris and winding up his housemate, Will, who is a tour guide for another company. That night we found another camping spot which seemed even further into the middle of nowhere than the previous night! We drank more beers, had more fun and laughs and some of us climbed up to the top of a big sand dune to lie and gaze at the stars. We were right under the MilkyWay and we managed to find a few of the constellations. It was amazing! I seemed colder that night when I was asleep for some reason. It might have been because I had more clothes on ... apparently the more clothes you wear under the swag, the colder you will be! Weird but true!! On day three we went to the Olgas, which for anyone who doesn't know is another huge rock formation close to Ayers Rock but which is made of many different types of rock and looks like lots of domes. The Olgas are much more sacred to the Anangu than even Ayers Rock is so we weren't able to hear and of the stories about it. We know that they would have carried out many ceremonies and rituals here but it is that sacred that even Aboriginal women are not allowed on the site! It is a man (mala) only zone and the only females who can visit are tourists! Unfortunately that was the last stop on our tour and it was then time for the long drive home :0( It was a very fun and very informative trip which was definitely the highlight of the Northern territory so far. That night, like I said, we had a night out with the tour group. Our hostel does $5 meals (which is like 2 pounds) so we started there, before heading to Melankas. When we left Melankas araound 430am and got back to our hostel we couldn't get in because none of us had taken note of the entry code for the gate - doh!!! So we ended up staying the night at Chris and Will's place! I think I crashed as soon as we got there and then was first up in the morning (I think it was still morning!) I woke the others up - much to their discontent, especially Christine's - but we ended up not getting back to the hostel until about 6pm due to us lazing around, watching a pants film, going to McD's for a hangover Big Mac and stopping in at the police station! We didn't make it to Bojangles last night, so apologies to anyone who looked for us online! We went for our $5 meal downstairs and that used most of the energy that we had. So instead we watched some crap tv and went to sleep. Yay, in the time that it has taken me to write this mega postcard we have managed to book a hire car to take us up to Darwin! We leave tomorrow morning and we are gonna stop at a few places on the way up, such as Katherine, the Devils Marbles etc. We have the car for 10 days so we won't be getting the camper van in Darwin anymore (way too expensive and no need anymore)! Oh and Christine is coming along too so she will definitely be here for the rest of Oz and will just need to wait and see about Bali ... fingers crossed! Will hopefully get to add some photos before we leave tomorrow. But either way, I will update from our road trip as much as possible (then I won't have to write as much as this!!!!!!!) Adios Amigos xx