Currently I sit on my bed in my dorm in Cairns, looking out over a pool. Yep, this is a hostel with style, and you need that pool here too. Alice Springs and Uluru were warm, but this was different to the temperatures in Cairns. But let me start with telling some more about Uluru, because I didn't really felt comfortable to do so in the resort and Alice Springs.

Thursday we spent the morning at the Olga's, driving the car to them, doing a walk in one of the Gorges and just looking out. The temperature was again around 0 degrees, so one of the walkingtracks was closed anyway.
They do that out there, when the weather reports say 36 degrees or more for the day, some walks aren't accessible. There have died people in this region in the heat, people who didn't bring enough water and were out there in the heat of the day. No wonder they suggest you finish your walks at 11 am.

The afternoon we've spent some time at the pool again, and for the first time this holidays I have been reading in a book. I found this book in my hostelroom, someone else had finished it. Now it's mine, and I might leave it too when I have finished reading. :) Before we knew it, it was time to leave for the sunset. After all we didn't book the Sounds of Silence. 185 dollars is so much money, and with a sunrise to get up for on friday, it would maybe end too late. So yes, we took some awesome pictures while the sun was setting, and it would have been even better without the unwanted company of lots of flies. I have no idea where they come from, but especially this evening they drove us mad. I've got a pic from myself with my flyhat... promise me not to laugh! ;)

When the sun was down and we went back to the hotel, we had a meal in the italian restaurant again from the first evening, before going to bed. The next morning, friday, was a sunrise morning and the alarm went off at 5.30. It's quite a long drive up to the sunrise spot at Uluru, but we made it before the sun appeared. I don't see often sunrises, but it's always a beautiful sight. The rock changed color every minute, or so it seemed. :) Lots of pics later, the worst part of the day began: the drive back to Alice Springs, but this time via Kings canyon. We didn't know back then that Kings canyon is only good visible when you do a 3-4 hour walk. And in 40 degrees a walk like that... I might do that when I am alone and have enough water, but now it wasn't an option. So disappointed and a bit annoyed we just took some pictures from the rocks there and really started th way back to Alice Springs. What a shame we didn't have a 4 wheel drive to drive off road, now we only could go on sealed roads and that was about 300 kilometer more. Waste of time, and waste of petrol, the petrol with the most ridiculous price was 2.41 dollar. So glad I usually travel with the train.... :P

8 pm we arrived at the hotel in Alice Springs, ready to travel back to Melbourne next day. I loved it in this part of Australia, loved even the heat, and the beautiful landscapes that we've seen. From pictures I know that there's a lot that we haven't seen, so who knows I might come back one day here, to see the beautiful rainbow valley and palm valley, to do that long walk to see Kings canyon, to actually to the whole walk around Uluru. Because yes, I do love the long walks, but maybe that's better to do on my own some day....

So, here I am now, in Cairns. With an early morningflight from Melbourne I made it to the final stage of the trip. I am here a few days, tomorrow a Cape Tribulation tour, and the day after to Fitzroy Island. But who has come up with the name sunshine state for Queensland? I have had a cloudy day today, with rain and thunder. I know there's a cyclone hanging around some more south, so maybe that is the source of the clouds and rain. Hopefully I will miss it, I wasn't exactly planning to meet my first cyclone this holidays. :)

Cairns disappoints me so far. I have strolled aorund the streets and along the port and it's not that special to me. I love the lagoon though, where lots of people went swimming. But maybe Cairns is a bit like Melbourne, according to what my city guide told the other day. He said that Sydney is a city that's open, that shows itself with all it has to the world. But Melbourne is more a city to get to know when you're in it, when you walk the laneways and get lost in it's streets. Maybe this is the case with Cairns too, I don't know.

Time for a picture update, and then I hope to make a short walk along the sea again. I would like to see a sunset, but I think that it is too cloudy today. Oh well, gotta be ready at 6.55 am tomorrow, so maybe I should try to sleep early anyway :)