Hi all,

It was sad to say goodbye to South East Asia as it has been such a massive part of my trip. However, I'm sure I'll be back one day........!

Didn't get up to much in Sydney and it was awful to be back in hostels, I hate hostels with a passion. The only exciting evening was when we went to the Minus 5 bar in Circular Quay. It is a themed bar and was a cool (excuse the pun) experience. The bar is made completely of ice and the temperature inside is minus five or flipping freezing, whatever you prefer. You are given a massive coat and gloves that you have to wear at all times inside. All the walls were big ice blocks and there were loads of ice sultpures, even your glass that your cocktail comes in is made from ice. You have half an hour in the fridge before you have to leave and trust me, it is long enough. The next day we were flying to Alice Springs where we were going to go on the Rock Tour of Uluru or more commonly known as Ayres Rock.

Oh my god, Alice Springs is in the middle of nowhere...! About ten minutes into the flight the land below us become barren and deserted and this was the same for the next three hours. It was just red soiled dessert land and bush. This was going to be a good tour.

We were picked up from the airport by a right character, pointing out lots and telling us loads of facts about Alice Springs. Like there is 700,000 wild camels in australia, interesting. Alice Springs seemed a really nice place, small but perfectly formed with all the amenities of a proper town. However, the next real town was 1500km west or 1500km south - nice. We checked into a really nice hostel called Annies before we had a walk into town to have a look at Didgeridoo's and Aboriginal art work. I soon fell in love with the didge and was booked for a free Didgeridoo lesson that evening.

We ventured further into town and had a good look around. I ended up in a real cowboy equipment and clothing outlet. It was excellent and ended up buying a proper cowboy belt, yeehaa. I was like a fat kid in a cake shop. I love cowgirls but that's another story entirely lol....

Next door to the didgeridoo shop that I was having a lesson in, was a tiny kangaroo rescue centre that rescues joey's from the pouches of their dead mothers that have been knocked down and lie on the roadsides. For the price of $5 you can see the rescued joey's feed and have a briefing on their work and what they get up to. We returned at feeding time and it was a really interesting hour or so. The baby kangaroo's were quality and loved being held in their pillow cases as this mimics the pouches of their mum's which they spend near all day in the bush. It was so funny as they hop up to your legs and reach up at you like a human baby. You then open the pillow case and hold it out and the joey just summersaults into it - quality. I really enjoyed this experience and learnt loads. For instance, did you know that when white explorers first "invaded" Oz and asked the aboriginals what this interesting animal was, they replied Kangaroo. Kangaroo actually means 'I Don't Know' in aboriginal language. It's an education reading my journal...!

It was then back to the Didgeridoo shop for my lesson. I'd basically decided earlier in the day that I was going to buy a didge and had chosen a thigh high little number with a simple design. But after having a successful lesson I decided to go for a proper non touristy designed didge that you can play properly, rather than being a ornamental art piece to decorate my front room with. By the way mum, you will be receiving a large package soon.

We returned to the hostel to grab a bite to eat before heading to bed early as we were going to be picked up at 6am. Tea was amazing - camel lasagne. I think Gordon Ramsey should start serving it at his restaurants as it is well tasty.

Day one of the Rock Tour - Sunset at Uluru!

I didn't realise how far Uluru was away from Alice Springs, six and a half hours away. It was two straight roads, traveling at 120km/hours non-stop, right and another right and we were there. We were heading deeper and deeper into the bush and it was just orange soil for miles and miles. Endlessness of nothingness, just soil and spasmodic green bushes, it was quite something. The reason for the orange/terracotta soil is that the sun evaporates 10 percent more water than it rains. This brings the iron in the soil to the surface that then oxidises with the air and turns the soil that colour and it is an amazing sight.

Wow - Uluru was amazing. We completed the base walk around Uluru which took Becki and I an hour and twenty minutes to complete. On the way we found a Thorny Devil devil which was fantastic. We were the first back and when everyone else had returned our guide Ash took us on to see the beautiful sites of the Mala Walk, Mutijulu and the Aboriginal Cave Paintings. After this we spend the evening watching the spectacular sunset over Uluru and witnessed the awesome sight of Uluru changing colour in front of our eyes.

We then set up camp in the nearby Ayres Rock Camping ground in swags. Swags are tremendous, just a bag you get in and sleep on the bush floor under the stars in the middle of nowhere. I loved it and the stars were awesome. It was like looking at the shoulder of a severe dandruff sufferer, white stars just filled the black skies above us.

Day two of the Rock Tour - Uluru Sunrise and Kata Tjuta National Park

It was up at 5am to be ready to see the sunrise over the world's largest rock and it was truly memorable, it was a once in a life time experience. Once the sun had risen we made our way to Kata Tjuta to feel the spiritual significance of the Valley of the Winds. When we arrived we set out and completed the three hour walk which was beautiful. Again very interesting with all the background being provided of the significance the site with the Aboriginal people. We finished the walk and started the journey to Kings Canyons which was six and a half hours away. We stopped on the way to dig up some bush tucker - widgety grub style.

Armed with a stick and load of determination we all ventured into the bush to dig up Widgety Tree roots to see if there was a widgety grub inside. After twenty minutes searching we finally found a widgety root with a medium sized widgety grub into for someone to eat. I licked what turned out to be it arse before Becki bit off its head and ate it - gross....! The footage will soon be on this web page under videos.

We arrived at a camping site close to Kings Canyon and bedded down on the bush floor again in the swags near our bush fire. Up again at five and we then enjoyed a three hour hike through the sandstone domes of the Lost City and visited the Amphitheatre, North and South Walls and had a swim in the Garden of Eden. It had been an amazing trip and it was the final leg of the tour which was a six and a half hour journey back to Alice Springs. That evening it was a Chili Con Camel for tea (it was fantastic) before meeting all of the group for drinks that night. Unfortunately we got back to the hostel at 1.30am in the morning and we had to be up at 4.30am to be picked up for the sunrise hot air balloon ride we were going on.

Bo**ox.........! We slept through three alarm clocks and woke up at 05.10am. I rushed to reception and no bus was waiting for us. I spoke to the receptionist who then called the company that was going to pick us up and they agreed to come back and pick us up - yipeeeeeee. A few minutes later the bus was there and we were off, feeling so fatigued and aweful it was untrue. The pilot that jumped out whispered in my ear,"Don't tell the others but you have been upgraded to an hours flight...!". That will teach me to be late.

The hot air balloon ride was superb. Such a weird experience. As you are going the speed of the wind so it is so calm and peaceful up there. It doesn't feel that you are that high in the sky either, its really strange. The sunrise was magnificent and below us in the bush we saw wild horses and a kangaroo race across the dessert. When we landed it was six glasses of champagne with pear and guava juice, two chicken legs, three massive slices of amazing hot homemade quiche, fruit salad and chocolate cake for breakfast, this was better bush tucker that minging widgety grubs....! This trip to the Northern Territory has been so amazing, it really feels like I've been to Australia now......!

Back to Sydney to buy a big fat 350 gram Ozzie steak before heading off to New Zealand on the 30th April.

Bye for now

Miffy x x x