The journey to Alice Springs was broken up by a seven hour stop in Melbourne. Ridiculously, this was the cheapest way to make the journey so we pottered around the airport until it was finally time to check in. We landed late in the day and got to the hostel later than planned. However, this had its upside as we were upgraded to our own room! I've never heard of being upgraded in a hostel, but it's certainly something we could get used to. We settled in and went straight to bed as we were getting picked up at 6:00 to go on The Rock tour.

After an earlier start than planned (Sarah had set her alarm, but not changed time zones) we hit the road and started travelling to our first stop while getting acquainted with the other people on our tour. This included playing games and having to talk about ourselves for a few minutes each - all very embarrassing. A few hours of driving later and we had made it to Kings Canyon.

Before we got off the bus, we were given a very stern talk about the hike we were about to undertake. The walk included a place called 'Heart Attack Hill' which had us both looking at each other nervously. Ignoring all safety instructions about needing to be an Olympic athlete, we pressed on and decided to give it a go. Heart Attack Hill was right at the start of the hike and fortunately, it wasn't has bad as it had been made out. We reached the top tired, but certainly not dying. All the walking in Sydney had paid off!

We continued the hike up and down the canyon walls until we made it to an oasis in the desert called 'The Garden of Eden'. There we were able to cool off with a well deserved swim which revitalised us for the second half of the journey. We made our way back around the other side of the canyon, admiring the scenery and enjoying the trip downhill!

We then headed off to our camp site and picked up some beers along the way. Our drive back was excellent fun! While on the way to camp our guide turned up the music and proceeded to do doughnuts on arrival. This was made even more exciting as we were in a 21 seater bus with a trailer.

That evening, we were told that we would be sleeping in a swag. Neither of us knew what this was, but we had worked out that there was no tent and we would be out under the stars. A swag turns out to be a canvas sleeping bag with a thin mattress inside. It's definitely primitive, but it's a surprisingly comfortable way to spend a night. The stars were out and we were able to enjoy sleeping out by the camp fire.

We were woken up at 5.30am to the sounds of 'Don't worry, be happy' playing from the van. When its still pitch dark and the stars are still out, this definitely helped getting us in the mood for an early morning. We continued our drive onto Kata Tjuta and got our first glimpse of Uluru. This is when we realised no postcard would ever give you the scale of the rock. It is massive and I can wholeheartedly say has to be seen in person to appreciate. The funny this is, Kata Tjuta is equally impressive, but doesn't seem to be as well known.

We went on another hike at Kata Tjuta, this time not as challenging, but still not the easiest in the heat. The views are stunning and it makes you realise how much there is to offer around the area. After that we headed off to do the Mala Walk near the base of Urulu. We got to see cave paintings and a waterhole which you wouldn't expect in a desert.

After lunch we headed to the Aboriginal Centre to learn more about the stories of how each landmark was created, then headed off to each dinner while watching the sunset over Uluru.

Unfortunately the weather was cloudy, so the sunset wasn't great. But just getting to sit and eat dinner with that kind of view, it didn't matter. We all enjoyed a few beers before heading back to camp.

We were back in the swags for another night, but this time it was in the camp ground near Uluru. Our first night had been out in the bush, with nothing for as far as you could see. This place had toilets, so a little less remote. We spent the evening sat around chatting - mainly about how we hoped nothing would bite us.

The night was uneventful for me and Tom who were lucky not to have any visitors in their swags, so we woke up at 5am refreshed and ready to watch the sunrise over Uluru. The morning was beautiful so we sat eating breakfast and enjoying a cup of tea with the sun rising.

Once the sun had risen, we headed off on a two hour base walk around Uluru. Its an easy walk, but interesting to see all the cave paintings and get a grasp on the scale of Uluru. From there we headed off on our drive back to Alice Springs, while getting the chance to play some games to break up the journey. Our favourite being 'Mad Scramble' which involved sweets being thrown everywhere and you having to dive and grab them. Unfortunately our guide admitted she had got hungry so there wasn't actually that many left.

We also got the chance to play pass the parcel, this however ended in disaster when the parcel got thrown out of the van by accident. Fortunately we were able to retrieve it and continue with trying to throw the parcel at different peoples heads.

That night we all got a chance to get back to the hostel and get cleaned up before heading out for dinner and drinks with everyone we had met on the tour. We had had such a great time, made even better by our tour guide Ellie and her excellent taste in music. Each day we had a soundtrack that set the mood which gave the tour such a great atmosphere.

For everyone who thinks going to Alice Springs your just going to see a rock, you couldn't be more wrong. The trip definitely needs a certain level of fitness, especially when contending with the heat. But the sights you get to see are out of this world. We have had a the best three days roughing it and got to meet some really amazing people.