Friday 30th July 2010:

Today we flew to Darwin and met up with our wonderful camp hilltop friend Lauren! She was my aussie co-counsellor in 2003 and it was just so amazing to see her. Roasting in Darwin (36degrees C) and its very tropical in the 'Top End'. Lauren picked us up at the airport in her huge ute and took us to her and Jarrod's flat. And so the drinking began….That evening Jarrod sparked up the Barbie and cooked us awesome steaks with bushtucker spices. Oh and they have a pet snake!!!!!!!!!

Over the next few days we explored the lovely Parap markets, had lovely lunches, visited the Darwin Museum, had high tea and went to the Mindil beach night markets where we had the most amazing food! Steve got tipsy and held the snake!

The biggest day on Darwin's social calendar arrived- Darwin Cup - so we all get dressed up and braved the heat for a day of races, champagne and strawberries! I loved all the fancy outfits and hats! Brilliant day out!!!

We were sad when it came to saying goodbye to Lauren and Jarrod- they looked after us so well and we had a fabulous time! Steve and I set off on our own again starting with a day trip to Lichfield National Park. The jumping croc cruise was super cool with all the waterfalls, rock pools, termite mounds and good company (including a young Mauritian boy we met) it made for a great day. On the bad side, we stayed at a terrible and dirty hostel on the main street and had the weirdest roommates- and a drunk guy came in in the middle of the night, shouting about his lost wallet. Very little sleep! Actually this reminded us of 2005 when we were in a Rome hostel and a really drunk guy came into the dorm and was crying and screaming and accusing everyone of stealing his passport from under his bed…turned out he was so drunk he'd come into the wrong room! Idiot!

After our sleepless night we embarked on the transcontinental Ghan rail journey. It travels from the top in Darwin, through the middle of Australia and ending at the bottom in Adelaide. We only did half the journey, 24hours, pah! It was luxury and a short journey compared to our trans-siberian train trip. It wasn't long before the iconic red dirt spread across the land as far as the eyes could see. The real Australia that I had always imagined- despite being here for 9months already, this was the first time I had seen the vast red land! We stopped at the town of Katherine and did a short hike for stunning views of Katherine Gorge. At about 6am, after a decent sleep on a train seat, the sun started to rise over the desert and it was truly stunning. At 9am we arrived at Alice Springs- a town built in the middle of the desert surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. There are a lot of aborigines but unfortunately we have not had the chance to really mix with them which is a shame- there is a real segregation between the aboriginals and the white people- and a lot of tension and problems. I visited and was fascinated by the Royal Flying Doctors museum- the service they offer is incredible.

Ouch!! 4am rise to starttrip to Uluru (Ayers Rock). A long long long day of driving and finally arrived at Kings Canyon- WOW!!!! We did an amazing, hard 3hour hike and it was so amazing to literally be walking though the canyon- I felt like an explorer! We passed through the 'Garden of Eden' and the domes of the 'Lost City'. At one point, we were apparently standing in a very rare position: a canyon on one side (caused by earth movement) and a gorge on the other side (caused by water movement). And apparently, though I didn't remember this from our Grand Canyon visit in 2003, the Grand canyon is actually a gorge and not a canyon at all!

We arrived very late, in the pitch black of night in the desert at our Yulara campsite. It was beyond cold and we were totally inadequately prepared. We took a walk to a view point and saw the most amazing sight- the stars filling the sky like I have never seen or imagined possible.

I have never witnessed stars like this in my entire life. Due to zero air/light pollution and with a stroke of luck - no moon- the sky literally glowed with a thick, full abundance of stars. I mean millions, with no space and they seemed so close and bright.

It was probably the coldest and darkest night of my life in that tent but we survived and got up at 5am to start the journey to Uluru for sunrise. And it was totally worth it! We did the base walk of Uluru as the sun was rising over the massive rock (way bigger than it looks in photos). Yet another magical moment in this world tour- just amazing. It's a very sacred site for the aboriginal people and holds huge significance for them.

We also visited the Olgas- Kata Tjuta- awesome domed rock formations.

8th August 2010 The next day, Steven and I were so nervous about moving to our Yulara village tent as we were genuinely scared for another freezing desert night but this campsite was amazing- they gave us hot water bottles, a lantern and blankets- luxury! We got some supplies for a wee picnic whilst watching sunset over Uluru. We then built a fire and toasted marshmallows! Happy campers!

This was the last adventure in an amazing 10months of adventures in Australia! I will miss this country so much - it is a truly unbelievable place.

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