Sunday 20th July 2014

Apparently it didn't rain, poo! I wished I had camped outside!

We all woke up earlier than intended to, but we left camp 30 mins earlier for our drive to Alice Springs which is over 600 kms away!! I sat up front with Trevor which was a good laugh!

We stopped en-route for camel rides, Stu and I opted out but we did enjoy watching the boys on the camels which were actually racing camels! Camels look so stupid when they run! Apparently they can run faster than horses, but it's only for a limited time before they get too tired!

Imported into Australia from Arabia, India and Afghanistan during the 19th century for transport and construction during the colonisation of the central and western parts of Australia, many were released into the wild after motorised transport replaced the camels' role in the early 20th - forming a fast-growing feral population. By 2008, it was feared that this population numbered about one million, and was doubling every 8-10 years. They were degrading the environment and threatening native species, so a culling program was introduced and by 2013 the feral population was estimated to have been reduced to around 300,000.

We carried on our drive to Alice Springs and we noticed a lot of police around for being in the middle of no where. Trevor said there was a juvenile prison nearby so I got excited and shouted out to the bus that there must be a prison break! We went through a road block where a police officer checked the van to make sure we weren't hiding the prisoners! I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie! I got way too excited!

We finally arrived in Alice Springs and got dropped off at our hostel, I had a really long enjoyable shower and finally got rid of some of the red dust! My shoes will never be the same colour again!

We meet up with some of the tour staying in the same hostel and walked into town to meet the others for food and some drinks. We had a great last night before we headed home, in a taxi as it is dangerous to be walking out and about at night.

Monday 21st July 2014

We woke up early and had our free breakfast of two pieces of bread...pretty poor that you only get two pieces. In Asia you at least be able to have as many pieces as you want to! We headed to Woolworths to pick up some food for dinner and snacks for our tour tomorrow.

We headed back and met up with Rachel and Megan and we head to Anzac hill which offered a great view over Alice Springs. Alice Springs is the third biggest city in NT and is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory.

I asked if they wanted to see the old telegraph station and warned them it is a long walk, but they said it was ok. So we headed over there. It was a long walk but it was very interesting. The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a 3200 km telegraph line that connected Darwin with Port Augusta in SA. Completed in 1872 the Overland Telegraph Line allowed fast communication between Australia and the rest of the world. An additional section was added in 1877 with the completion of the Western Australian section of the line. It was one of the great engineering feats of 19th century Australia and probably the most significant milestone in Australia's telegraphic history. The family that worked on the telegraph station lived there and they had a home and farm set up for them to live. They used to receive food deliveries once every six months!! How do they do it? I couldn't believe it! They also used to wear huge dresses, how did they survive in the summer? It is incredible how people lived back in those days!

We got the tourist office to book us a taxi back into town as it was a long way to walk and between four of us the taxi wasn't that much. We met up with the remaining guys from the tour for lunch which was great.

We picked up some last souvenirs before heading back to the hostel to do a giant wash! I am not wearing any white clothes on the next tour!!! We repacked our bags ready for our wake up call tomorrow.