Friday 27th February-

Last Saturday we had a lazy day and just chilled out. At night we decided to go to the Woolshed for the $10 meal deal. When we got there there was a big queue so we weren't sure whether to go in or not. We eventually queued up and went in, and it was actually a pretty cool place. We found a little ttable on the balcony and had a nice meal- Helen had a parmagiana and Chris had Quesidella, and we both had a drink and a dessert of chocolate cake with ice cream, all for $10 each! Sunday was another lazy day, and the weather had turned a bit rubbish. That evening we went to The Heritage for another meal deal and we both had a roast dinner- the first we'd had in 3 months.

Monday morning we left for Alice Springs. We got picked up from the airport and taken to our hostel. We had to quickly decide on an Ayers Rock tour to do, and the easiest option was to do the hostels own tour called 'Mulgas'. We decided to do it on the Wednesday so that we could just sort ourselves out on the Tuesday. We had a wander into town and had a look around. Alice Springs is very hot- around 40 degrees- and there are millions of flies. There are a lot of aboriginal people around, and theyre all quite scary looking! There wasn't much to do there. It was in the middle of nowhere with no-one else for miles. It was very dry and sandy with rocks everywhere and a few trees. We had our dinner at the hostel as it was quite cheap. On Wednesday we had to get up at 4.45am. We checked out, had breakfast and were on the mini-bus and ready to leave by 6am. Our group had 15 people in it and everyone seemed nice. There were 3 other British people, some Germans, a Swiss guy, a Dutch guy and a Canadian woman who was absolutley hilarious and cracked everyone up the whole tour. We tried to get some sleep on the journey as it was very long (about 5 hours), but there were lots of stops on the way. After the first stop we were given marker pens to write our names on the window where we were sitting and draw things that represented our home country, which was fun! On the way we also had to buy our alcohol supplies for the 2 nights.

We first went to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). As soon as we stepped off the van we were all attacked by a million flies. They were so annoying and always went for our faces. We were told to keep our hats on, whack loads of suncream on and drink a litre of water every hour. We went on a little walk between the two ranges and our guide (Mike) told us some aboriginal stories and things. Apparently nobody knows much about the aboriginal culture because you only find out when youre initiated into it and you learn more as you rise up through the ranks. Apparently when they're 6 they get their front tooth knocked out and get their chests slashed to make scars! After that we went to the cultural centre and had a look at the facts and displays about the area. There was a book in there full of sorry letters from people who had taken bits of the rock from Uluru home with them, then found that they'd get bad luck and sent it back again. We bought a fly net each because we couldn't stand the flies any more. We then went to the Ayers Rock resort and had a swim in the pool. After that we went to the sunset viewing point for Ayers Rock. Mike cooked us some pasta chilli stuff, which was nice, and we watched the sunset. After that we went back to the campsite at the resort and set up our swags (big outdoor sleeping bags things with a thin matress in them). We were all very tired and had quite an early night. It was amazing to look up at all the stars. It was still really warm at night so it was a bit hot in our sleeping bags. The next day we were woken up at 4.45am again. We left straight away to view the sunrise at Uluru, which was nicer than the sunset. We then drover to Ayers rock and we were left to do a 10km walk around the base which took about 2 hours. The climb up it was closed as it was too hot. You aren't really supposed to climb it anyway, and it looked very steep and hard to do. Then we did another short walk with Mike and he told us some more stories. After lunch we went to another campsite and had another swim, and then we drove to Kings Canyon. Mike told us where we'd be walking tomorrow and then took us on a shorter walk along the bottom to tell us about the place. We then headed back to the campsite. On the way we had to stop and collect firewood, so the men flexed their muscles and pulled some dead trees down. At the campsite they made a fire and we sat around it and had dinner and beers. Then next day we were up at 4.45 again and we went straight to Kings Canyon. The walk was very long and tiresome, but had some good views. We strated by climbing loads of rocky steps up to the top, and then we walked across the top, stopping to look at views, and down the other side. We saw a couple of little lizards on our way too. After our walk it was time to head back to Alice Springs. On our way we stopped for lunch and also at a place for camel rides, although none of us rode one. A man there had a baby kangaroo in a shopping bag, which was so cute. Further along the journey we also saw a 'willywilly', which is a small, weak turnado thing they have out there that just picks up all the red dust and looks pretty cool. When we got back to the hostel we had time to shower before we all met up again later for dinner in the bar.

Thursday 5th March-

We left quite early for the airport on Saturday. On our plane there were about 40-50 football players and coaches etc from the Adelaide Crows. We didn't think they could have been that famous, although there were a couple of TV crews at Adelaide airport for them. Our hostel there was quite nice and big, with a tv room and dvd room and a bar and things. The best thing was that they had free apple pie and cream every night! The weather has turned a bit rubbish down here- around 15-19 degrees and quite windy and rainy at times- quite annoying as they hadn't had rain for about 3 months previously! So we've been a bit chilly in our summer gear, although glad for the lack of flies. We didn't do much in Adelaide. We wandered around town a few times, as there were a lot of shops. The Fringe Festival was on at the time (a couple of weeks of celebrations of art and music etc.), but we didn't see much of it apart from a few street performers. As we've been staying in a bit and had no tv, we've both been doing quite a lot of reading, and all the hostels have a few books you can exchange with for free. On one of the days we went to Haighs chocolate factory for a tour. We were a bit late (because the bus never showed up) so we missed the first bit, but we joined the tour and went on a short walk looking through windows at the people and machines making the chocolates. They were making some things for easter, including some cute little chocolate hot cross buns. After the tour we got to taste some of their new chocolates, they were chocolates with a chewy orange centre and were very yummy. We looked around the shop but it was all a bit posh and expensive for us.

Yesterday we got a bus to Melbourne at 8.15pm. The journey was long, but the driver was quite funny and entertaining, and we got to watch Meuriels Wedding on the way too. We got to Melbourne at about 6.30am. We went somewhere for breakfast while we waited for our hostel to open. There aren't many budget travelleres hostels in Melbourner, so we are having to stay in slightly more expensive places, but they are much nicer too.

We think Chris should stop talking to people in Australia because no-one can understand his accent!

Tuesday 10th March-

On Friday we were both suffering a bit from colds because of the constant air-con and now the sudden weather changes, so we had to stay in bed a bit. The weather is quite cold now that it's autumn, although we have had a couple of warmer, sunnier days. We went to a discount factory outlet and bought some warmer clothes. We got the free tram around the city, which has a commentary playing explaining where things are and what sights we could see out of the windows of the tram. It was good to help us get our bearings of the city. Melbourne is very big and we both like it here. On Saturday we went to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) to watch a match. There were no major matches on so we just saw the Sheffield Shield semi-final 4 day test. There weren't many people watching but it was good to see the game. The stadium was impressive and we saw a couple of well-known cricketers (Hussey, Symonds, etc.) and we saw Hodge get 250 runs. We walked back through a park that had Captain Cooks house in it that had been moved there from England. We also had a look around the gardens. We saw about 5 wedding parties being photographed, as it was near the Parliament House, where weddings are done.

On Sunday we did the Neighbours tour. We had an early start and walked to where we were picked up in the mini-bus. There were about 12 people on our tour. We drove for about half an hour to Ramsay Street (actually Pinoak Court). We took some photos and the guide told us some facts and gossip, and we got to hold the Ramsay street sign that is used on the show. The street looked a lot smaller in real life, but it was very cool to see. They even change the house numbers for the show. Apparently they make the cast wear summery clothes all year on Neighbours so that people in the UK think that it is always hot in Australia. We then went to the nearby studios and saw more of the outdoor sets used, such as Lassiters (the bar, shop, hotel and lake) and Grease Monkeys and Lous Mechanics. We also saw some of the characters cars from the show. Then we went somewhere else where we met a past character- Janelle- and she signed our postcards and had a photo with us. After the tour we moved hostels. This hostel is very big and modern and has a games room, gym and theater. On Monday we went to Melbourne museum. There were a lot of things on Melbournes history there, but there were some cool exhibits on the human body and mind and on insects and animals. Later that day we went to Moomba Water festival. It is a festival over the long weekend near the river. They have family shows and entertainment, rides, games and food. We went in the evening and saw some water sports and water skiing shows on the river. We saw some live music and we also watched the fireworks, which were good. We are doing a Great Ocean Road tour tomorrow.