After a 5hour journey to Yulara (the resort next to the national park in which Uluru and Kata Tjuta were) we found our camp. The journey had involved a stop at a Camel Farm where you could ride camels if you wished- having done so with Natalie in Tunisia last year, I couldn't be arsed and instead had a camel burger!!!!

Anyway our camp was.... er.... basic!!! It consisted of an outdoor kitchen with benches covered by a tin roof... and that was it!!!! After a quick lunch we headed off to Kata Tjuta via the Cultural Centre. Kata Tjuta was incredible and we did a two hour hike around and through it. The scenery was incredible and even the large blisters forming on my little toes could not dent the breathtaking views!! From there we headed towards Uluru to watch the sunset, which oweing to the heavy cloud cover, was a little disappointing!! Also disappointing was the fact that seemingly all the other touring groups had BBQ and champagne for the "event"... we had a packet of biscuits!! Anyway, slight disappointment over, we headed back to camp for the evening meal.

Being the only Brits on the tour (or more accurately the only people to whom English was a first language... and I include the tour guide!!), me and Tom volunteered to be in charge of the BBQ... and what a decision it was!!! Our meal consisted of beef steak, kangaroo steak, camel sausages, a potatoe concoction courtesy of our German tour guide, coleslaw and salad!! The kangaroo was awesome... the camel suasages were out of this world!! Best meal yet... and we bloody cooked it!!!!

That night we were supposed to sleep in "swags", which are sort of huge sleeping bags with a mattress inside and a flap that comes over your head. Constant talk of snakes and creepy crawlies put Tom off, so while I braved it in the open, he headed to the minibus to sleep!!

Next morning we were up at 4.30 to watch the sunrise at Uluru. Whilst again not spectacular, it was an improvement on the sunset the previous night. After this we embarked on a base walk around the whole thing. This was awesome, with some spectacular views even from ground level. Afterwards Janina took us on a further walk talking us through some aspects of Aboriginal culture. From there, we jumped on the bus, with our destination Kings Canyon, 4hours away!!

Arrived in Kings Canyon early evening and once again set about making dinner!! Fearful of failing to repeat our brilliance from the previous night, we avoided getting too invloved with the evening meal- it was pasta anyway... would have done nothing for our reputation!! Afterwards Tom decided he would be king of the campfire, so set about that! Once again swags were on offer to sleep in and once again Tom chose the bus. I was ok with the concept of sleeping outside the previous night... but I didn't like that (with the flap covering your head), on waking up, it was pretty hard to breathe... so I too girl-ed out and hit the bus for the night!!

Next morning was another early start as we headed to the actual canyon for a 3hour hike. This for me, even given the popularity and fame of Ayers Rock, was the best bit of the trip. The walk was tough... but the views were unbelievable!! The pictures barely do it justice!!

After this we jumped back on the mini-bus to Alice... stopping briefly for lunch on the way! We checked back into the YHA for the night and booked our flights out to the East Coast for the next day!! Great trip!!