We've had a busy couple of days..

Our last week in Wycheproof was really good. On Friday we went to a quiz night and on Saturday Amanda (she's in charge of the cafe) took us to Bendigo for a shopping trip. It was really nice to get out of Wycheproof for a while although quiz night was a pretty big one so all of us were a little under the weather, especially Mel who had to take a bucket in the car with her! In the evening we had dinner with Amanda and Trudy and then a couple of drinks, it was really nice! On Sunday it was Mother's Day in Australia so we opened the pub for breakfast for the first time. It went really well and we had a roast buffet and the menu for lunch. We ended up doing over 100 meals in the day. So Emma spent most the day washing up.
Thursday was our last night in Wycheproof and some of the regulars came down to say bye and have a few drinks with us. We have both loved our time in Wyche, we really landed on our feet and met some lovely people. We couldn't fault the decision to go there!
Then Terry drove us down to Melbourne on Friday morning. We went to the cinemas at Crown and went in Gold Class where there's only 16seats and they recline! And then went for a wonder round the city. We then took Terry out for a meals and walked around Lygon street. It was a really lovely evening!

Saturday
We were up early and on the skybus to Melbourne airport by half 6! Our flight was delayed but we finally got to Alice Springs and picked up our campervan, Betty. We went up Anzac Hill where you get a 360degree view of the city which is in between the MacDonell Ranges. Quick trip to the supermarket and then to the campsite. BBQ for tea and then early to bed ready for our big day tomorrow.

Sunday - Alice Springs > Uluru (Ayers Rock)
We left the campsite about 9am and started our 444km drive to Uluru. And right at the beginning we got caught behind a "road train" which is a truck with 3 trailers! So we weren't going to try overtake that as they're over 50m long. We stopped about half way in Eldunda which was pretty much just a petrol station with a cafe and also at the Mount Connor lookout which was pretty cool. The "dunnies" along the road are proper toilets with no plumbing so after the toilet seat they just go down...pretty gross! We also saw a dingo on our drive and a couple of dead cows on the side of the road. Bigger road kill than you get in the UK!! The drive took us about 5hrs and 10mins. We checked into the campsite and then went off to explore Kata Tjuta (Mount Olga). They are a series of massive rocks pertruding out the ground. They were really impressive. We stopped at a lookout to see it from a far and then went and did the Walpa Gorge walk which goes between 2 of the olgas. The walk was really good but the flies were an absolute pest (so buying bug spray is on our priority list). After that we were just in time to watch the sunset on Ayers Rock. It was a pretty cloudy day but the colours were beautiful. Back at the campsite, it took what seemed hours to cook chicken on a BBQ and then another early night so we can get up to watch the sunrise over the rock!

Monday - Uluru > Kings Canyon
We woke up at 5:50am to go see the sunrise. However, when we got to the gates for the national park, which open at 6am, they were still shut and we were first in the queue. Looking at the clock in the office which read 5:50am Emma remembered she hadn't changed the time on her iPod from Victoria time which is half an hour in front. Therefore, we were first at the lookout and it was pitch black so we decided to sit in the camper for 20mins before venturing up to the lookout. The sunrise was amazing! It was a bit cloudy again but the rock was stunning! We had some breakie in the car park and then drove to Uluru base via the cultural centre where theres a little museum about the aboriginal culture and their art. The climb was closed due to forecast rain which was a bit lucky as the climb looked really steep and neither of us thought it looked that inviting. Wedid the Mala Walk to the Kantju Gorge and the Kuniya Walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole. It was really good. We got to see some aboriginal paintings on the rock. The rock itself wasn't as smooth as we initially thought it would be and there were lots of weathered areas, you could see where the rain runs down it in storms! It was really amazing! The park itself was really picturesque and well reserved! But we still haven't seen any wallabies!
We left the park about 11am and headed for Kings Canyon which is a 314km drive. It took us about 3 and a half hours, but the weather was starting to deteriorate as we were leaving the rock. We went straight to kings canyon but weather permitting we weren't able to do the 'Rim Walk' around the top of the canyon but we were able to do the 'Kings Creek Walk' through the middle. It was really nice and we were able to learn how the canyon was formed going from "crack to creek" (every crack goes creek). We could hear loads of birds and the trees were pretty special as the bark was really black and the leaves bright green. The path took us between the two rock faces of the canyon. It was pretty spectacular!
We checked into the campsite and stated to worry a bit about the drive back to Alice Springs as it started to rain again and didn't show any signs of stopping!

Tuesday - Kings Canyon > Alice Springs
We left the campsite at half 8 hoping to get as far as we could before it started raining again. Leaving the campsite we were relieved to see all the roads were open after driving past loads of "Floodway" signs yesterday. The ...km drive took us 5 and a half hours and we were happy to have the long driving days behind us.