Howdy kids. So we reluctantly left the serene chilled oasis of the campsite pool in Alice Springs on the 23rd and coaxed Lily south the 500-odd kilometres to Ayres Rock, The Olgas, and King's Canyon. Or to give them their Aborigine names - Uluru, Kata Tjuta and, er, King's Canyon. More red earth, lizards, and sun. And heat. And, at the last count, 26 magnificent wedge-tailed eagles, which cruise the thermals high up and then duck down our way to scavenge ...

This country is MASSIVE. Truly huge. We left Cairns on Monday morning after hooking up with Stu and getting blasted - great to see the fella - and took a smidgeon of a detour to raft the rapids of the Tully River which travels down from a power plant through the rainforest. Spent the whole day laughing nervously like drains and getting drenched and leaping down 5 foot drops in the water and crashing into rocks and generally trying to keep our soaked lil...