At 5:30am we were up and waiting outside our hostel. So were lots of other people so we knew we were gonna have a busy bus and not just be us six. Our knew guide came, it was a girl called Bron. Our first stop of the day was at a camel farm where we had 15 minutes to look around. You could have a camel ride but it was only around a fenced off field so I chose not to and save my camel ride for somewhere in the desert. We then drove to the Uluru (Ayres Rock) camping ground where we had our lunch. In the afternoon we went for a short drive to Kata Tjuta, some rocks similar to Uluru. There we did the valley of the winds hike and ended up at a fantastic view point. After the walk back to the bus we drove to Uluru to watch the sunset. Bron got out some sparkling wine and some biscuit snacks to have during sunset. The rock looked a purple colour and it was indeed a very big rock! However there was one slight problem, it was very cloudy and we couldnt see the sun, which meant no sunset! It just got dark. It was a bit of a shame as the rock is supposed to appear to change colour as the sun sets, but it just stayed the same, a reddy purple colour. We went back to camp and had our dinner of Kangeroo steaks and camel sausages with a potato bake. We then went to sleep in the tents and were able to sleep better as it was a bit cooler.

The next morning we got up early to watch the sunrise over Uluru. This turned out to be just as disappointing as the sunset as it was still cloudy and the rock looked exactly the same. We then did the 10.6km walk around the base of the rock. On the way Bron told us some of the aboriginal beliefs and stories about the rock. In one place there was a piece of rock sticking out of the rock face and this is supposed to represent the remains of a women who was attacked by an evil spirit. The spirit was supposed to have ripped off her face and limbs and the rock did kinda look like that. Further along was another rock sticking out that was supposed to be the claw mark of the evil spirit scraped down the wall. There were various caves in the side of the rock and there were descriptions of what the aboriginals used them for. One was a teaching cave with drawings on the wall, one was the cooking cave and there were separate caves for men and women. Whilst we were walking around a few drops of rain fell on us but it was quite refreshing as it was still very hot even though it was cloudy. After the walk we visited a cultural centre and went back to the Uluru camp for lunch. After lunch we drove to the Watarrka National Park where we were camping for the night ready to visit Kings Canyon the next day.

So the next day we headed to the Canyon and began the steep climb to the top of the cliff. It was steps all the way so gave the legs a good work out! At the top there was an amazing view of the landscape all around. We then began the walk around the canyon. Along the North and South walls we passed many formations such as the amphitheatre, the lost city and the garden of Eden. Halfway we stopped for a snack and to admire the view. It was quite cold and windy so for the first time in Australia we had jumpers on or wind proof jackets. After lunch we continued south and crossed the border into South Australia. We stayed in the small town of Marla.