Yesterday was our flight to Alice Springs, which was easy to get onto, but a pain in the bum actually en route! Liam got pretty annoyed with the setup, we were told off for waiting ourside Gate 5 (which it said to wait outside on the board) when the place turned out to be departing from Gate 8, then we were right at the back with no overhead luggage space, and by the window, which the view was blocked by an engine. So altogether not the best flight in the world.

When we finally got there though, we were picked up by a succession of two buses, one to take us to one hostel, then another to take us to our right one. It was way back in the sticks, but did the job. We spent a good hour repacking our rucksacks, since we could only take one on the tour - the other would be left at this hostel for the 3 days until we returned. It was suggested we had an early night for our 5am start the next morning!

And what a start it was. We heaved ourselves out of bed to be up in time for the 6am pickup outside our hostel. We were met by our guide Chris, a confident New Zealander with a great big bushy beard and a taste for piercings. He seemed really friendly though, so we loaded our stuff onto the 4x4 truck, which was bigger than we'd expected, and met up with the rest of our group of 14. Unlike the China trip, only 2 other people on it were english (though everyone spoke English to a certain extent). There were french people, maltese, swedish, swiss, german, australian and chinese, but all very lovely. We paid our deposits for the park entry fees, then headed to our first stop.

A camel farm!!! Categorically one of the best things we've done so far, we paid $5 and had a walk, then a run, around the paddock on two massive camels!! They were both different colours, which we hadn't expected, and quite unworried by our presence on their backs. And my gosh did they pick up pace - it was really bumpy and Claire giggled the entire time but so much fun! Next on the trip stop was an aborginal roadhouse where we could visit the gallery and buy a piece of authentic, unique art. Claire bought some - it was expensive for the size of it, but for the sheer individuality it was a great investment.

Soon, back on the road in our truck, Uluru was within sight on the road! We stopped near the cultural centre for lunch, and we all realised this was not the sort of trip to be waited on hand and foot. We quite happily all mucked in with the food preparation (and avoided washing up like the plague), then headed off towards Uluru for our base walk. As is customary for tour guides, Chris encouraged us not to climb the rock, though it wasn't prohibited. As a sacred icon for the Aboriginal people, it would be disrespectful, and so, respectfully, we didn't, and instead trekked 7km around it past the sacred sites. We learnt stories of Kuniya and Liru, depicted on the side of the rock, as well as visit authentic aboriginal wall paintings and a waterhole still filled with water. It was strange to see the rock up close - from afar it looked smooth, but in reality it's actually rough and unstable in parts.

Afterwards, we travelled to a distant lookout to watch the sunset. It wasn't the usual spectacular glowing experience, because of the cloud, but instead a gloomy, atmospheric light was cast, turning the rock almost purple. And the champs and crackers didn't go down too badly either :) Back at camp, we were introduced to the way of swag sleeping. Claire was very naive, and asked - to the sound of laughter - if swags were for one or more people, but yes, they're like giant sleeping bags, open to the world. Which would mean if it rains, you get wet. Surprisingly, it was actually quite a comfy set up, and after a dinner of kangaroo mince & pasta cooked on the fire, we settled down under the stars for some much needed sleep.