We started our trip to Alice Springs weaving through the Sydney traffic in a taxi driven erratically by our talkative Lebanese driver. Hostel to airport in 12 minutes flat, crazy b*****! In case you're wondering why we brave backpackers are forking out for a taxi instead of investigating all the varied forms of public transport, it is actually cheaper than the train because that section of the line is owned by a private company. A journey that would normally cost $3 costs $15, as does the private bus service. Daft.

We spent the flight planning how to keep cool and Brenda's skin white in the 40C heat of the desert. It was pretty hot when we landed, so we did the only sensible thing and bought some ice cream!

Alice Springs grew up around the water supply and cattle trade, but is now more famous as the tourist hub for the central desert. It is a small town and to get to the centre from our hostel you have to cross the Todd River, so we took the direct route across the river bed. This is easier than it sounds as it is an 'upside down river' and is bone dry unless in flash flood. Any water is below the sandy surface.

Alice Springs is home to many aboriginals, about 25% of the population. Sadly, they struggle to adapt to the Western lifestyle imposed on their culture and consequently have high unemployment with rife alcoholism, drugs and crime. We weren't too surprised to see police bikes patrolling the riverbed at night, but didn't expect several burnt out and abandoned cars.

We struggled to get up and ready in time for our 5.45am pick up to join our 3 day camping tour of Uluru, Katja Tjuta and King's Canyon, all vast rock formations in the desert about 300-400km from Alice Springs. Our first stop was 'Fooluru', a view of what is actually a completely different rock that looks very similar to Uluru, called Mt Connor. We struggled to see anything due to fog and cloud, what the hell was going on with the weather?

By the time we got to Uluru it was chucking it down! Our guide cheerily informed us it was the first rain in 150 days and he had never seen Uluru in the rain, which he found quite exciting because you can see the water running down the surface. It was also quite cold, we had to wear our fleeces and jackets (so much planning on how to stay cool). After a brief look into the cultural centre to learn about the local Aboriginal people and legends surrounding Uluru, we started to trudge around the base walk in the rain, the others on our tour blamed us for the rain being Brits and bringing the rain with us! Fortunately it eased off and just stayed cool and cloudy. Up close, Uluru is covered with caves and marks on the sandstone. Some of the caves have aboriginal paintings used to instruct young aboriginals in their ways of hunting etc. Some sites are sacred 'male' or 'female' sites, only to be seen by members of the appropriate sex. You aren't allowed to take pictures of these sites, the reasoning being an aboriginal person may inadvertently see the picture on the internet etc, the official punishment for such a serious misdemeanour used to be a stabbing through the leg with a spear! After our walk around the base we joined the throng of tourists at the sunset site and watched Uluru's colour changes as the sun finally made an appearance on its way down, all helped by a glass of sparkling wine! Or three....

By this point everyone was exhausted so it was off to bed after dinner in our swag bags . A swag is a canvas bag with a water-proof lined bottom resembling a body bag in which you can comfortably sleep on the sand with a mattress and sleeping bag. They were actually quite comfy and warm, except for the draft on your face at 3am. Brenda couldn't manage to sleep though, worrying about which desert creatures might choose to come and sleep in her warm swag!

Bright and early yet again (4.30am) we got up the next day to watch the sunrise at Uluru after rolling up our swags and having breakfast. From there we headed to Katja Tutja for a part-guided walk through the rock formation. In some ways, this was more impressive than Uluru, and the majority of the group preferred it. It was actually hot and dry that day, with clear blue skies. Luckily we got to see a 'Wallaroo', a kangaroo/wallaby cross, more properly known as a Euro kangaroo. The rest of the day was much more laid back, moving onto our next campsite after lunch. This was set in a working cattle station, albeit rather commercialised for tourists with helicopter rides ($60 AUD for 5 minutes!), camel and quad bike tours. We satisfied ourselves with drinking beer round the campfire! Dinner that night was kangaroo steak, a sausage, beef burger and camel-burger with herb-bread and potato bake cooked on the campfire, yum! Except the kangaroo steak, bit weird that one...

A late start to day 3 at 5.15am! Brenda actually slept passing out through sheer exhaustion (and a few beers?). Today our final walk was around King's Canyon, a series of deep canyons cut into the sandstone of the desert. In the centre was 'The Garden of Eden', a permanent watering hole surrounded by lush vegetation and an important water source for local animals.

After a long, sweaty drive back to Alice Springs we went to check back in to our hostel. The receptionist was very apologetic, our dorm room was unusable due to leakage from the aircon unit. Horror of horrors, we would have to stay in an ensuite double at the nearby hotel, for free! We beat him running to his car to be transferred. Needless to say, the room was lovely. To top it off, the only nearby food was...fish and chips! In the desert! Very tasty too...

The next day we were off to Melbourne for a brief stay with Erica, Brenda's cousin.