On the 26th January, we flew from Cairns to Alice Springs. We had booked a tour back in the UK to camp for 2 nights in the Northern Territory and visit place such as Uluru (Ayers Rock). When we arrived in Alice Springs (where we were staying for one night before the tour started) we were hit by how hot and humid it was. We had been in Cairns which itself has a tropical climate and could get really hot, but this was something else! We got picked up from the airport and had our pciture taken at the Alice Springs sign - just so everyone knows it was the drive who suggested we jump in the air!

We got to our hostel and to our relief, found there was air conditioning in the room. We arrived there on Australia Day, so they were having a jelly wrestling competition at the bar that night to celebrate. We went there for some drinks and dinner, we stayed for the jelly wrestling too (we just watched, we didn't participate!) We had a really early start the next morning so we had a relatively early night, ready for the next day...

We were picked up at 5.45am, the heat had already set in and the sun hadn't properly risen yet. We were the first to be picked up so we chose the seats at the front, more leg room and we were definately going to end up needing it. As we drove to pick up other people, the radio informed us it was already 32 degrees outside and would climb to 46 degrees later that day. It was going to be HOT. The bus had air conditioning, which would end up being a bit of a life saver. Once we'd collected everyone, it took us a good few hours to reach our campsite for the night. We made plenty of stops along the way, but overall we probably drove for about 4 hours. We got to the campsite in the early afternoon where we had lunch, and got our first proper taste of the heat. It was unbearable. There is no breeze whatsoever and the heat just does not let up, it's like being in a sauna. Whilst lunch was being prepared, we went to a look out point that was on a slight hill, the walk was a stuggle in the heat but compared with what was to come, it was easy. We took some photo's then headed back to camp.

After lunch, our guide took us to the Cultural Centre which was located in the National Park. The centre is all about the history of the area and the Aboriginal culture, it was really interesting and we were given time to walk around there. We had to get two ice lollies each at the end, it was just so hot! After that we all got back on the bus and headed to an area where we were going to do an hour walk. We all got out and started on the trek, but it was on a rocky road and no the easiest of routes. On top of that, the heat was just unbeleiveable. We saw one girl being sick as she was walking up. The guides are constantly telling you to drink plenty of water, they recommend 6-8 litres a day in that heat, but in that weather you're water soon turns warm and drinking warm water is really not that appealing. We got about half way up and we were both really struggling. We're not the fittest people in the world, but it wasn't that, it was the heat. The sun felt like it was literally burning you. You are probably all reading this thinking 'oh it can't have been that bad' but honestly, it was horrible. Candy started to have an asthma attack and we'd left her pump in the bus. She then started to have a panic attack as she was worrying about her breathing. Emma went ahead to get the guide and ask for the keys to the bus, he ended up coming back with her and going ahead to get the pump whilst we slowly walked back. We eventually made it back to the bus, where Candy took her pump. Another guide from the same company gave her a drink with a hydrating powder in it and we got some fresh water from the tank in the bus. Our guide blasted out the air con and Candy sat whilst she cooled and calmed down. Other people on our walk found it really tough aswell, some saying that if other walks were going to be like that then they wouldn't do them. It was just too hot. After everyone was back on the bus, we went to Ayers Rock to watch the sunset. Our guide had brought champagne and some snacks, which was nice to have whilst watching the sunset. It was amazing to be right near such an iconic landmark, almost surreal. Before that we'd also seen the mountain formation of Kata Tjuta, which is a collection of 36 rocks. Not much is known about it in terms of the Aboriginal history, as they believe that information is sacred and won't share it with people who aren't part of their culture. After watching the sunset, we headed back to camp for the evening, there were permanant tents set up around a little campfire so we picked and tent and set up for the night.

A very early start the next day - 4am! But we had to get up that early so we could see the sunrise and so we could start walks when it was still (relatively) cool. We headed to another side of the rock to a viewing area to see the sun rise over it, it rises opposite it so you get to see the sun eventually creeping up over it, really amazing, hopefully the photo's do it justice! After that we drove to another point where you can take several walks around the rock. There were 3 choices, a full walk around, a half walk and a quarter walk. We opted for the quarter walk as we didn't want to take any chances after the day before. We still got to see some really interesting Aboriginal paintings and parts of the rock. Some parts of the rock you can't photograph as the Aboriginal people consider them sacred, if you are caught by a ranger photographing something you shouldn't, you get a $5000 fine, something we obviously wanted to avoid! Us and another girl from our group chose to do the shorter walk and were just getting dropped off when another tour guide came to the bus and said to our tour guide that some of the walks may have been closed as a body had reportedly been found. After waiting for a while, it seemed our walk was ok to do so we set off. The next day we would find out that over the 4 consecutive days, 4 individual people died whilst doing walks around the area. They had all died of dehyrdation, apparently not drinking enough water. That was really scary, as it became apparent that this heat was causing real problems and it was not just us not being able to cope, it was actually dangerously hot. After our walk, which was actually fine apart from the flies, we headed back to our second camp for the evening. This one was actually in the bush off road so we had to wait at the main campsite for a few hours whilst it cooled down, as it gets even hotter out there. During this time, it started to rain. We have never been so happy to see rain! It was windy aswell, so it really cooled us down. Five minutes after it stopped it was hot again but it definately helped clear it up a bit. When we got to camp, we picked a tent again and helped prepare dinner. It rained again after that but not for long. After dinner, we all got ready for bed as we had another early start the following day. We'd been in our tent for a while when we suddenly heard someone shout 'snake!'. Candy has never moved so fast in her life, grabbing the torch and putting her shoes on before leaving the tent and running across the camp to where people had gathered in the kitchen area. Emma followed but a bit more slowly. It was a python, but not a fully grown one. It was behind the box of food that was in the kitchen. Some girls had found it, one of the tour guides was now holding it trying to calm it down. It was actually quite cute, and it was good to know the guide who was holding it knew what he was doing and wanted to make sure it was ok. After that excitement, we all headed back to our tents for the night.

The next day after another 4am start we headed to Kings Canyon, for our last walk of the tour. There were two options this time, one was a 3 hour hike up the mountain (they say do not do this if you have any health problems) or an hours walk between the two canyons. We opted for the shorter walk, again, the heat was predicted at 48 degrees and it can reach 10 degrees higher at the top, we didn't want to risk it. We set off for the walk at the bottom, it was really early still so was relatively cool and was easy to do. It wasn't flat, you still had to walk over rocks but it was do-able. The only thing that was annoying was the flies. They swarm around your head, the noise is so irritating and they won't let up! Lots of people had nets covering their faces, definately something we'd reccommend doing. We sat at a seating area for a while and watched the sun rise over the two canyons. We then headed to the bus to wait for the rest of the group, who'd all taken the longer walk, maybe we were the wusses of the group but we still got some amazing views and photo's!

After we were all back on the bus we headed back to camp for some lunch, then we started on our journey back to Alice Springs. It took about 5 hours in the end, getting back around 4pm. The last 3 days had gone so quickly. They'd been a real adventure and we're really glad we done it, not many people can say they camped in the outback. It was just a shame that it was so unbearably hot, it did make it less enjoyable. But it was still a once in a lifetime experience we are never going to forget!

After we got dropped off at the same hostel, we sorted out our bags and then got ready for dinner, we were all meeting at a place around the corner for a farewell dinner. Inside the bar was so hot, but it did have fans so a bit cooler than the outback! It was a nice evening, we got talking to a girl from Melbourne who gave us lots of tips of where to see and how to get there etc. It was a good way to say goodbye to everyone we'd spent the last few days with.

The following day we got the shuttle bus to the airport, heading for Melbourne. But nothing seems to want to go smoothly for us in Australia. Before we could board there was a problem at check in, we didn't exist on the flight! Apparently, when we had been boarded on a different plain in Bangkok (due to the snow in the UK if you remember) that was classed as a 'no show' on our round the world ticket so all the other flights were cancelled. To say we were worried would be an understatement! But the guy at customer services was really nice, he called someone and got it all sorted for us. This is something that STA should have been on top of and sorted for us, but again, they just were one big let down. But we checked with him that our other flights were all ok now and he confirmed they were. But we're going to keep an eye on it now as you just never know with us! After that palava, we finally checked in and headed to departures to head to Melbourne...