So I left Melbourne a little nervous about going solo but very excited all the same having wanted to cage dive for so long I still couldn't believe it was actually going to happen!

I got to the airport dead early and had a little kip on a bench then checked in as soon as it opened and spoke to Mum on the phone who is my witness that as soon as the screen said 'go to gate' we said goodbye and I did just that. How then could it be that within minutes they were calling me over the speaker that the flight was boarded and ready to leave??? Did I pass out somewhere or something??? who knows but I boarded the plane to a lot of irritated stares and shamefully took my seat. 5 minutes later - technical error, 30 minute delay, so what was all the fuss about eh! haha

There was no more drama getting to Adelaide thankfully, I got straight into bed to catch up on lost sleep then met some people in my dorm - Adam from Leeds, Sean from Korea, Saskia and Martina from Germany all travelling together having met in the Blue Mountains. They went out exploring while I went for a shower only to find afterwards that I was locked out!!!! Since when is a 10 bed dorm ever empty and since when does anyone lock up??? Thank god I took clothes to the bathroom for me so I wasn't stuck in a towel but even so I found myself stuck in the hostel for 4 hours until someone got back as obviously reception didn't have a spare key! haha All good though, later I looked round the markets and got my bus food ready for the next day - so organised! I joined my new buddies for free apple pie in the bar and we arranged to meet up in Alice Springs.

Next stop - Port Lincoln for the big day. I was the first there and this was at 6am so that's how excited I was!! lol The rest of the group were really lovely but it worried me a bit that most had been out the day before and they hadn't seen a shark.
We set off to the Neptune Islands and on the wasy saw loads of dolphins including a couple of babies - so gorgeous. When we got there the shark bait came out and it so didn't look appetizing at all!!
The wait begins.... and continues....still waiting!

While we waited we did some fishing and I was really chuffed to catch 2 different fish. We all got to know each other a bit and had some delicious lunch and snacks. As the only Pohm I seemed to be the entertainment by being the butt of all the jokes!! Hard to believe I know! I had a go in the cage to get used to the regulator and have a look around to see if anyting was lurking around. We saw loads more dolphins and some seals and then disappointment started to set in. We'd been for about 6 hours and it was almost time to leave when all of a sudden, the great whites smaller cousin, the mako shark, came out of nowhere!!!
It was a race to get into the cage for a few minutes each. I got in with the second group and the shark was banging on the cage right next to me and swimming in circles going for the bait. It really played it's part well and was so exciting!!!
Sadly Mako left before the whole group got into the cage but I couldn't help being relieved that I'd got the opportunity! We had celebratory beers on the way back which just made it even better. One of the guys got a good video of sharky and was gonna email it but I havn't received anything yet. Hopefully he still will.

When we got back I had dinner with 3 of the guys on the boat and one of them set me up with a lift from Alice to Darwin which was pretty awesome!

Next day I flew to Adelaide and then to Alice Springs where it was HOT!!! Walking 2 metres felt like a hell of alot of effort seriously. I went to confirm my tour and they'd overbooked so asked me to change to the day after in return for free accommodation.
My free day in Alice was spent going to the reptile centre which was really good, I held 3 different lizards one of which I pretty much fell in love with - Leo the bearded dragon!!! He was wicked.
I then trekked upto the viewpoint - it wasn't much of a trek really but felt like a marathon in the heat (47 degrees!) After that I thought I deserved a nap!
Later Mum helped me decide on a massive burger and fries for dinner which earnt me so much street cred especially when I finished it!! haha It also got me a party invite where beer was provided - awesome!

Up at 5am next morning I didn't feel too great, DOH! I found myself on a bus full of Germans!!! Argh! haha They were actually awesome though and we were joined by 2 aussies, 2 spanish, 2 italians and a dutchman. Our guide was really cool too, Micah who was half Aborigine and had grown up in an Aborigine community.
It was a 4 hour drive to Kings Canyon so we played some pictionary on the windscreen - I was rubbish, they let me have a go in the end because they thought it was funny that I hadn't been able to guess any!!
Getting to Kings Canyon at 11.45 am it was 45 degrees in the shade and we were about to tackle the aptly named 'heart attack hill'!! We nearly died but everyone managed it ready to carry on with the 3 hour trek in midday heat with thousands of flies!! It was way worth it though for all the amazing views we got and we had a good laugh. Half way round we stopped at the 'Garden of Eden', a waterhole that was such a relief to swim in despite the water scorpians! lol
We started walking again and we saw some kind of dragon lizard that Micah very seriously told us the Aborigines used to make fire because if you squeeze it behind the front legs it breaths fire.... I responded ' can it make fire on it's own or just if something squeezes it?' DOH!!! I blame the heat and exhaustion!

After finishing the walk we felt very proud of ourselves and it was back to the bus to get to the campsite at Curtain Springs. We stopped along the way so the boys could do some work collecting firewood and the girls could pose for photos!!!!
The camp fire was brill but we totally didn't need it - it didn't get cold at night!
We had a yummy meal of chilli con carne - no bush tucker thank god - and made bread in the fire before braving night 1 in the Swag bag!!
I can't say as I got the best night sleep ever - I really wanted to be completely covered by the swag but it was flipping roasting especially with the fire but then I couldn't sleep on top of it as I just kept worrying about spiders!!!!! Argh

The flies were up at dawn with us so it was breakfast under fly nets before making our way to Kata Tjuta for our first glimpse of Ayers Rock and a trek round the Olgas.
There was a long and a short option for the Olgas and I'm proud to say I hardcored the long route along with only 4 others while the rest of the group slacked off!
Little did I know that they'd spent their extra free time, while they waited for us, plotting a prank against this poor innocent Pohm!!

One of the aussie girls, Sangee also got caught in the prank where we thought we were gonna die! haha. So having met back up, we started walking back down to the car park. I was chatting with Sangee and we turned a corner to be greeted by Rene (German boy) and Roderick (Dutch boy) "Debbie smile". We both stopped and posed while they took ages taking a photo then as we started walking again this massive, wild, vicious looking pig came rampaging out of the bushes snorting. I screamed and leapt out my skin while Sangee also jumped a mile as the wild boar morphed into what looked like our guide Micah and practically collapsed in hysterics as did the cameramen and fellow plotters!!
I have requested a copy of the movie and will upload it for your amusement once I chased it up.

After all that excitement we went to Aborigine Cultural Centre to learn about the 'real' Australians and then went to a swimming pool to cool down a bit before getting beers in and getting a good spot to watch the sunset over Ayers Rock.
Micah cooked us up a stir fry whilst we took some awesomely clever photos and made plans on how we would get hold of some free wine from the posh tour groups.
Sadly, the clouds blocked the best part of the sunset but this did mean that the big buses left early so there was loads of wine left over which we were welcome to help ourselves to - wicked!!!We had a real treat that night - staying at a site where we could shower after 2 days treking in crazy heat!

Up at 4 am next day and back to our Rpck spot for sunrise and breakfast. The flies were particularly bad this morning as in you couldn't put your drink down for 1/2 a second ( as you'll see from pics if this thing ever lets me upload them!)
It was really beautiful and I will do it no justice trying to describe it, you have to see it for yourself!

We then did the Ayers Rock base walk where we saw loads of Aborigine painting and really got to appreciate just how big that rock is!
We stopped of at Curtain Springs again for lunch where an Emu decided to join us and made a bit of a pest of itself b ut was pretty funny anyways then we stopped to climb a sand dune which, was like practicing for walking over hot coals!!!!! It was worth it at the top though for the view of Mount Connor on one side and a big salt lake on the other. We also saw some wild camels which was cool as we were on our way to the camel farm to ride one - it was a very bumpy ride and Rene kindly took a photo of me when my camel - Goldie (a boy!) - went to kneel back down which took me by suprise so I look like I just stepped out of the ring!!! DOH

Back in Alice Springs buzzing from the highs (all natural of course!) of our trip, we arranged to meet at the Rock Bar for dinner and drinks. Most of us were staying at the same hostel so along with the girls I'd met in Adelaide, we walked into town together.
We had an awesome night and boogied in Bo Jangles where I was gutted not to have contact with the UK at that point as thanks to the website and all the cameras you could've not only logged on and seen us but also bought me a drink on credit card!! great idea!
Anyways we said bye and thanks to Micah and reassured him we'd stay together as there'd been a few attacks on single white males. the 12 of us set off but we didn't get very far!! 10 of us crossed over away from the park but Rene and Robert were slightly ahead and as we went to get their attention to cross over, around 5 Aborigines came outta the darkness. The bnoys carried on walking and went to cross but a few more came out at least one was armed with a baseball bat and smacked Rene in the face with it knocking him to the floor and then kicking him while maybe 3 tried to take on Robert. It all happened really quickly and we didn't stop to think before we ran at them shouting and tried to surround our friends. We think there were around 20 Aborigines thenthat we could see. Thankfully they backed off enough for us to get Rene off the floor and everyone to the other side of the road but they followed us shouting and stayed way too close kicking bins at us and throwing sticks.
A taxi stopped and called in another 2 waiting with us until they came so we all got back to the hostel together. We were all really shaken up by it and so spent the next day and night just in the hostel together spreading the word to fellow travels as the hostel refused to put warnings up - bad for business!!!! grrrrrr The following day, I moved to a better hostel that was more secure along with Adam and Sean (from Adelaide) who were now going seperate ways from the girls. I also met up with Dutchman Barry, my new travel buddy and we began the hunt for a 3rd person for the road trip - enter Cristina, a crazy spanish girl, and the roadtrip begins.... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx