Well what can I say about the last 6 days? They have been pretty incredible really; I've slept under the stars, been right up close to Uluru (Ayers Rock), watched the sunrise and sunset over both Uluru and Kata Tjuta as well as sleeping underground and meeting some awesome people while doing so.

There were only 10 of us on tour: 4 Germans, 3 English, 1 Korean, 1 Swiss and 1 American/Israeli which was great when it came to having space on the minibus; I can't imagine doing those 800km days with full capacity!

We were met by our tour guide, Ross, last Sunday at our respective hostels and started our first long drive to King's Creek Station, our camp for the night. It was a 5 hour drive and I think it was a wake up call to the long distances that the next week would hold. We only stopped briefly for fuel and to collect firewood from the burnt and withered landscape.

We arrived, set up camp, had a quick sandwich lunch and then onto Kings Canyon or Wattarka National Park. The walk starts with heart attack hill, so named because well you can probably guess why... But at the top we were rewarded with some spectacular views over the canyon and across the desolate bushland. We carried on around the rim of the canyon and learnt a little bit about the geology of the amazing rock formation.

Although it is winter in Australia now, the flies were out in their hundreds in the Red Centre clambering up and down our camera lenses, around our faces and all over our backs. I can't imagine having to do it in any hotter weather and I'm glad I did it when I did!

We finished the walk before sunset and back at camp Ross cooked us a wonderful spaghetti bolognese. We were soon huddled round the campfire chilling out and getting to know each other a little bit more. We grabbed our sleeping bags and rolled out our swags (mattresses within a canvas bag) where we fell asleep next to the remains of the last logs and the sound of dingoes howling in the distance under the starlit sky.

It dropped to three degrees in the night and the next morning I almost couldn't get out of the cosy nest I had made in my sleeping bag having snuggled down in two jumpers. But out I did get and found that swag rolling is definitely not my forte! After a quick cereal and toast breakfast and having packed up the trailer, we were off on the road again.

This time it was about a four hour drive all the way to Ayers Rock resort camping. Again, we arrived at lunch but this time we got hot dogs! Then finally it was time to see the famous rock itself... Starting in the cultural centre I learnt all about the struggle of the aborigines to get back their sacred land and the great compromise made by both the national park and the aborigines to make it work today. Now, young aboriginals can train as park rangers while elder aboriginals can impart their wisdom to the national park about land and resource management. After having to be dragged away from the fascinating stories of how the aboriginals believe their spiritual ancestors moulded and scarred the face of the rock, we went to get up close and personal with Uluru itself. Starting at Kuniya Piti, our walk would take us around the entire base of the formation. In different length stints we learnt about these dreamtime stories and saw them come to life on the rock face. In the full light of day the rock was so unbelievably colourful and larger than life. As we reached the last section, the afternoon light around us made for the perfect relaxing atmosphere amidst the harmonies of the wildlife around us.

Before the sun came down completely we got to go to a lesser known sunset viewing area and watch the colours of day fade behind Uluru and Kata Tjuta. When the night had finally begun to settle in, we made for camp knowing we would be back to uncover more of the outback's secrets the next day.

Another lovely dinner later, we hung out around the campfire again only needing word association games to keep us amused. Back in our swags I knew we would be up even earlier the next day and with the day having been so full I fell asleep almost straight away.