We arrived in Alice Springs and we were greeted by the gorgeous sunshine. A big change from Adelaide. Alice Springs is in the middle of the desert and the airport was quite small and already we could see a big difference from the city airports we'd recently been to; lots of open space and brown dried up grass and plants....just what we would expect from the desert. And the heat was definitely a welcome change! Still carrying our huge umbrella which had come with us from Sydney, we found the desk where we needed to check in for our bus to the hostel and they remarked on how long it had been since they'd seen an umbrella!

We waited for our lift to the hostel and arrived at the Alice Lodge a short while later. The hostel seemed ok, our first initial thought about the shower blocks being separate from the main building was scrunched up noses. It was only because we had been used to indoor showers and toilets, but it actually worked out fine and they were pretty clean and tidy. We shared a room with a young French guy and an Irish girl who were both really nice so things were good.

The first evening we just wandered down to the local supermarket to get some soup for dinner. We'd heard a few things about Alice being a dangerous place to wander around at night with the local Aboriginal people causing trouble for travellers so we didnt want to wander too far until we sussed the place out a bit. Of course the nearest supermarket was just the local market type shop so they hike their prices up a bit. Rob ended up with a tin of soup and I decided on a packet cup-a-soup....I was still having difficulty eating real food due to having just had a metal bar inserted into my tongue!

The following morning we woke feeling rather peckish and went to check out the free breakfast on offer. There were a few different types of cereal which was good with us two cereal fanatics. Although again I had to go for the easy option - heated up rice crispies to make them nice and soft so I could eat them without actually having to chew them!

We knew we wanted to book either a one or three day trip to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and chatting to the other travellers in our room was just confusing us even more as to which one to do. We wanted to cut our time down in Australia in the hope that we would save a bit of money too, so our original thought was that the one day trip would be the best option, although it would be a very long day - 18 hours and most of that would be on the bus as it took 5 hours to get to Uluru. The other option to do a three day trip sounded amazing. Rachel and Louis from our room had both done that trip and said they had a fantastic time. They got to visit King's Canyon as well and spent two nights sleeping in a swag in the middle of the desert gazing at the night stars. At first the though of sleeping in a swag (a roll out mattress in the open air) seemed a bit dirty to us, having to rent sleeping bags too and sleeping outside with all the insects. But after talking to the others about their trip and thinking of the whole excitement of being a traveller and doing the unexpected and taking ourselves out of our comfort zones, it started to sound like a really fun thing to do.

Later that morning Rachel showed us the way into town which crossed over the now dried up Todd River which runs through the centre of Alice Springs. The locals have boat races along this river during the September festival - this involves them carrying wooden boats with the bottoms cut out so they are just running down the river bed with there legs stuck out of the bottom of the boats! Walking into the town we started to feel a little nervous and a bit intimidated by all of the Aboriginals hanging around the streets. It just seemed to bring back memories of being in Brazil and being the only caucasians around and drawing attention to ourselves just for that reason. Also because of the things we had heard about Alice before arriving. But Rachel said she had never had any trouble and she felt fine walking around on her own, so that made us feel better and a bit more relaxed and we didnt have any problems at all. Rachel showed us to the travel agency where she had booked her Uluru trip so we could speak to them and find out what trip they suggested and hopefully arrange something for the following day. We told them we were interested in doing a one day trip which they told us wasn't really worth the money. The three day trip was only abour $70 dollars more and sounded like a lot more fun, but again it came down to the cost and wanting to cut our time down. After a lot of deliberating we went with the original plan and opted for the one day tour. The three day one was only available for us to go on the Friday, not the Thursday, and we felt that it would put us too far behind our schedule for arriving in Darwin and as there were other three day trips we wanted to do down the East Coast, we knew that our best option here would be to stick to one day. So we booked the trip for the next day and went off to book on a Hop On-Hop Off city tour bus to visit the other attractions around the town.......

Our first stop was at the old Telegraph Station. Really quite interesting.......it had gotten a little bit windy by the time we got there and walking through the dusty grounds we saw our first ever tumbleweed! haha! Classic! Then we visited the School of the Air. That was amazing, so interesting. Before we got there I was thinking it was some sort of pilot school, but its actually a school for the kids who live in the Northern Territory but don't live anywhere near a school (they have a number of schools across the country for other children living in outback areas or children whose parents are travellers and their families move around a lot). The school provides the families with computers and internet access and the teachers keep in touch with the children via webcam, or radio for those without internet access, and conduct their lessons over the airways. We watched a recording of a recent lesson from earlier that day. It was really interesting, mam would have loved to see how it all worked (kept the info sheet for you mam!).
We also visited the Reptile Centre and got there just in time for the info talk and handling. We got to hold three different lizards; a blue tongue, a bearded dragon and a shingleback lizard (also called two-headed lizard). The blue tongue was my favourite it was well cute! Rob also held a snake for the first time. It was so funny watching the look on his face - the snake kept sticking its tongue out and it was touching Rob's neck and the wide-eyed look of horror on his face was very amuzing! There were all sorts of other reptiles there too including snakes and a massive salt water crocodile called Terry. He was HUGE and so prehistoric looking!

We had an early-ish night that night as the next day was our trip to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and we were getting picked up at 6 am. I'll write about that day shortly....

To finish off the hop-on hop-off city tour on Friday we visited a museum about the Big Bang and had a quick look at the Aviation museum (but we're not really interested in all the plane machinery and stuff so we flew around that one pretty quick! No pun intended.....).

During our time in Alice Springs, Rob received an email from one of the women at Thomson Reuters where we worked in Sydney offering him a job. They wanted him to go back and work for them for 6 months. I was so excited for him! It would have been my dream to have been offered a job anywhere in Australia as I love the country and would love to live in Sydney for longer. She told him they could do a double deal if he was interested meaning that I would be given a job too, but unfortunately Rob wasn't interested and neither of us wanted to end our travelling early to go back to work, so he had to turn down the offer. What an amazing offer though!

ULURU TRIP

We were picked up from our hostel at 6 am and were welcomed onto the bus by the two bus drivers who would be sharing the driving to and from Uluru (18 hour day in total). We were given a little plastic zip-lock breakfast bag which consisted of a juice carton, a cereal bar and a small box of cheese and crackers. The drivers were a cheeky pair which made the journey a bit more interesting. We picked up a few more passengers and set off on our long 5 hour journey to the Big Rock.

The drivers gave us a commentary during most of the journey and explained a lot about the areas we were passing through. The scenery was amazing scenery and we knew then why they call this part of Australia the 'Red Centre'. The land on either side of the road was covered with this tall brown grass and trees, some with black trunks and branches and greeny/brown leaves, and the ground was covered in a reddish sandy soil. We realised then that we really were on the other side of the world in the middle of Outback Australia!

A few hours into the journey one of the drivers started his commentary and told us that the roads we were driving along were quite dangerous at night due to the kangaroos which hop in front of the moving traffic with a death wish. We'd seen the yellow rhombus shaped road signs all over Australia warning of animals in the area - e.g. pictures of kangaroos, koalas, cassawarys (native bird of North Queensland) and then a sign underneath with 'next 5 km', or 'next 8 km', e.g. but we'd never actually seen any of these animals in the wild so we just listened to what he was saying and wondered if we'd see any that night.

After a long while of nothing much to see but the red views either side of the bus, the driver told us to look out of the left windows and asked what we could see in the far distance. Sure enough we could see a huge dark grey sillhuoette of what looked like a big rock. One of the other passengers shouted out that it was the Rock and everyone else agreed and we all got a bit excited at what we thought was our first view of Uluru. But we were all a bit surprised to learn that this wasnt in fact Uluru, but our first views of Mount Cook! Apparently years ago people would drive the 3 or so hours to view Mount Cook and, not quite sure how to get any closer to it, would take photographs of it thinking it was Uluru. It wasn't until years later that people discovered they could get a lot closer to it and then discovered it wasn't actually Uluru.

Shortly after we did finally get our first views of the Rock. It was amazing to finally see this huge red thing in the middle of the desert which we'd seen in so many photographs in magazines over the last 8 months. We still weren't sure what to expect as we'd heard it wasn't all that impressive after seeing so many pictures of it beforehand, but we still thought it was amazing to actually see it with our own eyes. Everyone was trying to get a good picture out of the window of the bus while it was still moving, but they didnt come out quite right.

We stopped at the museum right beside the Rock and were able to go inside and learn a bit about Aboriginal history and the history of the Rock itself. We were too close to it at that point to get any good photographs but the short time we had in the museum was really informative and interesting. We only had 40 minutes there which included time to eat our lunch which we were given as we stepped off the coach, so not really enough time to take it all in. Our lunch consisted of a bread roll with ham, cheese and salad (I had to pick my ham out after they didnt get the message about me being veggie!) and a chocolate cake. Throughout the day we were given little snacks like melon, apples, oranges and the like. They kept us well fed all day which always goes down well with us backpackers!

When we were returning to the bus after lunch we walked along a thin dusty path which led from the museum to the car park. As we looked to our left we could see that it was starting to get a little bit windy and we braced outselves expecting to be blown about a bit. But as we wandered a little further along the path everything else looked really calm, no bushes blowing in the wind. We heard a little squeel from behind us and we turned round to see two of the girls from our bus had been caught up in what looked like a mini tornado. It was really strange as it just seemed to cross the path at the same spot where they were walking, rustled them up a bit and then moved on before it dispursed a little further down. It was quite strange to watch it moving along the path sweeping up the dust as it went!

Our next stop was a short drive away to The Olgas, a series of other red rocks forming mounds, and we got to do a very short walk between the mounds. It was baking hot! But the views were pretty amazing. We then headed back to Uluru for a tour around the base with plenty of information and Dreamtime stories from the tour guides. We were told about all of the Aboriginal theories and stories about how the Rock came to be etc. It was really interesting. A few of the people from our bus decided to climb the Rock. The Aboriginal people dont like tourist to do this as it is against their beliefs, but they do still let a certain number of people go up the Rock each day, although it is asked that they dont. There is a rope up the first part to help people up but it doesnt start right at the bottom. The locals put the rope there and say that if you cant make it up to the rope, then you shouldnt be climbing at all. One middle aged man gave up before he got that far, but about 3 others from our bus made it up at least half way. One young French guy made it all the way up in such a short time, we were all surprised at finding he had got almost half way up before we even started our walking tour! Obviously very fit!

Early evening after our walks around the base, we were taken to a gorgeous spot with a fantastic view of the Rock to watch the sunset and have a BBQ dinner. The food was great and the views even better. We watched the Rock change colour during the sunset from orange, to rusty brown, to dark orangey brown, with a glass of champagne in hand while swapping stories with the other travellers. It was quite surreal and an amazing feeling to be so close to one of natures wonders.

At around 6.30pm we boarded the bus for our long 5 hour journey back to Alice Springs. We had our final treats of more chocolate cake (which they joked beforehand was Vegemite cake and everyone had to try some!) and at points throughout the day the drivers had brought round a huge tub of lollies (jelly sweets to us - they don't get that lollies usually come with sticks!) and so we grabbed a final handful of 'lollies' on the last round.

The young French guy, Chris, was really excited about seeing some wild kangaroos on the trip back as the bus driver had told us we may see some on the roads on the way home and he wanted the first time he saw one to be in the wild and not in a zoo. He kept saying how they were really funny animals how they bounced around. I didnt believe we would actually see any as we'd seen the yellow warning signs all over but never seen any wild animals that they referred to.

We managed to get a bit of shut-eye for a little while to begin with, but after a couple of instances of sudden breaking by the bus driver, I opened my eyes to have a look out of the front window and I saw Chris and a few other people on the edge of their seats leaning forward for a better view. I realised then that they were looking for kangaroos and that maybe that's why there had been a few sudden breaks. Sure enough after a few minutes, there they were! Groups of around 3-5 kangaroos on the sides of the road and a couple bouncing across the middle of the road in front of the bus! It was such a cool but funny sight to see wild kangaroos on the sides of the road, just like we would spot rabbits back in the UK. A bit more exciting to see kangaroos! So for the rest of the journey while Rob snoozed in the seat behind, I kept a look out of the bus windows for kangas. I spotted around 22 in the last 2 hours or so - and then found out that Chris and the bus driver had counted up to 72! Unbelievable.

We arrived back at our hostel at around midnight, said goodbye to our fellow passengers and the drivers and settled down for a few hours sleep. We were up again at 8ish the next morning as we had to check out of the hostel by 10am. We had the full day in town finishing off our Hop-On-Hop-Off City Tour before catching our Greyhound bus to Darwin at 7pm that evening.

The bus ride was 18 hours to Darwin with a stop off every couple of hours to stretch our legs. We bumped into one of our friends from the trip the day before so had a catch up with her on the journey until she disembarked at a little town at 2am where she was going to find work. The seats on the bus were just like a normal coach, nothing compared to our 18+ hour bus journeys in South America where we had almost fully reclining seats. So it was quite an uncomfortable journey, but we did get booked on two seats each for some reason so at least we could spread out a little.

At around 4 am I got really uncomfortable and really needed to try and sleep but I had my bags on my seat to keep an eye on them. However I thought that as most people were asleep already and we were in Australia, it should be okay to put my bags on the floor for a little while to try and catch some zeds. So I did and managed to get a bit more comfortable and fell asleep for a couple of hours. I was jerked awake when the bus breaked suddenly and I realised my bag had slipped along the floor under the seat in front of me and as I pulled it back I had to pull the straps from under the woman's foot who was sat on that seat. I didnt think anything of it and just put it back on the seat beside me. We stopped about half an hour later for a stretch of the legs and a coffee and when I went to pay for my drink I noticed that $10 had gone from my purse. I told Rob but we both at the time thought it was just me forgetting that I'd spent it on something so Rob leant me the money for my drink. But as I put my purse back in my bag I noticed that my camera wasn't there. I started panicking then and told Rob that my camera had gone too. I quickly checked the zipped pocket of my bag as well and noticed that my phone had also gone. I couldnt believe how stupid I had been to put my bag on the floor in the first place, I had never done that in my whole 8 months travelling! Now I knew why, you can never be sure who you can trust. I wasnt even bothered about the money, but after our day trip the day before I was so upset at the thought of losing over 200 photographs which I'd never be able to replace.

I left the cafe and went and told the two bus drivers that I had been robbed. Our original driver was changing over at this stop and he asked if I knew who it might be. I said I didnt want to point fingers but that when I had woken up my bag was under the seat in front, so maybe it could be the lady in front of me. He told me that was possible but then saw another lady with a young girl and he said sometimes it is the kids who do the dirty work, so it got me thinking and I watched them all like a hawk. The bus drivers told me to change seats and sit at the back as they were going to call the police and tell everyone on the bus that the police would search everyone at the next stop. They said sometimes the thief will then go and put whatever it is in the bin in the toilet so it's not found on them. So I sat right at the back of the bus to keep an eye on everyone.

Our original driver who was changing over at this stop came back onto the bus when everyone had got on and mentioned that something had been stolen and asked whoever had taken the items to own up now or to face the police at the next stop. He wasnt very tactful about it though and he then went along the bus and asked everybody "Was it you?". He asked the lady with the young girl twice but she denied it. Shortly into the journey the lady who had been sat in front of me got up to go the toilet but she came out just one minute later. I thought that was strange, but then she came and sat in the seat behind me. When I turned to look at her she leant forward and spoke to me through the middle of the seat. She asked if it was me who had had my camera stolen and asked what the other item was. I told her it was my mobile phone. She said that she hadn't wanted to say anything beforehand as she didnt want people thinking it was her who had taken them, but that she had seen something sliding along the floor of the bus and when she looked down at her feet my camera and phone were there. She has an accent so it was difficult to be clear on what she was saying so I was a bit confused, wondering if maybe she meant that someone had had them and was slipping them back under the seat since the bus driver had mentioned the police. But when I asked her what she meant, she said that during the night she had felt something hit her feet and that it had been my camera and phone. I asked if she still had them and she said yes, she would give them to me.

I followed her back up to my original seat and gave Rob a look as I passed to say "She's got them!". When I sat in my original seat, she pulled her bag up from the floor and took out my stuff and handed them back to me. I asked again if it was my bag that had come under her seat or just the phone and camera, and she said it had just been those two things. Obviously that was a total lie as my phone was in a zipped pocket of my bag and that didnt explain the $10 that had also gone missing. But I was so pleased to have my stuff back that I didnt question any further and just told the bus driver that she had taken them and that I'd got them back so he could tell the police before we got to the next stop. I also wanted to make sure he knew that it was that woman and not the other lady with the little girl who had taken them. He asked if I'd got my money back too and I said no but I wasnt bothered about that. My phone and my camera with all my photographs on was the most important thing and I was so relieved to get them back that $10 was neither here nor there.

About 15 minutes later, a friend of the driver's who had been sat at the front with him and who knew what had gone on came up to my seat and quietly asked me if I had any money for a cold drink. My initial thought to this was how can he be asking me for money when he knows I've just been robbed!! I told him, no, I dont have any money, and then was shocked to see him pull out his wallet and hand me $15. I tried to refuse as I was so surprised but he insisted I take the money to buy a cold drink at the next stop. What a nice kind gentleman he was! I thanked him and reluctantly took the money, hoping to give him some back once I bought a drink, but at the next stop he disappeared and didnt get back on the bus so I couldn't even thank him again. I was so grateful to him, you dont find many people that that around these days.

After our long 18 hour journey we eventually arrived in Darwin at around tea time where we jumped off the bus into the most humid heat we'd yet experienced in Australia........