Sat 24th,After quite a heavy night we got up about 1pm,now that we hav'nt got the campervan we can all have a drink or 2,did'nt really do much today,had a walk round town to see whats about,went to the bar in the hostel to watch a couple of prem league games,Man U V Tottenham and West Ham v Wigan.

Sun 25th,Anzac day today in Oz,it's the same sort of day as our poppy day,there were 2 marches through the town the first at 6am the second at 9am and we missed them both(alcohol doe's make you feel sleepy)loads of servicemen and women wearing thier uniforms but unlike at home they are patriotic and the public respect the job they do for thier country,checked out of our hotel and got a taxi to the airport to catch the 14.45 Qantas flight from Darwin to Alice Springs,so far all our flights with Qantas have been great with lovely food and comfy seats,about 2 hours later we were landing,got picked up at the airport by the shuttle bus and taken to the Haven Hostel,nice place and sharing in an 8 bed mixed dorm,walked into town and found the famous pub the Bojangles,it has it's on web site with cameras set up round the bars,www.bosallon.com.au.

Mon 26th,Up at 5am and picked up at 6.10 by Adventure Tours for our 3 day trip to Ayers Rock and the Kings Canyon,we did'nt realise till we got in Oz that it's nearly 600kms from Alice to Ayers Rock so you need to book a trip either for one really long day or do what we did and book the 3 day trip, a much better option,we had a good tour guide who was spot on with us but a bit funny with a few other people,we arrived at our first camp the Ayers Rock Lodge about 5 hours later,had some lunch then started our hike through the Valley of the Winds to Kata Tjuta(the Olgas)really impressive rock formations and a lovely walk,got back on the bus to watch the sunset at Uluru,a bit cloudy so not the great picture we thought it would be,back to camp for chicken stir fry.slept in a 4 man tent which was actually quite comfortable.

Tues 27th,Up at 5am again to be on the bus for 6am heading to see the sunrise at uluru(Ayres Rock),unfortunately for us it was quite a cloudy morning so it was'nt the great site we were all hoping for but never mind it was still amazing to see the Rock up close and personal,we did the base walk which is about 10klm all the way around the rock,a really nice walk as the sun took pity on us and just gave us a lovely sunny day,took quite a few photo's on the way round which your not really supposed to do but how can you not?one of the most famous icons in the world,it just had to be done,we then visited the Aboriginal culture center,quite interesting and full of things you can buy all with thier funny markings on,they all actually mean something,after some tea we travelled to our next camp which was the Kings Canyon Lodge,on the way we stopped off to get some fire wood,this is where we stumpled across some Golden Orb spiders,we laughed when a lad screamed like a girl when he got tangled up in a web then Jamie did the same(did'nt scream quite like a girl though)back in the bus and up the sandy trail we looked back and saw the sunset over Kings Canyon,an impressive sight!!the camp fire was left to myself and Jamie to sort out while Ian was helping out in the kitchen,we had it going a treat and we had a lovely spag bowl by the fire,sorted out our swags(like a big sleeping bag)and most of us slept round the fire(not singing any songs though)had a few Toohey's and saw some shooting stars,not a bad old day.

Wed 28th,Early start again and away on the bus for 7am not before seeing another shooting star,this morning we were doing what we thought was the highlight of this rock tour,Kings Canyon!!you follow quite a tough treck over some rocks to reach some spectacular scenery,the Amphitheatre the North and South Walls and the Garden of Eden,again the weather was good to us not being to hot,we were thinking of missing out the canyon but all really pleased we came here,went back to the camp for lunch before our 5 hour drive back to Alice Springs.The tour company booked a table for us all at the Bojangles pub for 8pm,only a few of the group turned up but we still had a laugh with Helen,Owen and 2 Swiss girls,later a couple of the lads turned up and we had a few more beers and decided to get a taxi to the casino,I gotturned away for having swimmers on(my Billabong shorts)so we went back to the hostel for a couple.

Thurs 29th,Bit of a come down today after a great tour,walked round town,stayed in K Mart for a while downloading photo's and looking at some cheap clothes(very rare for anything to be cheap)left the shop and went to the flying doctor's mueseum,we were told that if the simulator was'nt working dont go in,needless to say we did'nt go in,got picked up from the hostel at 3.45 and taken to the airport to catch the 17.25 flight to Cairns,nice flight with no problems and nice food,myself and Ian got seconds for being good boy's,flight was only a couple of hours,got picked up at the airport and taken to Calypso Hostel $25pppn,a nice hostel right in the center of the action,did'nt venture too far tonight and just had a few jugs in the hostel bar.