So after a night back in Darwin we boarded the train for part of our epic journey through the middle of Australia, The Ghan.

Despite everyone saying how the cheapest way to get around was flying, we found out the rail pass was much cheaper if you have the time. The first train was 24 hours, through vast amounts of desert which gives you an idea just how huge the country is.

Despite being in the cheap seats we had a pretty comfortable nights sleep, however the 5 hour stop off at Katherine and not being able to afford the tours, meant that we sat and did nothing on the grass at the train station.

When we arrived at Alice the first thing that hit me was how much colder it was , especially after arriving in shorts and sandals. In Alice we were couch surfing with a guy called Ben, who was simply an amazing host. He had another CS staying with him called Courteny from the US and on the first night he treated us to our first Oz BBQ.

Alice itself offered very little to do locally, but we did some good hikes, and a lot of people watching, and went to see MiB! There was definitely underlying racial tensions with the Aboriginals, who were not allowed to buy alcohol in town, often argued outside of pubs, and by night burnt fires in the (dry) river. It was quite bizarre, but I suppose being thousands of miles away from anywhere it's pretty remote!

The main reason anyone goes to Alice is to go and see the Red Centre. We chose Emu Run tours and they didn't disappoint! Despite a 5am start on day one the sun was barely up when already we were giving way to herds of wild camels and kangaroos, with a stop off at a salt lake.

Our first nights camping would be at Ayers Rock, in a swag, which for the untrained (us) is a big canvas sleeping bag with a shallow mattress in it. But despite the initial fears of snakes slithering across my sleeping face that night was one of the most comfortable nights sleep ever!

Ayers Rock was amazing to look at, and we discussed climbing the rock itself. Now the Aboriginals don't want you to climb the rock as it is sacred (they are more than happy to charge $25 dollars to see it though). Our decision however was made for us when it was closed to high winds, do we had to settle for the 15k loop walk around it.

Now Ayers Rock is one huge rock, but looks a lot different up close, but is mightily impressive, even if the walk itself was a bit plain. Luckily we had some pretty cool people in our group, and when it came to watching the sunset the free glass of Sparkling wine was like a red rag to a bull for the British amongst the group as we watched the rock change colours as the sun (and several glasses of wine) went down.

Perhaps the funniest part of the day was the 'Sorry Book'. This was a collection of letters from people who had taken bits of the rock home with them, and had bad things happen to them. My personal highlight was the person who lost their job, then their partner, and then their dog died, all because they took a bit of rock. Hmmmm.

The next day, after surviving the swag, and drinking a lot of goon, and sharing a 5am shower with a massive Orb Spider it was time to see the sun rise over The Olgas and Ayers, which was picture perfect, despite the cold, before heading on a 10km hike around the Olgas. It was quite surreal having hiked 10km before 10am, but we were rewarded with beef wraps for lunch, followed by Kangaroo steaks for tea. The food was worth the trip money alone!

The last night of the trip was spent around the campfire before another 5am start to do Kings Canyon. This was the best walk, although climbing 300 steps up a canyon at that time was a bit of a mission!

Our last feast before returning to Alice was camel burgers, which for me beats beef any day of the week. And then before we knew it we were back on our way to Alice, having met amazing people, seen some amazing sights, eaten more food than I could fit in my belly, walked for miles, slept under the stars, and quite possibly had the best 3 days of the whole 6 month trip!