Our trekking trip in Alice Springs

We arrived late in Alice Springs on Friday and settled in for an early night as we had to be up at 5am the following day. Saturday morning - having been picked up by our tour company - we began the six hour drive to our campsite, stopping only briefly for comfort stops along the way.

Once we arrived, we had a buffet lunch (that all guests helped to prepare) before going for our first trek, to Kata Tjuta. The walk was not too strenuous but the heat was quite something - it was like being in a sauna. We were all encouraged to drink plenty of water along the way to ensure we didn't over-heat. That evening, we drove to Uluru (Ayres Rock) to watch the sunset whilst enjoying a glass of wine. However, as we approached the great rock, the clouds became overcast and it started to rain. Quite typical we thought- we got rain even in the hottest, dryest part of Australia! Still, apparently less than 1% of visitors get to see rain in the outback, so guess we were 'privileged'!!! After that, it was back to the camp for a BBQ meal and bed, as we had to be up even earlier the following day. The camp was basic (no electricity etc) - however we had a LOT of visitors - bugs of every variety. Gave us the heeby-jeebies - we even had to check our tents for snakes before we could go to bed! Think it might have been a good thing that we were in pitch black (no lights) as not sure I wanted to witness who we might be sharing our tent with! The next day we got up at 4.15am to go see the sunrise at Uluru before doing another walk, this time around the base of the rock. We also visited a culture centre to learn more about Aboriginal culture and art. James really wanted to climb Uluru - they still allow you to do it - though our guide advised us against it. To be honest I was quite glad he didn't do it as our guide pointed out that:

a) it's the highest point for miles around
b) you have to hold onto a metal chain all the way up, as it's a very steep climb
c) there was a thunder storm brewing
....not a good recipe should lightening choose to strike!

After our visit to Uluru, we drove on to another camp site (3 hour drive), based at King's Canyon. Having set up camp, we lit a large bonfire from wood we had collected on our drive along the way. One of our tour guides cooked up a fantastic meal over the open fire - made all the more delicious due to our exercise induced appetites! Sure enough, we had a spectacular thunder & lightening display later that evening so we made a sharp exit from the meal to our tents. That night was really windy - at 1.30am we convinced ourselves that there was a large creature outside our tents. James tentatively went out with the torch to investigate, only to find it was a tree brushing up against the side of our tent. Note to self: never choose the tent under the tree! Another 4.15am start (not funny a second morning in a row!), we dragged our tired selves into the bus for a short drive to King's Canyon for our final walk. This one was described as 'difficult' by our guide, who - based on previous days - had a tendancy to underestimate rather! There was the option of an easier walk but J managed to persuade me to join him on the difficult one around the rim of the King's Canyon. After a tough climb to the top of the canyon, I have to admit we were really enjoying ourselves. The scenery and views were stunning - the pictures we took didn't do it justice. I was really tired but feeling rather proud of my achievement, until the tour guide pointed out we were only a quarter of the way along the trek. I was not impressed, particularly as he then told us that two tourists who had done this trek with him before had actually died from heat exhaustion and dehydration! Luckily the weather was on our side - it was still cool from the night before and the fact it was still only the small hours of the morning.

The walk involved a lot of rock climbing and walking near the edge of frighteningly high cliff tops, but we both made it back in one piece. The last half an hour was torture but we agreed the trip was the highlight for both of us. Following the walk, we had a picnic lunch before driving the long 6 hour drive back to our hostel in Alice Springs. That evening, we went out with the rest of our tour group for a meal. We had a meal ofKangaroo (very like beef steak) and enjoyed chatting to the others we had met.

The next day we flew to Cairns and enjoyed a long sleep-in in our hostel. Today we have taken it easy and read up on various activities to do around Cairns. We have now booked trips to the Great Barrier Reef, CapeTribulation and the Barron River where we are going to do a day rafting (the 'adventurous' option - James' choice!) - gulp. Oh well, guess we're getting fit!