The Outback: Uluru

The views from the plane between Sydney and Alice Springs in Central Aus were incredible; the land is as red and flat as New Zealand is green and mountainous. Alice Springs itself isn't much to write home about and is at worst a little threatening with vagrant Aborigines lining the centre. Unfortunately, many of the Aborigines have drink problems as their digestive systems are not developed in the same way as ours resulting in easy addiction and severe impact on internal organs. Consequently, many of the communities in central Aus are dry and liquor shops will not sell alcohol to Aborigines at the request of the local chiefs. Alice Springs, being the biggest town in 15,000km is unfortunately a magnet for Aborigines with social problems and it's very sad to witness them trying to marry a 60,000 year old culture with Euro-Australians. Alice Springs is, however, a holding venue for the thousands of tourists commissioning tours into the outback to see Uluru (or the European given name 'Ayers Rock'). The YHA was awful and poor Luce had a harsh introduction to hostel life in a 16 person mixed dorm and outside toilets!

Our 4am start the next morning for our outback trip saw us rubbing our eyes through the 5 hour journey and we weren't sure whether the land was really as red as it appeared or whether our bleary eyes were deceiving us. They weren't and it is. The sand is iron-rich and this raises to the surface through evaporation then turns rusty giving it the red colouring. For 500km we traveled along roads so straight they could have been built by the Romans and took in the surprisingly green bush, vivid against the redness of the sand. We even got our first glimpse of kangaroos as they hopped furiously into the bush. Our surroundings were so alien to us that it felt as if we were on Mars!

The red sandstone lent a surreal edge to the imposing Kings Canyon which rises 100m from the otherwise flat countryside. It seems that this year is the year in a four year cycle where there is more rainfall in central Aus, resulting in a canyon dotted with wild flowers in pinks and yellows. The canyon was also rich with bush tucker such as bush tomatoes and wild fig (no witchetty grubs in sight though, thank goodness!) The climb to the top of the canyon was tough in the heat but the walk around the rim afforded stunning views and revealed miles and miles of desert. Again the life and sights seemed alien with glow-in-the-dark gum trees, fossilized jellyfish and the stunning Garden of Eden where a watering hole promotes even more green life. To complete our visit we lay on our fronts at the top of the canyon looking down the sheer drop and across to the red cliffs, stained with dashes of black and white. The only downside were the amount of flies that buzzed around and after Beth swallowed a fly, Steve snorted one and Lucy got one stuck in her ear, we were pleased to retreat into the air-conditioned bus again despite leaving the breathtaking views behind.

It was a good old Aussie barbi for lunch and after hamburgers and salad we shrewdly dived into the nearest shop to purchase fly nets for our next walk. Arriving at the campsite for the night, we watched the sunset over a distant Uluru and in the space of an hour witnessed incredible colour changes over the rock from a vibrant red that slowly changed hue to a deep purple. The sight of the rock was moving and we could almost sense it's spiritual presence that the Aborigines credit it with. In contrast, the huge silhouette of the Olgas rocks in the distance, resembled a fat Homer Simpson lying on his back much to our amusement! We spent the night under the stars in the light of a full moon while the gentle breeze of the outback cooled our fly-net covered faces.

Next morning we arose at 4am to travel to Uluru for sunrise. The excitement on the bus was almost tangible as we all anticipated seeing the monolith at close quarters. Uluru didn't disappoint and the crowd were hushed as we watched the sun rise and change the mood of Uluru dramatically from oppressive black silhouette to a rich orange. We decided not to climb the rock as that is extremely offensive and upsetting for the Aborigines who consider the rock sacred. Instead we walked 8km around the base and watched in fascination as the light changed again and the rock turned a burnt red hue. A visit to the Aboriginal cultural centre provided an interesting conclusion to the region and it was back on the bus to head to The Olgas. Kata Tjuta or the Olgas are not a monolith but a collection of rocks made up of different layers and a walk into the centre of the domes proved they were almost as stunning in their own right.

Returning to Alice Springs, we spent our final night celebrating our fantastic two days with the rest of our tour group in the Melenka Party Bar. And party we did. Not only were we dragged on stage as 1 of 3 couples forced to cross-dress and take part in other activities more at home on a 18-30 holiday, but we danced on tables and were generally misbehaving with the rest of our fantastic tour group. Our hangovers almost killed us in the morning and were not conducive for a happy flight to Darwin. Lucy is clearly going to be a bad influence!