Uluru and Kata Tjuta

We have just come back in from our two day tour of Uluru (ayers rock) and the national park in which it sits. We left early yesterday morning and got to see the sunrise whilst we were on our 5 hour drive to the park. The colours were amazing. In fact, this whole tour has been all about colour, I feel my eyes have had sensory overload. Firstly, once the sun is up the colour of the green trees against the bright red sand and the pale bark of the gum trees. The sky awakening through a prism of pinks to blues to yellow.
We made a couple of stops for refreshements which was well needed - the mornings are so so cold, I am starting to wonder whether I will see any proper sun here and whether I will come back with a tan. We saw dingos, kangeroos and emu's at a farm along with camels.
We got to our campsite at lunch and all prepared lunch together, we then headed over to the Olgas and Valley of the Winds for a stroll around the red rocks, the views of Uluru teasing us in the distance. We headed out to watch the sun set around 5.30pm to the view spot and watched as the sun disappeared highlighting the rock in pinks and oranges. It all happens so fast when you are watching and waiting. Once the first few stars came out we headed bback to camp for a BBQ, we lit the campfire and sang a few songs and toasted marshmallows (I am known as a pro at this!) We had the opportunity to sleep under the stars, which Em did, but with a thick cold, I thought it best that I get some warmth - well, some level of warmth - it was still freezing.\
We woke this morning at 5.30am, and I took a moment to watch the sky - so many stars, I could almost see the dust particles. I saw a few shooting starts too and made out some of the constellations - truly beautiful - I won't forget that night sky.



We then headed out for the sunrise, which I was left a little disappointed with. I hoped for more; there were lots and lots of people and noise - I wanted to be alone to watch the rock come alive in the sunlight. Again the sky wwas layered with powder blue and baby pink colours, something quite magical. I hope my photos have captured the colours well enough.
Once the sun was up we went for a walk around the base of the rock, I found the rock strangely eerie, a odd vibe to it, some strange looking features, but the colours were vibrant and the rock looked like it had scales or bark.
I am not sure how I feel about the tour, I expected more, I wanted more. Maybe it is because I am not feeling well and I am tired.

I think I will try to write about it again once I have my photos and I have my brain back. I do feel inspired to write about it and the artwork of the Aboriginals. Until next time... we fly to Brisbane tomorrow and hopefully to the sun.

Alice Springs

From the Great Ocean Road we spent a night in Adelaide and then flew up to Alice Springs ready for our next tour, at this stage we are getting pretty tired of all the early mornings - and I mean early - 5.30am most mornings and the travelling is getting to us, but we are still smiling and laughing.
Annoyingly, we had to wait at Alice Springs airport for other flights to come in for people who were also staying at the same hostel, so we took the opportunity to laze in our first bit of proper sunshine.
At the resort, we checked into our not so amazing dorm room, with a leaky tap and a light that didn't work and then strolled into town for a mosey around. There isn't much to Alice Springs and I am glad the travel agent advised us that a afternoon would be plenty. There are some amazing galleries though of Aboriginal Art - I found a gorgeous painting called 'Dreamtine Sisters' it was purples and pink and the dots made it look like the night sky. I wasn't sure what the story was but it was beautiful.
On the way back to our delightful hostel we picked up dinner - a packet of Supernoodles each - yum! We made them in plastic cups (you have to hire crockery etc) and went and ate it in the TV room. Packing for the next morning tour (of Uluru, which again we had to be up at 5am) was a tad difficult due to the light not working- there were six of us all straining our eyes to see what to pack. It wasn't much fun in the morning when we had to leave either but we got showered and packed and made it to the bus ready for another full day sat on a bus travelling.

The Great Ocean Road

From Melbourne, we were picked up on Friday from St. Kilda (a funky part of Melbourne with the best cakes!) and headed onto the Great Ocean Road.
With 11 of us crammed into a small mini bus we headed off on a 3 day tour - it was soon apparent that we were travelling with some fab people.

On the first day we stopped at Spit Light House which is where Round the Twist was filmed -couldn't get up close but it was cool all the same.
Emma and I went a bit crazy with the many 'Photo' stops and quickly established ourselves as nutters! We stopped at the War memorial which was a big sign for the GOR - lots of tourists snapping away.

Lorne was beautiful and a quaint little town. Shortly after we went through a forest where there were koala's in trees - we saw the back of one!

We stopped at a place called Loch Ard which was some amazing rock formations and where a ship was wrecked. Emma and I were stars - we re-enacted the story on the beach and almost got caught out by the gushing waves. The video will be amazing - we will use it for auditions! I have never see the sea look so powerful; it was truly amazing, the waves were huge with white horses running for miles.
From here we headed up to the 12 Apostles where we caught the sunset, it was freezing cold but well worth the views. The sky tinged with pink creating a magical feel to the rock formations. We took many many photos from every angle.

That night we all stayed in Apollo Bay which was on the beach. As a group we set to peeling and chopping vegetables and prepared dinner. The evening was spent sat around the log fire singing to songs that Marcus played on his guitar - although there was a battle with him and Emma's ipod. Emma won!

The next morning we were up early and headed out for a morning walk where we went to Thunder cave and a blow hole, again it was freezing but the sound of the water crashing through the caves created a eerie still to the morning. We then had the option to re-visit the 12 apostles - but this time by air. I figured I wouldn't get the opportunity again so we went up in a helicopter and for 10 mins flew out to the sea and around the roacks. I had to sit up front which was a little scary - I had to straddle the joystick which I managed to knock when I tried to get my leg over!
After the flight we went up to London Bridge - another rock formation and then to a small grotto, by this time we were so over taking photos but we kept on with the on and off the bus routine.

We then headed inland the Grampians - a national park where we visited a waterfall (the steps back up nearly killed us!) and at sunset we headed to the Balconies where we went on a short walk through the iciest winds, I swear the Cuckubarra was laughing at me and how cold I was. The view at the end through was awesome - across the valleys with the sun setting. Amazing.
That evening we had a BBQ at our hostel - emu and kangaroo was on the menu - lush! we played several drinking games with out 'goon' and then headed outside for marshmallows round the campfire. A good fun evening was had by all.

It was another early morning but this one was all the harder due to the hangovers involved, but we made it and headed out for a morning 'hike'. It wasn't a hike - it was a mountain climb. Iw as very scared and it was very high - I was properly rock climbing, but again the view left me speechless and the climb left me breathless and aching.

We then took the drive up to Adelaide - we didn't stop much, everyone was too tired and trying to recover, but we did stop to take 'photos' of some white kangaroos - quite cute.

An amazing tour with some amazing people, we had such a giggle and it is great seeing different cultures experiencing new things. Em and I were sad leaving the group last night, we wanted a group hug but everyone dispearsed.

(please ignore any spelling mistakes... this was done very quickly!)

Update

Extremely quick update...

Melbourne was freezing, we couldn't work out the trams.

We are now on the Great Ocean Road on a tour bus - 9 peeps in total.. the view of the sea and waves are amazing. I want to learn to surf. Emma and I are the naughty ones on the back of the bus!
Just bought our wine for this evening.
Must go......

Road Trip to Canberra

We picked up at hire car this morning and left for Canberra. Emma took me to Goulbourn which is where she used to live. It is a cute town - not as I imagined.

We stopped to see the Big Merino - the big sheep!

He is one ugly sheep. Apparently there are lots of these giant monuments across Australia - a prawn, pineapple, fish and banana are to name a few.

Sydney

Sydney is an amazing city. We have seen pretty much all that you can in three days - our feet hurt and legs ache from all the walking, although we have walked more than we should have mainly due to the amount of times we keep getting lost. Sydney seems a very difficult city to navigate, on the first day we were trying to head to Darling Harbour which was on the left hand side of the map - we walked off the page in every other direction! We did walk through the Botanical Gardens from which you get awesome view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It was a beautiful warm sunny Sunday morning so the walk was perfect. It felt strange that the weather was warm and of a similar temp to that of home yet it is their winter and all the trees have lost their leaves and people are walking around in black wool winter coats.

On Monday we visited the Aquarium at Darling Harbour (we didn't get lost this time!) which was good. There are so many ugly fish in the world's oceans.The highlight was seeing sharks and being able to walk through a tunnel under the big tank where the several species swam effortlessly above. Sometimes it looked as though they would come through the glass. There was also a big sting ray - about 6ft wide which glided through the water - we got to see it's smiling face when it landed on the top of the glass; they look so funny from underneath.
After the calming experience of the aquarium, we headed across town to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for our climb. We were both a little nervous and were concerned about the level of fitness needed to climb 130m above sea level. We had to get changed into suits which looked like a babygrow - not flattering! and then over the top we had to wear wet weather trousers - extremely unflattering! We were then 'loaded' up with gear for our climb. You are not allowed to take anything up the bridge so anything you need is provided and has to be clipped to your suit, this included: a hanky, fleece, waterproof jacket, walki talkie, headphones, head lamps, beanie hat, hair scrunchie and chords to hang your glasses / sunglasses. We also had a ball type devise that connected to the wires to stop us falling. I felt like a donkey. We had a safety chat and a test run of ladders and then we were off. I got put at the front (I think my nervousness showed) which wasn't such a bad thing as we got to rest more whilst waiting for the others to catch up. We had to climb ladders which went between the road and railway which took us above the road where we then started the climb over the arch of the bridge. The views were amazing - the whole of Sydney lay before us. I was brave and looked down when we crossed the mesh bridges over the road - the cars got smaller and smaller. As we got to the summit, the sum was starting to set and the sky was coming alive, candyfloss clouds edged the horizon. The couple at the back had an announcement - Chris had proposed! he had carried a ring on an ERD - Engagement Ring Device which was strapped to his wrist, all very romantic.

As we began our descent down the bridge the city was coming alive in the twlight; lights on skyscrapers across the city flicked on like a pulse showing how active the city was. The highway behind us was awash with head and brake lights creating a stream of light in and out of the heart of Sydney. As the sky got darker, we put our headlamps on and headed down the bridge in silence; all in a line and all in unison like a millipeed. Our climb was rewarded with a beer and pizza (I had Emu pizza) in the Australian Hotel in The Rocks which is the old part of Sydney.

On Tuesday, we left Sydney's city centre and headed out to Bondi Beach to see the surf. The sun was in and out and there was a chill in the air. Bondi wasn't as I had imagined - I expected more, an expansive beach with funky shops and eateries, but it the beach was quite small and there weren't many shops - it wasn't too different to a uk seaside town. We sat on the beach, the sand reminded me of cake mixture - very yellow, and absorbed the sun and the fresh air. We paddled for a while, Emma thought the sea was freezing- I said it was far warmer than the sea at home, if the sun had been out for longer spurts I would have been in!

For our last evening in Sydney we went for drinks and dinner at The Ivy (don't think it is the same as the London Ivy!) which oozed pretentiousness; lots of business people in suits. Following a few glasses of very nice red wine, we headd out to a bar called Establishment where everyone was salsa dancing. We sat like judges commenting on the different couples - who were 'spinning' the best, who looked like they were enjoying it and who had the best moves - our vote went to the girl in the red top and the little italian looking man in the white shirt. We were tempted to show our moves and secretly hoped that we might be mistaken as part of the dancing crowd and asked to dance.

The Journey

Well, I am here and what a journey! I know that it is a long way but I think I underestimated the length of time of how long it would actually take.
I left from Heathrow in the Friday night - had a little bit of a panic after sitting in the biggest car park of the world - the M25 and worrying that I wouldn't get there on time. I did and made it through all the queues and into the lounges, where just sat and people watched eating an excuse of a sandwich. I always wonder why some people make such an effort in their dress and appearance when they are going to sit on a long haul flight.
I boarded my first flight leaving at 22.15 to Dubai, as I got onto the aircraft and headed down the aisles to my seat I was overwhelmed by perfumes and aftershaves - I hoped that the person I was sat next to hadn't spent 2 hours in duty free. As it was, neither of them had - I was sandwiched between two people; one very large women who took up half my seat and a man who fidgeted lots. Most people slept on the plane but I had to stay awake so that my jet lag wouldn't be too bad - I needed to sleep on the next leg, not this one, so I watched tv and remained squashed.
Once at Dubai, I had two hours to kill. I didn't like the airport, it was too big and too full of people. There were people sleeping everywhere - on chairs, behind chairs, in the middle of the walkway - everywhere. I wondered whether they were waiting for flights or homeless. I was tired so I did several laps of the terminal until my flight gate was announced and I could go and wait. By this stage the tiredness was making me giddy. I boarded the plane to Sydney and found my seat -this time I had an aisle seat and was sat next to a nice old lady. She was from NZ and was on her way home with her daughter after being in Paris. She was friendly and took and interest in what I was doing. It wasn't long though until I was asleep. I managed to sleep a good five hours which meant a decent amount of time was killed on the 13 hour flight and that I wasn't too tired.
On arrival to Sydney I felt refreshed and excited to be seeing Emma, but as I turned my mobile on, I had a text from Em saying that she couldn't meet me due to a Kangaroo hitting the front of her car. She was stuck on the highway, waiting for a tow. Bummer! She was ok though and that was the main thing. So, once I got through the nightmare of the airport - so many queues with people queuing in all directions, so many questions and procedures, too many people, too many trolleys and too much noise, I found the information desk and asked how to get to to Wynard Travelodge. I was told by a man who looked like Lurch from the Adam's family to get the shuttle bus - which I did, and oh dear, what an experience. The driver was insane! but he got me to the hotel through the back roads, driving a speed, shouting at drivers and driving on his horn.
Once in the hotel I found a seat to relax in, take a breath and text Emma to let her know I was here, at the same time I received a text from her to say she was at the hotel. I panicked thinking that the crazy shuttle bus man had taken me to the wrong one, but I peered around the reception and their she was. How good it was too see her... now our adventure could begin.