Outback explorer 1/6

Wednesday 3rd Jan.



Oh my god. You step off the plane and it feels like you've stepped into a sauna! I was wearing a cardigan too! Omg!

It's such a contrast out here to perth. It's a desert with trees, kangaroos and imported camels.

Alice Springs itself is , to be honest, a little dull. We stayed in the 'Melanka' cleverly disguised as THE Alice Springs Plaza. Mmm, missing off the Crowne bit really does make all the difference! ;)

At 4.oo am, when we had to be up and ready for our adventure tour, LOf managed to make a new friend. He treated his 6 legged mate to a new house - a glass- and placed him under the sink for the 'cleaner' if there is one :/

It was a very early start but it was still roasting hot outside. We met our tour guide Dave and boarded the bus. It's air conditioned thank fully.

There are a wide range of people in our group all of varying ages and natonaliities. We all have one thing in common though - we all speak Aussie! This is grest as Dave only speaks Aussie. Lol

Some people are only with us for 2 days to do the Uluru bit. Most of us are going all the way to adelaide but --> In the spirit of the AUSSIE dialect I have placed the connective in it's traditional place - the end. Lol.[

LOF has adapted well into the role of Outback Matt and has been enjoying the challenges set. I , on the other hand, have taken some of the easier walks - it's 41 degrees out here and a 2.5 hour walk up and around a canyon - King's Canyon - seemed mad! I went for the 40 minute stoll inside the canyon instead. Even LOF struggled a little and had to share in what he likes to think of as a semi-erotic T-shirt competition with Dave who had to throw water over him so he would cool down enough to finish the walk. He had soggy pants for the rest of the day!

Today has mostly been driving - with that walk in the middle. We'vw covered hundreds of KMs through a red desert with occaisional green trees.

I saw my first kangaroo today leaping away in fright after it tried to cross the road infront of our bus. Don't worry he/she was absolutly fine :)

The birds are really awesome too. Loads of gallahs (just like Darl') - they're very pretty and pink. They like to make a bit of noise (but).
I've seen cockoteils too. Wikd ones, free to sit a top lamp posts and request a bit of your sandwich! There are also zebra finch like the ones grandad has in his front room, Green parrots and a weird looking parrot with a plume of spikey feathers on its head.
I'm camping in the outback tonight. I'll look out for dingos. You have to hide your shoes because they like to run off with them and chew them up! You'd Think they'd be house trained by now!