Salt Flats & Final Stretch back to Adelaide

Total drive time today: 8.5 hours! Why does everything have to be so far apart!?

My beautiful view for the whole drive so I guess I can't complain too much! :)

The end was nearing and my back was beginning to not like me very much from all the sitting, but the sites were worth it to stay awake and watch as the Outback passed by. To break up this really long day of driving, we were first lucky enough to come across another wild lizard walking down the side of the road. This time I even got to hold it! One of the perks of sitting in the front seat and keeping the guide/driver awake. Way cool! I want to say it is a frilled-neck lizard, but I could be a little off. Sorry for the photo that I can't rotate! :)

The lizard even sat on my head for a photo!!!

We became best mates :)

Onto the salt flats and what an experience that was. The largest lake where you couldn't see properly to the other end just covered in glistening, white salt. Plus it was so warm because of the sun reflecting off of the ground. Probably helped the tan a bit! I had a lot of fun writing things in the ground too which add a little something extra to my photos.

What an awesome experience my time in Australia has been!

Trying to be a bit artistic!

My tour company was called Groovy Grape!

The rest of this trip was camping for one for night in the Adelaide Hills, plus last night sleeping in a swag. We were finally allowed to sleep in on the very last day because all we had left to do was the few hours plus lunch back to Adelaide. I think in total I took around 600 photos in just these 5.5 days and made memories that will last a lifetime. First proper camping experience was a success I'd say, but still don't think it is something I will do on a regular basis from now on! I also made three really great friends from England, which is just one more reason I need to go back and visit! I can't wait to bring mum & dad to the Outback to show them Uluru and everything that Australia has to offer. I have been so lucky and loved every second of my new adventures.

Until next time! xoxo

Final Uluru Day, Crossing the Boarder & Living Underground

My last day at Uluru was dedicated to walking around the whole base of the rock. It took roughly 3.5 hours with many photo pauses and one potty break out in the brush! Ps. my first time ever peeing out in 'nature', and hopefully my last! I did have a pretty good view though of Uluru hahaha. Anyone in the group had the opportunity to climb the rock at this point but from everything I had heard from our guide and locals, it was extremely disrespectful to the Aboriginal people and with everyone climbing it, the rock was beginning to show damage and breakdown, plus it is extremely steep and dangerous. No thank you! I could take just as good of photos from the ground without being rude or risking getting hurt. It was a great walk and you can then understand and tell how massive it truly is. Very cool!!

Up at 5am for this photo! But worth it :)

Total driving time for today: roughly 7 hours. Yuck!

Next stop along the journey was crossing over from the Northern Territory state into South Australia. It was really nice to take a back at this boarder crossing and I took some great photos with a special appearance from an Aussie flag!

Where Adelaide is located.

Where the Outback is located.

Lucy, Katy, Jessica & Me!

That night we were staying in a place called Coober Pedy, which is the Opal capital of the World. People there eat, sleep, and work around finding opals and in the mines. Also, since it gets so very, very hot there in the summer and stays pretty hot year round, almost all the houses are built completely underground. We were able to tour a house and it was pretty strange. Good for sleeping if you like it pitch black. The only way out was through the front door and where some windows were also located. The houses had everything else like normal, just poor mobile reception! You had to go outside to chat or text. That would take some getting used to. It was a completely unique way of life that the people in this town live and very eye opening. I think that it is safe to say I am not too fond of living underground. While in Coober Pedy, the group also went to a kangaroo rescue house where this older couple take care of injured or sick kangaroo's either joeys or adults. They were very tame and friendly and followed the owner around like any other cat or dog. They also had a little joey which I was lucky enough to hold. So incredibly cute I wanted to take him home with me! Guess what his favorite food is... pizza! haha Cute! I was in animal heaven!

I do have photos of me holding the baby kangaroo but they weren't on my camera so I haven't saved them properly to my computer yet to upload into here! But, they are really cute! :)

My underground living quarters for the night!

Just a normal day working at the mine!

Day spent at ULURU!

Driving towards the rock for our first afternoon of the base walk gave way to some really great photos! I think most of this entry will be photos. Plus, Bruce is currently laying on my left arm so typing is a bit hard! He is so cute! Anyways, back to Uluru... prepare for some amazing photos!!

Beginning of Base Walk 1

Uluru is filled with culture and history that is extremely important to the Aboriginals. There are sacred Men's and Woman's Sites located all around the rock that are still actively being used today. In these particular areas it is forbidden to take photos. Our guide showed us around the rock for the 1.5 hour walk where we even saw artwork that had been painted on the walls of 'teaching areas'. This was also my first time to touch the rock and see how the wind has shaped it over the hundreds of years.

Last Sunset at the Rock, and by far, my favorite and most remarkable. This was also the night that I was able to buy two pieces of original Aboriginal artwork directly from some women. They barely spoke a word of English but loved trying to tell you what they could about their artwork. Each piece told a different story and bright colors. The group ate some yummy dips and crackers that night too!!

I LOVE ULURU!!!!! WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!!!

Outback Cont.

Day 2:
I had the best seat in the bus, up front next to our driver/guide, and he would tell me stories and point out so many things along the road. We would always find it so amazing how the whole group fell asleep within mere minutes of getting back on the bus. They missed so much: landscape, wild animals, good stories, history on the outback, etc. Why go on a driving tour through a new country and sleep the whole time?!

While driving to Uluru to watch our first sunset, we came across the coolest lizard ever. The thorny devil! We were flying down the road and Dan, driver/guide, saw the lizard walking down the side of the road. He slammed on the brakes, thus waking everyone up, and I knew immediately what he had seen!! I don't think I have ever jumped so quickly out of a car before. OMG it was so cool!!!! Apparently there belly's act like fingerprints in that no to thorny devil's have the same design or markings, like humans all having different fingerprints. After taking many many photos, we had to let the little guy go, but I really wanted to keep him as a pet!

We finally arrived at our second campsite of the tour which was located just outside the Uluru National Park. After setting up our swags and dinner was underway, we all took off down the footpath towards our viewing area of the sunset over Uluru. This was our chance to take a million photos of the rock in the background. The four of us girls had a lot of fun coming up with silly poses and the rock. Here is a sneak peak of just a few! It was breathtaking seeing the rock at first and we just sat and enjoyed the once in a lifetime experience and soaked in all of its' beauty.

Jessica, Me, Katy, & Lucy

It was early to bed that night because we had to wake up again around 5:30am in order to enter the park and watch the sunrise over Uluru. Nighty Night!!

Day 3:
Up way to early but it was completely worth it because watching the sunrise over the horizon and light up the rock is something I will never forget. We all just stood there in ahhh. Also from our viewing platform, was our first glimpse of Kata Tjuta or The Olgas, our stomping ground for most of the day.

Me & Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta 

Next stop: Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)!
Here is a little known fact about the Olgas, you will never find any commercial photographs of the Olgas, unlike the millions you see of Uluru. This is because of the area being a sacred site for the Aboriginals. You are allowed to take photos for personal use but can't sell them. And I took a lot of photos because again, it was just so different than anything I had ever seen with great views and wildlife all around. The exact hike we were going on was called the Valley of the Winds. It was a good thing we started this day hike early too because around 10am it had already reached 80F. We even saw one of the rarest lizards in Australia as we were just finishing the hike. A great and memorable day all around! Could this trip get any better?!