White fella (Pam) bin walkabout

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Arrived in Alice springs after an eight and a half bus trip from Coober Pedy. Lots of sand, bush and not a lot else. After checking in to the accommodation I booked to go on the rock tour. Three days in the bush. First day consisted of an early start and a long drive to Kings Canyon where we walked the rim. 3.5km. The first leg of the walk was called heart attack hill, three hundred plus of very uneven steps to the top of the canyon. There was much huffing and puffing not only by me but also the twenty something's. the walk around the rim of the canyon was more like rock walking, the rocks very crumbly as they were sandstone and loads of stepping which was really hard work as it was twenty seven degrees and no breeze. As I am not particularly good at heights my legs felt Like jelly most of the time. We were a group of sixteen four from the UK, a girl from Chicago, three French and a mixture of people from Hong Kong, Taiwan and North Korea all really nice. After the walk, we drove to out campsite in the bush, and it wasn't a normal campsite just a pice of desert where we camped out. We collected firewood for the fire, there was no running water and we slept in a swag, which is like a sleeping bag with a mattress on the bottom. There was no running water or toilets so a real bush experience. Needless to say the food consisted of a BBQ. Second day we went to Kata Tjuta for. 4.5km walk which was great, a few steep sections but overall fairly enjoyable. The weather was a lot cooler but the awful flies persisted, in your eyes nose and mouth so had to make a sort of fan from a scarf to keep the flies away from my face. Lots of people we saw were wearing nets on their heads to keep the flies away. Scenery was stunning and it was easier to look around as you didn't have to concentrate on your feet so much on this walk. Back to camp in the evening for burritos. Day three we walked the base of Ayers Rock or Uluru this walk was 7.5 km but a flat easy walk. Stopped for lunch and then began the journey back to Alice.

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