Camping. Grasshoppers in the loo. Sunsets. Sunrise hikes. Sheer drops. Incredible views. Crazy heat. Warm water bottles. Dusty boots. Fly nets. Cave paintings. Red sand. Wallabies. Baking sun. New friends. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) – Uluru (Ayers Rock) – King’s Canyon.

Tips for The Outback from a completely unknowledgeable Brit:

– BUY A FLY NET- we thought we could manage without them. How wrong we were. Despite the fact that our fly nets were about 4 sizes too big, they were complete life savers. We discovered that flies like to try to climb into your eyeballs, nostrils, ears….soul. Fly nets were essential.

– FLIP FLOPS- wear them in the shower. Camping toilets aren’t always the nicest & there’s just something about wearing shoes in the shower that makes me feel cleaner.

– TAKE THE BARE MINIMUM- we were staying at the same hotel before and after our trip so we left our main bags there and just took small rucksacks, it made everything more manageable. And after a while you won’t even care what you’re wearing- especially in 45 degree heat.

– DON’T WEAR GYM LEGGINGS TO HIKE IN- 45 degree heat.. let me just repeat that. 45 degree heat. Thick black leggings- bad idea.

– DO THE HARD HIKES- the view is aaaaalways worth it. Set off early! Our group got up at 4am every day and it meant the heat wasn’t so bad for most of the hike.

– EMBRACE IT – we were introduced to an Aboriginal woman called Bessie, who with the help of a translator, shared her culture and traditions with us and explained why each area we visited was so sacred to Aboriginal people. Although our cultures were totally different and in normal life, we would have never met her, listening to Bessie talk was truly one of the most special parts of our whole trip so far.

– SUNRISE – don’t miss them.

– COFFEE- massively helps the above tip.

– SOAK IT UP- rather than just snap the picture and move on, really try to SEE and absorb the amaaazing views and natural spectacles. It is so easy to just race through everything and look at your pictures after, but we really tried to take the pictures and then really pause and take it all in.

Highlights-

– Sunset at Ayers Rock- although it was a little bit cloudy when we went, our group leader set up a table with snacks & Prosecco looking straight at the sunset and we sat there for a while watching Ayers Rock change colour- really beautiful and special.

– Sunrise at Ayers Rock- even better. We got up early and did the base walk and managed to get a great view of the sunrise. The rock pretty much changed colour every 5 minutes and the sky was just the most amazing orangey pink colour. Spectacular.

– Exploring the caves at Ayers Rock- ancient Aboriginal cave paintings are scattered around the caves, showing pictures, symbols and rituals. They all have different meanings and have huge significance for Aboriginal people.

– King’s Canyon- probably my favourite hike. A pretty hard hike at times, the view was the reward. Also, the route up was amazing, passing through so many cool spots, little lakes, bridges, gorges..

– Seeing a rare Black-Footed Rock Wallaby at King’s Canyon – they’re endangered and apparently a pretty rare sight!

– Our time with Bessie. I actually felt so honoured to share that time with her, I won’t ever forget it.

– The Olgas – they are huge!!!!!

– Evenings chatting over dinner at the campsite.. meeting people we would never have met in our daily lives.

Here’s a few of our pictures from our adventure in The Outback! Thanks for reading xx

This was taken by Pierre from my camping group!