Day 1 – Thursday (14/06/2012)

We left Brisbane – see our trip there in this post – and we arrived in Alice Springs around 1pm. The view from the plane is really cool, but even cooler is stepping foot there and realizing that you are at the end of the world in a huge desert, you know?

We booked from Brazil the tour 3 dayss/2 nights camping of the company The Rock Tour, recommended by a friend of ours. They were responsible for organizing the transfer from the airport to our hostel, Toddys. (PS. The airport is very tidy, but it is far from the city! I don't know if you can book transport there at the time, because I didn't see anyone offering it)

The route from the airport to the city is very different from anything we had ever seen (well...not so much for me, since I had already been to Atacama Desert in 2011). An immense amount of land, little vegetation and an impression that the place was completely forgotten and abandoned. We arrived in the city and this impression did not change much.

I found the vibe of Alice Sprints a little strange, I confess. Maybe because everywhere I looked I saw super serious aborigines and I ended up getting scared.

We did the check in at Toddys and we had the misfortune of sharing the bathroom and kitchen with a very vulgar girl who was alone in the room next door. It was like an apartment with 2 bedrooms (each with its own lock) and 1 bathroom and 1 mini kitchen in common. I had no peace with that girl walking around the rooms, but I'm glad it was only for one day.

Like ours tour would only start the next day, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the city. We were starving, so our main goal was to get some food. We got a map from the hostel staff (not very friendly, by the way) and we walked to the city center. The Toddys It's not that central, so it was a good walk. We came across a lot of aborigines until we got to what they call Todd Mall (street with shops, restaurants, etc.).

We looked for a bank to withdraw money (we didn't have a penny in our pockets) and we got a terrible rate. Tip: come with cash!

We continued walking down the street and I didn't like any of the restaurants, but I don't know exactly why. We ended up stopping at one that was still open and Celo ordered a hamburger, but I thought it would be better to wait for the supermarket shopping, which would be right after.

We passed by the office of The Rock Tour to confirm the tour and they told us everything we had to buy for the 3-day camping trip. Insect repellent, lots of water, cookies, sunglasses, etc., etc. We went to the supermarket (everything is very expensive!!!) to buy the essentials and what we needed, we bought later in a store specifically for adventurers.

We walked back to the hostel and as soon as we got to the apartment, we ate our noodles and sandwiches and then got ready to sleep. It was a little difficult because of all the anticipation for the next day, but we managed.

Day 2 – Friday (15/06/2012)

We woke up very early (I think it was around 5am) and went down to have breakfast. Then we realized that there was a 30-minute time difference there, so we were ahead of schedule. What do you mean?? It was our bad luck not to have realized this before. We spent some time and soon we were eating the hostel's very basic breakfast, which we later supplemented with what was left over from our supermarket.

We left our backpacks in the hostel storage room and only had our small backpacks for the 3 days. The company The Rock Tour arrived at the hostel on time to pick us up and off we went, in the freezing cold, to a mini bus with other adventurers. We stopped at the company office, sorted out all the paperwork and ended up buying more water. just in case.

Once everyone was ready, we got back into the mini bus with a luggage rack in the back and hit the road. What a wonderful feeling of adventure! Our bus was full of only young people (we discovered that we were the oldest) and no couples other than us. And then again, what couple would agree to camp in the middle of the dark, sleeping in sleeping bags spread out around a campfire, running the risk of strange animals that only exist in Australia disturbing their sleep? Well, not very comfortable or romantic, I know.

As soon as we hit the road, we had the pleasure of meeting our guide and his assistant. Both of them were really cool, really crazy. They started with an icebreaker activity that consisted of each person going to the front of the bus, saying their name, country, age and, funniest of all, telling us about their first and last kiss, as well as when it was… lol. Imagine the embarrassment… everyone was super embarrassed and the icebreaker worked!

The guide explained a lot to us along the way, especially the rules of the camping tour and the challenges we had ahead of us. To begin, we stopped in the middle of the road to collect branches. That's right... branches. Guess why? Because it's with tree branches that we make a fire. It's with the fire that we keep warm from the cold at night, cook our dinner and keep strange animals away. You can see how important this stop is, right? We had to collect these branches with our own hands, and many of the trees were dry and scratched a lot. I, being very clever, ended up hurting myself a little, as did other people. The guide pointed out dead trees and it was behind them that we tried to get the best logs. We did this for about 30 minutes and when the guide thought we had enough firewood, he let us go back to the comfort of the bus. We continued on the road.

We stopped at a place to buy beers for the 3 days and, surprisingly enough (we are very stingy!), the two of us bought the most. Alcoholics? Rich? Clueless? I don't know... lol

Uluru Park – Kata Tijuta National Park

We went straight to the Uluru Park – Kata Tijuta National Park.

It was amazing to see the largest monolith in the world in front of us Upon arrival. Uluru is sacred to the Aborigines and for this reason, there are MANY rules and explanations spread throughout the park. We stopped first at their museum, which is very informative and tidy. It's a shame we can't take photos. The most incredible thing I found about the place is that there is a space with many letters from people who “stole” something from the park and ended up being “punished” for it later. They knew, just like me and all park visitors, that it is not allowed to take anything from the park (pebbles, plants, etc.) and there are also places that are absolutely forbidden to take photos. In the end, they ended up breaking the park rules and huge tragedies happened later to their families or cities. I spent a long time reading the letters and was horrified by what happened. It's just a lot of coincidence after coincidence. The cool thing is that these people sent back the photos and the stolen pebbles, with apologies and such. Just a heads up!

After the museum, the guide dropped us off very close to Uluru and told us to walk around it, following a well-marked trail. He stressed the importance of respecting sacred places and asked us not to take photos of these places. So we did! We walked around Uluru together for 1 or 2 hours (I don't remember exactly). The feeling of being there, next to something so grand, was great. It really is a very enchanting rock, with all its curves, holes and mysteries.

After we met the guide, we came across the trail that leads to the top of Uluru. The Aborigines ask people not to climb it, but even so, since the park is run by white men who end up making money from visitors, people do climb it. Mainly the Asians, because they get packages in their countries that include this dangerous climb. It is so steep and tiring that some people have fallen and died. Only a few accidents are missing before this climb will be closed forever!

Oh, and to make matters worse, there are still people who end up peeing and pooping up there, after so much exhaustion. A huge lack of respect, for sure. I hope they ban these climbs once and for all!

We really enjoyed the view, took the photos that were allowed and then followed the guide along the rest of the trail, until we had completed the entire loop. During this part of the tour, he told us details about the aboriginal rituals, explained some markings on the rock, among other things. It is a lot of mystery for just one place and of course we were fascinated!

We left there and went with our mini bus to a parking lot far away, from where it is possible to appreciate the changing color of Uluru, with the sunset happening.

What a beautiful thing, people!! It starts out almost earthy red and turns brown, brown, brown until it almost disappears into the darkness of the moonlit night.

During the appreciation process, we were surprised with a WONDERFUL dinner prepared by our guide, in a large pot and on a very basic electric stove. We ate like farmhands and then the process of washing the dishes began. Now the big surprise: there was a large bucket of water, where everyone washed their dishes and the last ones had theirs probably dirtier than if they hadn't washed them. Disgusting, right, but we had to forget about it and enjoy the moment. At least the food was good!

When dinner was over, we went to the bus and headed to a camping spot with a bathroom, at least. It was sooo cold…

We took our showers really quickly (at least the water was hot) and got dressed in some warm clothes (it must have been about 2 degrees). We all sat around the big and unique campfire, with our beers and cookies, talking loudly, telling jokes and enjoying that moment of adventure. We were interrupted by the guide, who gave us our sleeping bags and a swag, which is a protection for the bag. He explained to us how to set it up and warned us that the next day he would wake us up very early, but that he would not say the time, so that no one would plan ahead or get scared. As soon as he said that, we went straight to “bed”.

Our sleeping bags were placed with the pillow part inside the circle, where the fire was, so the thermal sensation was actually quite pleasant. The problem came in the early morning, when the fire went out and I realized that I was very, very cold. I had never been so cold in my life... I realized that I didn't have all my warm clothes on and that I hadn't completely closed the bag and the swag. What a mistake, my God… I woke up Celo, who was right next to me and he was also very cold. We kept each other company until we went back to sleep, with the sounds of snoring and insects everywhere. Super romantic, right?!

Day 3 - Saturday (16/06/2012) 

We were actually woken up very early (I think it was about 4am) by our frantic guide, as if we were in the army. We had 30 minutes to get ready and hand over our sleeping bags and swag for him, that is, a mad rush. Bathing, no way... just brushing his teeth, fixing his hair and changing one or two pieces of clothing.

With everyone ready and sleepy, we set off again to the parking lot from the previous day, to see Uluru at sunrise. When we got there, our guide prepared a wonderful breakfast. Like, everything is very basic, you know, but it was all very tasty, despite the freezing cold weather.

The view of Uluru during sunrise is also amazing. Each change of color affected us in a different way… I thought the experience was incredible. It was worth every struggle the night before.

From there, we headed to the Valley of the Winds (a long way away – yay! We were able to sleep), a beautiful place to take a long, long, long walk. It was still very cold, so we were completely bundled up. However, after an hour of walking, I wanted to leave my coats there, because they were so heavy and tired. We walked for a few hours, enjoying the arid landscape and the deafening silence. We tried to keep up with the group, but they were actually in better shape than us. We fell a little behind, but nothing too desperate. At the end, everyone waited a little for us so we could take our famous group photo.

We had lunch wraps and we got back on the road. We passed a salt flat a little far from the road, but it gave Celo an idea of what a salt flat would be like. Nearby, we stopped to collect more firewood and go in search of some animals that they sometimes find in the ground. I confess that I didn't give much importance to this last activity.

We left there frustrated for not having found any animals and returned to the road, where we stayed for a few hours until we reached camping. There, we quickly took our showers and went to prepare our dinner, together with the guide.

I was responsible for peeling and cutting the potatoes, the other girl was responsible for the carrots, the guide was responsible for the rice, and another boy was responsible for heating the pan over the campfire. The dish was delicious, especially given the adventurous atmosphere, with everyone sitting around the campfire in the middle of nowhere, with our beers and stories about each other's experiences. It was a unique moment.

When we saw that the guide was going to bed, we got ready to sleep too. We went to the bathroom, far away, in the middle of the darkness with a mini flashlight, put on all the warm clothes we could and went back to our sleeping bags. This time, I closed the sleeping bag completely, just like the swag, and I slept like a log, even with the freezing cold outside.

Day 4 – Sunday (17/06/2012)

Same as the previous morning. We were woken up by the crazy guide and had 30 minutes to get ready and hand over our sleeping bags. We had a quick breakfast and went to the bus, heading to Kings Canyon. The goal was to see the sunrise from the top of the canyon, which we had read was spectacular. The guide explained that we had a long climb ahead of us, but since it was so cold, I decided to keep all my warm clothes on. Biggest mistake of my life.

We started climbing and I soon realized that I was quite heavy and had no elasticity, due to the amount of clothing I was wearing. I kept going until I started to feel very sick, with a lot of shortness of breath. People kept climbing, but the guide stopped with me to try to give me moral support. As I continued climbing, the chest pain and shortness of breath got worse and I was forced to stop, worried about my life. However, even though the guide was there by my side, as was Celo, I knew that I had to keep climbing because our goal was to see the sunrise with the whole team. Imagine if I let everyone down.

After a long time, I managed to reach the top. Wow, what a relief. We kept walking up there until, after almost 30 minutes, we were able to see the sunrise. It was truly beautiful (too bad I didn't record it at the time, because I was too busy appreciating it). Take a look at the view after the sun had already “risen”:

We left there and stopped at a farm to ride a camel and play with other animals. It was a wonderful experience to ride, walk and run on the camel. It was worth it!

We then stopped at a gas station to make and eat our lunch. I must admit that it wasn't as interesting as eating in the middle of nowhere, with no civilization around. When we were done, we got back on the road and drove for a few hours to Alice Springs (we slept there). We arrived at our hostel, took a nice hot shower, packed our things and went to sleep.

We woke up with the alarm clock setting the time for happy hour with the group. We got ready and walked from our hostel to the bar recommended by the guide. We came across some unfriendly aborigines. When we arrived at the bar, with our entire group, we told them that we had been walking and the guide gave us a little scolding, because he said that the city is not considered very safe at night. He told us to take a taxi back and that's what we did, after a few hours of beers, laughter and promises of friendship from a distance.

Day 5 – Monday (18/06/2012)

 We woke up relatively late, packed our backpacks and went for a walk around the city to find a nice place to have breakfast. We ended up eating at a restaurant that aims to train Aboriginal people to help them integrate into society. The food was actually good, but the prices were extortionate.

We left there, grabbed our backpacks, and did check out at the hostel and soon our transfer to the airport arrived, as expected. It's amazing how punctual they are in Australia! Wow, that damn British colonization.

We arrived at the airport, had a snack and a few minutes later, we boarded the plane with our hearts in our mouths. How we loved this place… By far, the best experience of my life. I highly recommend it to all my friends and readers, especially the more savvy ones, you know… I think we all have to go through a bit of hardship in life to appreciate the quality of life we have.

We took a flight to Sydney and spent the last afternoon/evening of our backpacking trip exploring the Australian capital once again. We made sure to walk around the Opera House, take some more photos, take a boat on the canal and finally, we went to the casino to spend our last few dollars. We didn't imagine that we would lose money so quickly and that we would be called out because we wanted to nap on the couches so as not to have to pay for a hotel until our flight, but it was okay.

A difficult way to end this trip that was more than complete for us!

All posts from this trip

• Summary of 30 days in Australia and New Zealand
• Itinerary – Sydney and Blue Mountains (5 days)
• Itinerary – Auckland, Waitomo and Rotorua (3 and a half days)
• Itinerary – Christchurch, Arthur's Pass, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier (4 days)
• Itinerary – Queenstown and Milford Sound (4 days)
• Itinerary – Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Philip Island and Yarra Valley (7 days)
• Itinerary – Brisbane, Surfers Paradise and Gold Coast (5 days)
• Itinerary – Alice Springs (Australian outback) (5 days)

Check out some tours in Brisbane