Welcome Outback- from Alice Springs to Adelaide

From Cairns we went to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia, and as soon as we arrived at the airport, it felt different. The shuttle bus driver to our hostel was wearing a cowboy hat, and outside the airport, all we could see was the landscape. In Alice Springs itself, there is not much to see except for a lot of Aboriginal people.

We walked to a lookout point where we could see Alice Springs and visited the botanical garden, although it's more like a garden of rocks than a traditional garden. It was not very colorful compared to other gardens, but there were free-roaming wallabies and kangaroos!

The journey there was a bit exciting as we suddenly saw several trees on fire in the middle of the forest. There was no one around us, so after thinking for a moment, we decided that we should report it. Since we didn't know the emergency number for the fire department, we went to the nearby hostel. The receptionist, who we had to search for, seemed to have smoked a lot of marijuana. He told us that this happens all the time and that we shouldn't worry. The fire department had already been alerted, and within a few minutes, they extinguished the fire.

It was cool to see Alice Springs, but you don't necessarily have to stay here for more than a day. Now it's time to sleep and start our 6-day Outback tour from Alice Springs to Adelaide.

Early in the morning, we were picked up by our tour bus. Our group consisted of 13 people, mostly German-speaking, but there were also two Danish, one French, and two Dutch participants. We quickly realized that our tour guide was a really cool person, and we were sure to have a lot of fun with him.

On the first day, we drove a lot but were rewarded in the afternoon with a visit to Ayers Rock, where we could enjoy the sunset. It's truly impressive to see and touch Uluru in person.

In the evening, we arrived at our campsite, where we cooked together, and the food was always extremely delicious! We slept in sleeping bags around a campfire during the first and second nights, which was exciting and with the breathtaking starry sky, a special experience! Unfortunately, stars can't be captured as well with a camera, live is always better!

The tour is not for late sleepers, but since we were looking forward to each day and were curious about what awaited us, it was no problem. The next morning, we went to another lookout point where we could enjoy the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

Then we embarked on the first hike to Kings Canyon, and we all managed to conquer the "Heartattack Hill" without any problems. At the beginning of the ascent, you have to climb a lot of steep steps, but it's worth it, as you can see!

After that, we went to a Cultural Aboriginal Centre, where we learned more about the history and life of the Aboriginal people and admired their art. In the afternoon, we did the Basic Walk around Uluru.

On Day 3, we had another longer hike planned: Valley of the Winds at Kata Tjuta! It was a cool and worthwhile hike, and the Garden of Eden was simply magical.

Afterward, we went to our accommodation, where we had the choice between a hostel room and sleeping bags. Everyone in the group, except one person, chose a regular bed ;) The place was beautiful, and after the hike, we cooled off in the cold pool. Even a New Zealander thought it was too cold :D For this night, we cooked there, and after dinner, we had a Beer Pong tournament, which was a highlight of the tour  It was girls against boys! And we didn't just play with beer, but with everything the bar had to offer, so the atmosphere was lively. My phone also took a dive into the toilet that night, and no, I wasn't (yet) drunk :D but it survived! After about three hours of intense competition, the boys won in the end...

We didn't leave until 7:30 am the next day to go to Coober Pedy, a town known for opal mining.

We visited an opal mine and even got to sleep in an old mine underground, which was exciting and strange at the same time. Being a typical woman, I just had to buy an opal necklace  In Coober Pedy, we also visited Josephine's Kangaroo Orphanage, a sanctuary for kangaroos. We got to feed the animals, and the owner, a very nice man, told us about the idea behind the sanctuary and introduced us to the individual kangaroos. In the end, we got to meet the baby kangaroo, Heidi - so adorable! We ended the evening with delicious pizza and a drink at the Underground Bar.

We also took a short walk through Alligator Gorge, a beautiful trail. Fortunately, we didn't see any alligators...

I'm so glad I did the Outback tour. It showed me a whole new side of Australia and was really exciting! I can only recommend such a tour to everyone. Thanks to the best crew and the best guide 