And feeling slightly worse for wear we flew back to Sydney the following day.

The tour finished with a night out in Alice Springs. We were taken to a real outback (some may say slightly rough) bar and in typical aussie style we all got legless!

There's no place like Alice

View of Alice Springs from the top of Anzac Hill. After three days in the bush it seemed like a paradise with showers and flushing toilets.

On the last day we hit the open road once more and headed back to Alice Springs, rather tired, dirty and smelly.

Our last night sleeping in our swags under the stars. They were actually very warm and comfortable but Matt was worried about the dingos coming to steal him away at night.

One hump or two?

Like all good tourists we had an obligatory camel ride round the paddock.. but we weren't prepared when the thing started to run. An uncomfortable walk back to the bus when we finally got off.

A Dingo's got my baby!

"A dingo's got my baby" shouts Richard. But luckily it wasn't that interested in eating Matt. It was more content to lick him.. possibly because he still hadn't showered.

On the way back to Alice Springs we stopped off at an outback camel farm.

With some people from our tour who also climbed. The view at the top was worth the curses that are supposed to rain down on you if you climb the rock.

We finally made it to the top. Matt was a little shakey and Rich was just concentrating on trying not to be blown off due to the wind.

On the last day we made the controversial decision to climb the rock. It was incredibly high and very steep with just a metal chain to pull yourself up with. It was terrifying!

Sun rise over Uluru the following day.

Posing next to the rock along with Matt's favourite road sign.

Our tour group. Completely made up of backpackers from all over the world making Rich the only true Aussie.

Watching the sun set over Uluru. This of course involved more beer.

Finally on the second day we got to Ayres Rock / Uluru. It is absolutley huge and watching the colour change as the sun moves throughout the day is amazing.

Lunch break. We all had to muck in and help prepare food. This was usually washed down with a few beers and then promptly falling asleep in the back of the bus on the way to the next destination.

Throughout the hike we were told Aboriginal stories and shown the local wildlife - mainly camels, dingos, kangaroos, parrots and the odd big spider.

Matt looking tough in the outback.

After a 5.00am start the next day we went on to do a 10k hike of the Olga's. An impressive rock formation with huge deep valleys.

Camp fire tales

Everyone then sat round the fire, told stories and jokes. These became more colourful as more and more beer was consumed.

Our first night was spent in the bush sleeping out under the stars. We all had to collect firewood in order to cook and keep warm as temperatures plummeted at night.

The outback experience

We took a three day camping tour to the Northern Territory. We arrived in Alice Springs and piled into a minibus with a handful of other travellers and set off in to the outback. First stop was King's Canyon.

A very long way to the bottom.

Rich takes a breather during the two hour hike around the rim of the canyon.

Matt contemplates the real aussie outback.

The truly beautiful and amazing King's Canyon in the Northern Territory.

Matt has completed the City2Surf marathon completing it in 82mins.

Matt and Adam look like two typical Brit tourists on Manly beach.

And then indulge in their favourate past time...

JUMP IN MY CAR

Richard has found a new friend to play with.. and even better he has a car!
Visiting friends Jo and Michael in Adelaide and playing with David.

Having dinner at Una's in King's Cross. Great food and cheap beer.

Matt with the infamous 'Plested&Brown' after their massively successful tour of NZ.

Old uni friends of Matt's Adam and Claire and their entourage arrived in Sydney after touring NZ.