Travails of the Wide Eyed Wanderer

Travelling to Ayers Rock, or Uluru to use its Aboriginal name, I stayed in the only town in Central Australia of any real size - Alice Springs.

Arriving into Alice, I was suprised by the relatively low temperature (about 26°C). Despite now being in 'autumn', I had expected the arid outback to be hotter than tropical Cairns. Moreover, I expected the desert to be red, barren and dusty. However, whilst it was certainly red, the area, even around Ayers Rock, remains comparatively green.

On my 3 day tour to Ayers Rock I was able to take in some of the lesser known highlights of central Australia. First up was 'King's Canyon' where small lizards basked in the sun and I tried not to get too close to the sheer canyon walls.

That evening my group spent the night sleeping under the stars in a swag. A swag is little more than a sleeping bag cover which leaves your head open to count the shooting stars until you fall asleep. Due to the lack of major urban areas in the outback, the region is regarded as one of the best in the world to stargaze.

Up early the next morning, we visited the Olgas (called Kata Tjuta by Aboriginals). These were created from sediment deposits, in the same way as Ayers Rock, but are actually higher than the more famous monolith. The Olgas differ in that they form several separate rocks that look like huge mole hills.

We then headed to Ayers Rock. I had the opportunity to climb the rock, and was very tempted by the challenge, but the Aboriginals have made it clear that climbing the rock, which is so sacred to them, is very disrespectful. Recognising that as a tourist I am not always a force for good, I decided that I would do a good deed by instead walking around the base of the rock and admire the Aboriginal art.

Personally, I found Ayers Rock far more impressive from a distance and enjoyed watching the rock change various shades of orange as the sun set. Experts claim the rock changes colour 17 times - though I think they must have been smoking something... The next morning I watched sunrise at the rock, before heading 500km back to Alice Springs.

Knowing I had 2 days in Alice Springs, I spent my first day sunbathing by the hostel pool. Alice, to be brutally honest, is not an interesting town - unless you meet one of the many aboriginals. One woman saw a frozen chicken in a shop and immediately started a conversation with me about the relative merits of pre seasoned chicken. This was one of several slightly strange interactions with Aboriginals...

In the evening I went with some Irish friends to the only place showing the season ending Premiership football matches - the casino. Whilst I enjoyed watching Manchester United seal the title, it is my experience at the blackjack tables that will live longest in the memory. Starting with 10 dollars (£4), I had soon reached a dizzying peak of 50 dollars (£20). Knowing to quit while your ahead, I went to watch some football. After the match though, tempted by the ease of my previous winnings, I played again - and lost it all having been dealt some awful cards. Luckily, I made a small recovering before the casino closed at 3am, and nearly managed to break even. I think losing the money was important though, because otherwise I would be eager to return to a casino to get another taste of the gambling buzz. Ironically, I found out later that this week is 'Gambling Addiction Week'. Maybe I should attend one of the meetings!

On my last day in Alice, I visited the reptile centre and tried to look relaxed as a huge python curled his body around mine.

Tolday I leave Alice and travel back to Sydney where I will spend the night with my cousins before getting on the plane to Cape Town.

After staying another week with my relatives in Sydney, and being treated to an expensive buffet at the top of Centre Point Tower, I packed my bags again and headed north to Cairns in tropical Queensland.

Cairns is a mecca for backpackers, who visit due to the town's proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. For me, the desire to visit the reef was arguably the catalyst for my gap year travel. Having become a certified diver whilst I was in Honduras over Christmas, I spent my first 2 days on a 'liveaboard' boat which enabled me to sleep out on the reef and go diving every few hours - spending the time inbetween sunbathing on the deck!

The diving was fantastic with such a variety of colourful fish and corals. However, the most memorable dive was the night dive. Shortly before jumping into the dark water, the boat's underwater lights were turned on to reveal countless sharks, some 2m long, circling the boat - a scary proposition! The sharks were not the only highlight of that dive though as our underwater torches found sleeping turtles and a fish who protects himself at night by resting in a bubble of his own mucas.

Returning to the shore in the evening, I walked the length of Cairns esplanade and watched the setting sun turn the sky pink and yellow. The recently renovated esplanade has a beautifully refreshing man made lagoon and has several free BBQs - on which I have enjoyed a few steaks! The following day I enjoyed a day of rest in the sun, working hard to top up my tan after a few rainy days in Sydney.

Fully rested, I travelled north to Cape Tribulation the next day. My organised tour included several stops on the way, the highlight being the boat trip along the Daintree river to look for crocodiles. Unlike my previous, unsuccessful, experience in the Amazon, this time I saw several crocodiles - from the (almost) cute baby croc to the 4m long, 100 year old, 1 toothed grandfather!

Arriving in Cape Tribulation I spent the remaining part of the day, and the following morning, exploring the amazing scenery. The region is an undulating area of rainforest which gives way to white sand beaches and the coral reef just below the surface. Due to the infamous 'box jellyfish' I was unable to go swimming. However, I was more than happy to stay sunbathing on the beach!

The rainforest surpassed my expectations as I saw small turtles swimming in a creek and nearly stepped on a snake. I was also forced to surrender and find an alternative route to avoid a particularly stubborn lizard, about a metre in length, that was basking in the sun. Earlier, I had been told to lick the back of the green ants in the rainforest. Having found some I did - and wow I never knew an ant could be so flavoursome...and sour!

After being picked up the next day, I had several further detours on the way back to Cairns. These included seeing where Steve Irwin had his final wildlife encounter, spending time in Port Douglas (a nearby resort) and enjoying a refreshing swim in the river running through Mossman Gorge.

Back in Cairns, today has been a quieter day, recovering from the night before, when some French friends and I went to a bar's 'all you can drink' power hour. More usefully, I have also spent the day preparing for my flight to Ayers Rock tomorrow!

Arriving into Sydney it was lovely to be greeted at the airport. I am staying in a Sydney suburb with my uncle and aunt and my cousins, Jessica, 16, Kristyn, 14, Hayleigh, 12, and Annabelle, 8.

I spent my first week settling in and starting the job search. I was delighted to return to eating wholesome, tasty food and the mouldy bread and bruised banana diet of only a few days before soon became a distant memory. Whilst I was unemployed and my relatives were at work or school, I sunbathed and swam in the pool. I also visited the Easter Show at the Olympic Park, a huge carnival event with rides and showbags. The highlight was the daredevil performances of the trucks driven on 2 wheels and the crazy stunts and jumps by the bikers.

At the weekend Jessica accompanied me on a visit to Canberra with her grandparents who were attending a wedding. As the nation's capital, Canberra hosts the buildings of parliament, old and new, the famous Australian War Memorial and the novelty of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in one of the city's numerous leafy parks.

After walking the length of the city, Jessica and I returned to the motel where, in a moment of madness, I let her straighten and braid my hair. It's just as well it's what inside that counts!

Before meeting the newly weds (and most of their relatives) the following morning, we dashed to the Telstra Tower for impressive views of the city and the mountains below.

Arriving back in Sydney the job hunt continued before I eventually had some success and found work through various temping jobs. These included counting Jackie Chan pens in a warehouse, stacking boxes and filling envelopes for Nestle. After 2 weeks of tedious tasks and having suffered several paper cuts for the cause, I earned a sufficient number of dollars to hopefully keep me financially afloat until I arrive home.

It was no suprise that I found myself working on the 9th April (for those not in the know, my birthday). Having packed almost a 1000 envelopes that day, I was pleased to return home where my relatives suprised me with party poppers, an Australian football 'Socceroos' shirt and a chinese takeaway for dinner. Just over a week later Kristyn turned 14 so we went ice skating and enjoyed eating dinner out.

Whilst staying in Sydney, I caught up with James 'the govn'or' Leck (a school friend) who has been in Australia since October. It was good to share stories and later on, walk with Jessica around the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Sorry this blog post, more than a month since the last one, has been so delayed. I guess I have just had too much fun (and possibly sleep) returning to something close to normality.