Emirates Delight

Our flight was pleasant enough, up to the usual standard which I expect from Etihad. We actually ended up arriving 35 mis early. The passport control was a funny experience. After baggage reclaim, we made our way out, where we got a chauffeur taxi to our hotel in Yas Island about 30 mins away. As we arrived too early, we freshened up and left our bags with the concierge. We explored the nearby area, including the Yas Marina circuit, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Viceroy hotel and Hotel Precinct. Afterwards thanks to advice from our concierge, we then made our way for the big bus shuttle to Abu Dhabi, we had gotten a 2 for 1 offer through Etihad guest program. At the Sheikh Zayed "Grand" Mosque, we transferred onto the main big bus tour bus which brought us on a. 2.5 hrs tour of Abu Dhabi taking in picturesque views of the cities and various landmarks such as Abu Dhabi mall, Saadiyat Island, Iranian Markets, The Corniche, The Souk, Markaziyah park and gardens, public beach and heritage village. At the Marina mall, we decided to disembark and go to the Sky Tower and have lunch. The architecture of this building was unreal, as was the views from the Sky Tower. We ended up spending bout 2 hrs in the mall before getting the bus to complete the tour. On way back towards the Grand Mosque, we passed the world famous Emirates hotel. Lucky our tour bus arrived before our Yas Island shuttle. When we arrived back on the Yas island we passed Ferrari World, on our way to the hotel precinct. We finally checked into our room, which had a view of Viceroy and the Grand Prix. Once we got settled, changed into our swimsuits and went swimming in the outdoor pools. Which has views of the nearby Yas Island Gold Plaza, Yas Water park and Abu Dhabi skyline. After this swim, we went up for quick nap, how ever due to our jet lag, was a nice sleep!

              

The following morning after a slight lie in, we were down stairs for breakfast for 8.15 am. There was a fine spread available, one could eat and eat. We got collected for our Dubai tour from our hotel at 9 am, which we had booked thanks to advice from our concierge. Worked out a lot cheaper than the alternative. Also this was a more intimate affair with only 4 passengers including ourselves.

The drive from Abu Dhabi to Dubai took approx just over an hour thanks to the main motorway connecting both cities. Only way you know you're crossing a border is the slight differences on the road such as on the Abu Dhabi side, the lamps along the stretch of road as 6 shades where on Dubai side they have only 2 and the other big difference is there are trees until you hit the Dubai side when you suddenly see the desert again. Our first port of call was on one of the Palm Island Jumeirah where various celebrities have homes such as the Beckhams, and the world famous 7 star hotel - The Altantis. From palm island, we drove to the nearby Jumeriah public beach, where we got a great of Burj Al Arab, the world tallest hotel and one of the landmark buildings of Dubai. Lucky enough despite slight haze, we got to see the developing World Island. 

 

From Jumeriah, we drove to the  Dubai Mall, which is home to over 1,200 stores, Olympic sized ice rink, waterfall feature, largest suspended aquarium and the Dubai water fountain. The fountain daily at 1 pm has a water show which is an amazing sight. Also in this location, Burj Khalifa which is the  worldest tallest building. After spending time here for lunch, we departed at bout 2.30 and travelled to the Al Fahidi Fort which been converted into the Dubai museum. Also in this area, is the Dubai grand mosque. After passing several mosques including the blue tiled Iranian and  grand mosque with the city's tallest minaret, we got an Abra, a traditional wooden transport boat used to cross the Dubai creek from the Bur Dubai side to Deira side. Deira is home to the Iranian spice and gold Souks which both are definitely worth a visit. After our visit to The souks, we got the Apra back and then began the journey back to Abu Dhabi. We were back at our hotel about 6.30, although quite a long day, it was well worth it.

After a quick rest, we got drinks by the pool bar, were we relaxed before going for a walk around Yas island. About 10.30 we checked out of the hotel and got a taxi to the airport, which had been arranged by the concerige. Taxi only took 10 mins and cost about 20 dirham which is in stark contrast to the 100 we paid when we arrived. Make sure if getting a taxi, always get the metered ones. When we got to our check in desk, we found out that our flight had been delayed. We had dinner and explored the duty free before finally boarding at approx 2 am. We were shuttle bused out to our plane which was the blue moon rising, Manchester city football club plane. The journey itself was quite pleasant, and the staff, entertainment and food were great as always. We landed just before 8 am Irish time, where we were greeted by our parents, which was quite an emotional affair. 

From Reality to Holiday and Packing Mode

Monday May 20th, +Liam got a call from the Alfred centre to cancel his OPD appointment due to a mis-communication and the fact that his colonscopy hadn't been scheduled. So we decided to go into the city and whilst over chocolate at Theobroma Chocolate started discussing our plans for our stopover in Abu Dhabi. +I went to the Alfred myself early the next morning for my final check up which included an X-ray, consultant and physio. I was told that I had no restrictions and could finally start physiotherapy. It was great to get the all clear. Both Liam and myself spent the afternoon and evening catching up on our tv shows and watching Harry Potter. It is always nice to just sit back and relax.

Majority of that week for both of us was spent working, the most unusual place that Liam worked that week was at the MCG on Friday, which is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, for the Collinwood vs Sydney Swans AFL game, in various corporate boxes. With majority of the 60,000 strong crowd Collinwood fans, Liam was telling me, when they lose, they are sore losers.
We both went into city together, whilst I was waiting for Liam to finish work, typically my own shift got cancelled, like every Saturday, however we went for dinner on Elizabeth street in a place called Coneheads, with probably the best chips we have had since been in Melbourne. Thanks again for the advice girlies. Afterwards went into the Coles next door and got some ingredients for a veggie roast for Sunday dinner.

After Liam came home from his Sunday morning shift in Mr Hive in Crown Casino, we started preparing and cooking the roast, which we both agreed was probably one of the best home cooked meals we have had since been in Australia however realised how much we both missed our parents' "Sunday" roast dinners. That evening we went for a stroll along St Kilda.

Monday morning against all better judgement, we were up early and got 2 trams towards Vermont South, near the home of Ramsay Street, the main neighbourhood in Neighbours. When we arrived we were quite lucky to see some filming. The scene in question was between Brad and Joshua Willis, the new family on the street. We were also so lucky to get a photo with the Ramsay Street sign, only thanks to the security guard on set. After a while, we headed back to the tram and got it into the city, where we went for lunch in Wagamama in South bank followed by a coffee/hot chocolate in Lindt. That afternoon we got our accommodation and tour sorted for Abu Dhabi, thanks to the Etihad Guest program. After paying rent that evening, we went for a drink in Pint on Punt followed by a takeaway pizza from My Goodness pizza around the corner.

Lucky enough, somehow I managed to meet Liam after he finished his shift on Wednesday and before I headed for mine, and he told me all about the drama involving 3 fire engines that arrived at the Institute, where he was waitering at, during a graduation ceremony. It sounded quite hilarious, that everyone carried on eating and drinking away, not caring about the fire engines or fire men.

After Liam finished work on Friday, as it was only drizzling I met him in St. Kilda. However on route it started down pouring. We managed to get our few groceries before getting the 96 tram closer to the house. However, on route, a car swerved in front of the tram. Quick thinking by the tram driver, it was only a minor accident and the only casualty was the driver's car. After this, we swapped on to our next tram, as it was still pouring, it was the Legally Blonde one, ironically, we had just been talking about, going to see it. The downpour continued throughout the night in junction with thunder and lightning, which seemed to be just above all night.

Whilst Liam was working at MEC, I noticed was browsing online, that the play Death of Peter Pan was on offer with Half tix for the final two nights. So I went in and bought two tickets for the closing night, which was the following night, as that nights performance was sold out. I also got tickets for a dinner show for Draculas Cabaret on Wednesday night. After Liam met me at Starbucks, we made our way for dinner, when we got side tracked by the Hollywood  sign at ACMI. Of course photos had to be taken. On our way to southbank, we spotted a crowd had gathered in Fed Sq, around a camp fire and didgeridoo playing. We quickly found out, it was the opening night of the Solstice celebration for the light in Winter and the helix tree. This involved, music, choir and the lighting of the helix tree. From here, we strolled along south bank to Merrywell for dinner and its Merry Hour special, a drink and burger for 15 dollars.

                 

                         
The highlight of Sunday was a late brunch followed by the play. We both agreed, that the play Death of Peter Pan was a lot more Humorous  than we expected. However, the final scene evoked the desired reaction from the audience by pulling at the heart strings. The cast and the play's production, we felt were outstanding.

As we had a Scoopon to use, we went for dinner to an Italian in South Yarra called Versachi. During dinner, which was yummy, we decided to go to the Elephant for the Neighbours Trivia Night, as we found out through facebook, we could get in for free, as we been there before and had a photo with Alan Fletcher aka Dr Karl. Like always, we had such a fun packed night, between the music, trivia and getting photos taken with Dr Karl, Liddy Kennedy and Stingray who was quite witty and cute.

Alan  Fletcher's band Waiting Room were brilliant as always. Jokingly Dr Karl gave us all his twitter name and said to tweet him if we enjoyed ourselves, if not say ye were at the Prince of Wales. Liam typically tweeted @doctorkk with a link to a Youtube video which he recorded during the band's set. The video in question was Susan's song and surprisingly enough Dr Karl actually replied.

@kickflips well done for coming to @neighboursnight and your vid of Susan song ain't 2 bad! Cheers. youtu.be/zeDoufQcM3U
— Alan Fletcher (@doctorkk) June 3, 2013

The next day, the big pack commenced and with most of it sorted, Liam decided we should go into town and go to Half Tix and get tickets Legally Blonde for that nights performance. As he owed me for the other tickets. We had great tickets in the stalls, a free drink at intermission and got to meet some of the main cast after show, who were lovely, also posing for photos and signing autographs. The show itself was exactly how  I pictured it, fabulously hilarious and pink!  

With all the packing sorted, and our last full day left in Melbourne, was time to do some last minute shopping and such before the night's festivities. I finally got my koala charm for my Pandora bracelet. We got a chance finally to go to Asian Beer Cafe and see what all the fuss was about. Was a great way to sit back and relax before Draculas Cabaret show. When we arrived a few of us were marched into this small dark room, and given a rundown of the entertainment and antics. From here, we were shown to the cocktail bar upstairs. Liam was telling his cocktail was quite strong not surprising when the barman was free pouring, the way he was. We then were hurriedly rushed onto the ghost train, which was a funny and spooky filled experience. After our departure off the train, it was a short trip down a few stairs, where we were greeted by our hosts, who seated us. The dinner and entertainment which followed were brilliant, everyone got involved , from the waitering staff to the singers on stage. To everyone in the audience surprise, a guy from Perth, proposed to his girlfriend with some help from Draculas. Lucky enough she said Yes. We both agreed, it was well worth it, and so much fun.
                              

After making sure everything was packed and sorted, we had a quick bite to eat before making the journey into the city. Lucky and by pure chance, we finally got to meet one of our cousins, who made the train from Swan Hill, which is over 4.5 hours away. It was great to finally get to meet Cathy and hear various family antidotes. But before we knew it, the time for all of us to depart came upon us. From Cathy to catch the V Line train back to Swan Hill and for us to get the Skybus to the Airport. Lucky enough, the Check in desk was open and didn't take us too long, or get thru Security and Customs. All that awaited us now was a 14 plus flight to Abu Dhabi.

Connellan Reunion 2013

                                               

Connellans originally from Lisroe, Kilmaley, Co. Clare are cordially invited for the reunion this August 14th - 15th. Everyone welcome.

So far we are expecting in excess of 60-80 people including :
Hickeys from Canada,
Keanes from Ireland, England and New Zealand,
Connellans from the UK,

Dohertys from the UK

Ruegers from New York

Murphys from Ennis, Co.Clare

Any other Connellans descended from the Connellans from Lisroe are most welcome..

There promises to be Ceol, Ól agus Craic.

Let this be a Reunion to remember. 

CÉAD MÍLE FÁILTE TO ALL THE CONNELLAN EXTENDED FAMILIES.

WELCOME HOME ONE AND ALL. 

Van Diemens Land

When we landed into Hobart International airport, we got the redline airporter bus into Hobart and to our hostel the Pickled Frog on Liverpool St. It was a quirky type of hostel, with the first thing you see, is the open fire just inside by reception. We got our keys to our 3 bed room, and luckily for us, it was only the two of us in the room for the 2 nights. We decided to go to the Shamrock for dinner which has ten dollar meals and the plates were quite full and yummy.

It was a 8 am pick up and start for our Port Arthur tour, the following morning. The first port of call was the historic village of Richmond, famed for the Richmond bridge, Australia oldest bridge still in use, constructed in 1823. Afterwards, heading down south to the Tasman Peninsula and visiting the Tasman National Park and a Waterfall Bay coastal walk with views of the rugged coastline. After here, we arrived at the Port Arthur Historic site. Our tour guide David, gave everyone on the tour, a playing card, and each card was different and corresponded to a convict. The goal was to investigate the fate of your convict, if ye made it out or not. Also included in the price was a guided introductory tour and a harbour cruise around the bay. The tour detailed the origins of Port Arthur, and its successive history and the lives of its inhabitants. After this tour, we had some free time before the cruise, to explore the grounds.

We walked from officers avenue up towards the separate prison, which entailed each prisoner been in isolation for their duration before been transferred to the Penitentiary (3-4 months on arrival or as a punishment). From here, we entered the building next door, which was the lunatic asylum, which was the only building not constructed fully using convict labour due to the aged population at the time. After exploring this building, we went on our way towards the ferry terminal for the cruise. The cruise brought us near the isle of the dead and Point Puer boys prison and to other surrounding areas. On returning from the cruise, we finished wondering through the grounds before lunch including the commandant's house, hospital, Smith O'Brien cottage an Irish political prisoner and of course the Penitentiary itself.

Once everyone boarded the bus again, we made the short trip to a local chocolate factory called Federation chocolate which was yummy. After this yummy trip, we went to visit the Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen. The arch from the right view, was quite impressive. From here it was a short journey through a small town called Doo where all the houses had something to do with Doo in the title. The funniest had to be was Doo F@*k all which was more ironic as we passed, there were 3 men sitting on a porch drinking. The whole bus were in stitches as we passed. Before heading back to Hobart, we stopped off at Pirates Bay Lookout at the coastal views and the Blowhole. We returned to Hobart about 6 pm.
                                            

After a slight lie in, we checked out and made our way to Salamanca Markets at about 10 am. The markets seems to just go on forever, we bought some delicious organic woodfired pizza and home made pumpkin soup. As it started to rain, we went in for coffee in a place called Doctor coffee, Liam said it was ironic that he had to come to Hobart for a cup of decent coffee. Once the rain ceased, we continued exploring the markets before hopping on the hopper bus, a free shuttle that runs on a loop around the city on Saturday. 

At 6 pm, we got the redline shuttle back to the airport, it was a tad disappointing that the last 2 jam packed weeks were coming to an end as we boarded the Jetstar plane back to Melbourne. As we were about to land, Liam put it perfectly, that we need a holiday to get over this trip lol.

Encounters of the Fun Kind

After arriving into Gold Coast, we caught the Gold Coast shuttle to our hotel, the Seaworld Resort. Luckily our room was ready, so were able to check in early and get settled in. We were upgraded to the Queen Superior Deluxe room instead of the normal twin superior room. After a while, we made our way into park, and got the paperwork sorted for our animal encounters, the penguins and the seals, which were to run consecutively from 2 pm. Before the first encounter, we went first to meet Dora and Liam had his picture taken with her.

The Penguin encounter experience was out of this world and utterly describable. One of the highlights was being able to play with and pat the Gentoo Penguins. Also included in the price was a photo each.

After the penguin encounter, we quickly made our way towards our 2nd animal encounter, the seal safari, which was to commence at 2.55 pm. During this encounter, we got to meet, Charlie the Australian Sea lion, Wendell the Californian Sealion and Carter the New Zealand fur seal. We got to play, feed and pat each of the seals and got a free photo momento.  

 
 During the animal encounters, Liam like the big kid that he is, had to go meet Diego and have his photo taken with him. Once we collected our photos, we got the monorail to the resort, to rest and get ready for our 6 pm pick up for the Australian Outback Spectacular, which is located between  Movieworld and Wet n Wild. There was pre-show entertainment, and the chance to meet some of the animals that perform in the show. We got seated and got our entree at approx half 7. The entree entailed of mango salad swag. There was drinks served throughout the show. The main course was served in sync with the story of the show. The main course was rib eye steak whilst Liam had a ratatouille pastry. Dessert consisted of Pavlova. We both agreed the food was scrumptious and the show itself was superb. The show told the story of how horses were of importance to the outback and of Phar Lap, the most famous Australian racehorse.

The following morning, we got up for the Dolphin Presentation, which is free to resort guests who stay 2 plus nights. The presentation was a training session with 4 different dolphins. It was a fun and informative session. After this, we made our way to the bus stop, to make our way to Movie world. To our pleasant surprise, a bus driver dropped us off to a more direct bus route free of charge. From here, the next stop was theme parks. When we made our way in to Movie World, We went to the Hollywood stunt drivers show at 11am, it was a packed house. It was a fun packed interesting show, seeing cars doing unbelievable stunts. After this show, we got to see What's up Rock, which was performed on Main Street under the big screen. Liam then got his picture taken with Austin Powers and his car.

We then went on the Scooby Doo spooky coaster, which according to Liam is my favourite ride, not!.  We managed to catch the end of the Wild West show, where we realised we didn't miss much. Liam, decided it was time for him to go on the Superman rollercoaster, his favourite by far at Movie World. We then went to see Ice Age, Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 4D in the Roxy Theatre. On the way for ice cream, we noticed Marilyn Monroe in the Movie World golden car about to start singing. The song in question was "Some like it Hot". We decided to stroll through Kids World and happened upon Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird. On our way back to Main street, I managed to get a picture and cuddle with Shaggy and Scooby Doo.

After this, we went to Ben & Jerry's. While having ice cream we spotted Dorothy in her ruby shoes, heading up Main Street, so we headed to follow her and lucky that we did, as she then performed Somewhere over the Rainbow after Batman pulled away in the Bat-mobile. Ironically enough, soon afterwards, we meet Catwoman further down Main Street. On our way to the Justice League ride, we were luckily enough to get a photo with some of the justice league, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Flash. After the ride, on our way up Main Street, we got to shake hands and photos with Batman and Marilyn Monroe.
The day seemed to fly, because before we knew it, it was time for the All Star Main Street Parade which is always full of fun and excitement.

After the parade, we got the bus back towards Southport and then walked the rest of the way to the resort, where we booked dinner and went for a swim and a dip in the spa pool. After dinner which consists of a world style buffet, we went outside to observe the Splash bash, water and light show at 8pm. The way the light show was conducted was hilarious and full of fun.

To our dismay, our seaworld adventure had to come to an end, although it ended on a high with a photo with Dora and Diego in the hotel lobby on our way to the airport shuttle. The majority of our day was spent travelling from Gold Coast to Melbourne then onto Hobart, both flights were with Virgin Australia.  

Blue Mts to Summer Bay

We arrived from Ayers Rock Connellan Airport into Sydney and caught the Air train into Central Station. Once there, we crossed the road to our accommodation, YHA Central. Which has to be noted, has been the best hostel, we have stayed at in Sydney. After we got settled and relaxed for a while, we went exploring up George's street. We ended up having dinner in Wagamama's and got a offer on dessert, 2 for 1.

Sunday Morning, it was 7.30 am start for the Blue Mountains tour, when we were collected outside our accommodation. First stop of the tour, was at the featherdale wildlife park, where we saw native Australian mammals and birds. This park is home to over 2,200 animals. We received a small cute koala souvenir. From here, Steve our tour guide, brought us to a park and showed us how to throw a boomerang.

Before lunch, we entered the National Park, and stopped off at the Wentworth Falls, which was a nice and short stroll with beautiful views. We stopped for lunch in a quaint village called Leura, which is nicknamed the garden village. From here we went the short journey towards Katoomba, which is the chief town of the city of the Blue Mountains. It's in this area, where we stopped at the echo point and saw the famous Three Sisters.

 

We all hopped back on the bus, and made the journey towards Scenic world, where we got to Scenic Skyway, Scenicsender and the Steepest Railway in the world at 52 degrees inclined. Scenic world was quite an experience, especially doing the railway in both directions. After we left Scenic world, we made the journey towards the Homebush Bay ferry terminal, stopping off at the Sydney 2000 Olympic site. We cruised down the Parramata River into Sydney harbour, where the tour finished. It was a tiring day but worth it.

8am the following morning, we got up, packed and checked-out and made the short stroll up to Railway Square, to catch the L90 bus towards Palm Beach, the spiritual and geographical location of Summer Bay. The bus journey itself, takes approx about 90 mins from Railway Square. Once we arrived, the first port of call, of course was Palm Beach, the location of some of the shows most famous storylines. From the beach, we strolled over to the surf club where the was amazing views of the beach. We decided it was time for brunch, and made our way to the Boat house, which is the location of The Pier Diner in the show. The food, drink and service were ace, although on the tad expensive side. It was nice beautiful day, so it was a pleasant to eat outside by the pier. After brunch,  we saw the location of Alf's bait shop and other locations featured in the show.
                        
Once we finally got back into Sydney, we caught the train to Mascot, and walked the short journey to our hotel, Formule 1 hotel.  The hotel was located about ten mins walk to Domestic Terminal 2. We ended up ordering pizza delivery, as it was cash only, we made the trip to the airport for ATM, however the ironic thing is, that the delivery man had arrived to our room before we had. We relaxed watching Doctor Who whilst having the takeaway.

The following morning, we got up and made the short trip to the airport and boarded our Jetstar flight to the Gold Coast, which departed at 8.55 am.

 

Rock the Centre

Tuesday May 7th, it was quite an early start, finalizing our packing and stuff before getting the airport shuttle at the end of the street. We arrived at the airport just after 7am and then we made our way thru security in domestic terminal, towards the gate. We boarded the Qantas 737-800 series plane and departed at approx 8.45 am. The flight was smooth, with on board food and entertainment. When we arrived, we got the free shuttle to our accommodation, Alice Lodge backpackers however, we got upgraded to their sister accommodation, the Alice Motor Inn. Once we got checked-in and settled, we went off exploring around Alice Springs before getting the local bus out towards Araleun Cultural Precinct. Once in the precinct, we made our way to the Aviation Museum, which is housed in the old Connellan Airways hanger. The museum is a memorial to the pioneers in aviation in Northern Territory, started by EJ Connellan. The museum was quite interesting and full of information. Right next to the museum, is the Memorial Cemetery which EJ, and members of his family are buried.

                         

 
After here, we went exploring the rest of Alice Springs, seeing sights such as the Royal Australian Flying Doctors, Olive Pink Botanic Gardens, Adelaide House - first hospital in Central Australia, and Lasseters casino where parts of Priscilla Queen of the Desert was filmed. As recommended by reception at our accommodation, the best views of the city were at sunset from ANZAC hill.
As it was a 6 am pick up for our Adventure tour of the red centre, it was an early enough night. After a few formalities at the tour office, we got on our way towards to Kings Canyon. Our first port of call was Stuart's Well, an outback camel farm, 90km south of Alice Springs. Continuing along Stuart's Highway until the interaction with Lasseter's Highway, we stopped for breakfast break at Erldunda, which is 200 km south of Alice.  After this pitstop, we continued along Lasster's Highway until we stopped for a toilet break at King's Creek Station, where there were baby camels, calves, kangaroo and horses. We finally made the remaining 50 km to Kings Canyon resort for lunch. During lunch we decided to do a helicopter flight over Kings Canyon. Before the flight, we did the creek walk around Kings Canyon.

The duration of the flight was approx 30 mins around Kings Canyon, garden of Eden, domes of the Lost City, Kings creek, Carmichael Crag, George Gill Range to Kathleen Springs over to Peterman Pound. Also during the flight, the pilot showed us where scenes from Priscilla Queen of the Desert were filmed. This flight helped me get over my fear of flying in small air crafts. After this, we meet up with rest of the tour and got some provisions for camp that night. We all bonded over Dinner and games. We slept in a swag under the stars. 

The following morning, it was a 6 am start, we all had breakfast, packed up the camp and got on our way. The first picture stop of the day was at Mount Conner, a non sacred site to the aboriginals. After this we made a quick pitstop at Curtin Springs, last port of call before we got to Ayers Rock resort. We made camp, had lunch before entering Uluru - Kata Tjuna National park. We did the base walk around Uluru, which entailed over a 8.5 km walk, encountering several sacred sites to aboriginals. After visiting the culture centre, we made our way to the sunset viewing dunes, where we can the sun set at about 6.30pm. I was informed later by a mate who works in the longitude resort, that it was the best sunset for days. For dinner we had Aussie BBQ, beef, kangaroo steak and camel sausages whereas Liam had variety of stuffed peppers and salads. After dinner, we all relaxed by a campfire, roasting marshmallows, talking. Like the previous night, we slept under the stars.
              

                   

It was a 5am start, the next morning, as we were getting ready for the sunrise, we made the short bus journey and got ready. The sunrise over Uluru was truly spectacular. From here, we made the 20 min journey to Kata Tjuna (Olgas). Where we all did the 6 km walk around Kata Tjuna which took approximately 2.5 hrs. After the walk, we went back to camp for lunch, before getting on our way. Kate our tour guide, who had been amazing and such a great laugh, dropped me and Liam off at our accommodation in Uluru, the Outback Pioneer Lodge. We spent the day resting and exploring the town centre. That night, I had an Aussie burger, which consisted of a big slab of beef, bacon and cheese, while Liam had a veggie wrap.

After a short sleep-in, we packed up and waited for the shuttle to take us to Connellan Airport, where we boarded our qantas flight to Sydney.