Hey everybody, it’s Annie and Blair from ALICE SPRINGS! We just finished up our week long bus tour with Groovy Grape through the Australian Outback! Last Monday our tour guide, Steve, picked us up at 6:45 AM from the YHA. We had a long day on the bus and visited a cave with Aboriginal art inside. That night we stayed in Angorichina Village in the Flinders Ranges, a location soliders of World War I were sent to to become more ‘sane’ before returning to society. Steve later told us one of the girls’ rooms is said to be haunted by a soldier who committed suicide in the village. Monday we visited a ghost town that had been abandoned due to poor farming conditions. We also experienced RAIN in the desert for the first time! We stayed at a place called William’s Creek where we all slept in our swags around a campfire under the stars. Tuesday we made it to Cooper Pedy, the Opal Capital of the World. We slept in caves and went on an opal tour as well. Wednesday we arrived in Yulara and watched the sunset behind the Uluru Rock. As soon as we got off the bus, Connie saw his older sister walking along and had the chance to reunite with her for a little while which was really exciting! What a small world… Steve started up the music on the way back to our camp site and we had a bus dance party to end the night. Although Steve was doing all the driving this week, everytime we stopped he would tell us “Super piece of work guys!” It was a lot of fun to have such an energetic tour guide all week. We’ve been on three hikes this week, one of them being around Uluru rock, where we had the chance to see the sacred side the Aboriginals cherish. Today we went on a hike along Kings Canyon with more beautiful views to see and a waterhole to swim in. We just arrived in Alice Springs and are looking forward to a group dinner tonight. We miss and love you all back home and we will see you soon!
Peace and Love,
Blair and Annie <3 <3