Uluru (Ayers Rock) - Australia. September 2006

As breathtaking as it's size is the detail of Uluru. The postcard pictures everyone is so familiar with only tell half the story of 'the rock'. The different textures, varied colours, hidden waterholes, ancient drawings, cracks and holes make the hours of desert driving worthwhile. The only downside to the day was the batteries of my camera giving up after 18 months of service. Typical.

Coober Pedy - Australia. September 2006

Coober Pedy is an opal-mining town straight out of the 18th century wild west. A place where fortunes are hunted and (usually) lost, where suspicion overrides any concept of 'love thy neighbour' and where huge, duck taped and soldered mechanical monstrosities dominate the surround mineshaft littered countryside. The temperature bakes, the dust blown up from underground exploration chokes and the local dialect simply confuses. Spending every daylight hour underground has clearly taken it's toll on the local psyche, stories of stolen horses, stolen riches and planted waste are commonplace. Possibly the only new development in recent memory has been that of a bomb proof Police Station, owing to the fact that the last three were blown up! Fascinating place.

The Outback - Australia. September 2006

The horizon became a familiar site in the outback with no hills or bends to obscure it from us. Driving at dusk was a cautious affair, kangaroos tend to be more active this time of day so one eye was always on the side of the road, making sure one wasn't about to jump out and write off the car, there were plenty of fresh carcasses to demonstrate how often this happened. This was made especially tricky on route to Cober Pedy as we found ourselves driving west into the setting sun, this meant we could scarcely see the road, let alone any wildlife, luckily oncoming traffic wasn't an issue. The rough, corrugated road surface virtually cancelled out any sound other than the deafening rumbling of the car.

Flinders Ranges National Park - Australia. September 2006

First time we saw wild Kangaroos in abundance was during a walk though the Flinders Ranges National Park. We later found ourselves lost in pitch darkness after attempting a 4 hour walk in 2 hours. We managed to find our way in and out of a valley, half way up a mountain (where we saw the car lights before our touch packed up) and then ended up on the wrong side of steep, water filled canyon - all in pitch darkness. It was decided the only way to get back was to shimmy down the rocky slope and hope we could climb the other side to where we could walk to the camp. I remember thinking later that night in the tent as the wind got up how lucky we were to get back - next time we took the bush walks a bit more seriously.

Salt Lake, Stuart Highway - Australia. September 2006

We found this huge salt lake along the Stuart Highway, just north of Adelaide. At first we didn't know what we were looking at as there were no signs or indications to suggest it was anything out of the ordinary. It was only when we got down close enough that we realised it was a salt lake. The change in colour change is caused by the amount of water on top of the salt - where it's white the water has completely dried off, the thin line of blue is where the ‘shore’ starts then it turns a darker shade of purple as the water gets deeper.

Barossa Valley - Australia. September 2006

First stop on the Barossa Valley Wine Tour was at the Jacobs Creek Vineyard. Wine tasting at 10:30am proves to be a fine way to overcome any hangover.

12 Apostles - Australia. September 2006

The 12 Apostles, along the Great Ocean Road, between Melbourne and Adelaide.