Stingrays successfully avoided

In fact, no sign of any rays at all on my snorkelling trip at the Great Barrier Reef today. Saw a lot of strange & colourful fish, and a lot of coral but nothing on the long list of scary biting or stinging creatures which inhabit this island and the waters around it. I'm mildly disappointed - but it's easy to feel like that now. Now that I'm back on steady, solid ground. I suspect I'd have had some sort of snorkel/sea water swallowing disaster had I actually encountered any of those beasts.

I'm staying up in the Cairns area for a few days - a trip to Cape Tribulation tomorrow to see the rainforest etc. - before I start to make my way down the coast (a few very long coach journeys coming up - as I'm staying in hostels at the moment I thought I'd immerse myself in the backpacker experience!).

Uluru was fascinating. Red desert, red rocks and red hot heat. Apparently it was around 40 degrees when my tour group to Kata Tjuta (previously known as the Olgas) decided to go for a walk through the Valley of the Winds. Possibly one of the most uncomfortable experiences I've ever had - but I did it - and the sunset over those gravelly sandstone mounds was pretty spectacular.

Sunset over Uluru the following day was equally spectacular, but for different reasons. I was standing at the furthest point from the bus that I could be at that time (trying to get the great photos of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta that the viewpoint promised) when an almighty hailstorm let loose. I got soaked to the bone. To be fair - we had seen this storm making its way over the desert- it's just one of the most unlikely sights I've ever seen (especially the rainbow over Uluru) - and really didn't expect it to last for as long as it did! I have some video footage, and a few photos (of probably very dubious quality) but I won't be able to get them online for a few days.

Yulara was not so fascinating - it's the purpose built resort just outside the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which anyone who doesn't want to stay at Alice Springs is pretty much forced to stay at. One company owns the whole resort and provides differing grades of accommodation and food establishments at slightly differing prices (expensive to ridiculously expensive). Once I'd seen the two major rock formations & spent some time at the very interesting Cultural Centre (run by - and about - the local Anangu people), I was pleased to be getting away . Cairns is incredibly cheap and cheerful (a little bit Blackpool-esque) - and exactly what my bank account needs at this stage of the trip!