Up early once again, we took an isolated track through the world's largest cattle station (Anna Creek), then headed for the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy.
Along the way we stopped at Lake Cadibirrawarracanna (Shimmering Light), which is the longest name in Australia. We proceeded on to see the "dog fence" a fence of hundreds of kilometers built to keep dogs away from the livestock of ranchers.We took an underground tour to learn about the history of Coober Pedy and its opal. Then we spent some free time exploring the town and even looking for opals ourselves.
That night we sleep like the locals, underground. That was pretty cool...literally...the surface temperature was over 42C and the house temperature stays at a pretty steady 21-23C no matter how hot it gets outside, hence most houses are underground. Technically they are underground, but are more like caves dug out of the side of the hills. We played the name game for a couple of hours as we consumed "beverages".
The fourth day was a big day driving up the Stuart Highway with several pitstops en route. Our goal for the day is Uluru (Ayers Rock). We set up camp at Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort), for nights four and five before watching the sunset over Uluru taking time to absorb the beauty and majesty of this place.

We were up for a sunrise breakfast at Uluru, followed by a walk around the base, an approximate 10km walk around Ayers Rock in 38 degree heat. It actually went pretty good...lots of water consumed! We also heard about Tjukurpa (creation/law) leading you to an understanding of the cultural landscape. Time was available for those wishing to climb before visiting the Cultural Centre and then heading back to the camp for lunch and a relaxing afternoon.

On the sixth day we spent the morning at Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), hiking the magnificent Valley of the Winds followed by lunch and an afternoon drive to Watarrka (Kings Canyon). We did our camping at Kings Creek cattle station.

On day seven, the final day, we spent the morning at beautiful Watarrka, through the sandstone domes and down into the Garden of Eden. We then cooled off in the waterhole before returning to camp for a feed. Then it's on to our final destination Alice Springs. Approximate arrival time 6.30 PM.
We all got together for one last night of beverages and goodbyes. I made 16 friends along the way, as well as meeting my future boss Minjeong! I can't wait to visit South Korea!