Around the world with 80 gadgets - Around the world with 80 gadgets

I've had worse views at lunchtime! Arriving on the east coast late in the evening, I parked near the Bay of Fires for the night.

After leaving Queenstown in the morning I had some beautiful weather as I went further north. I stopped for coffee and took my time to get to Cradle Mountain National park, one of the best-known in Tassie.

Sleeping bag: 60 AUD
1 week car rental: 230 AUD
Freedom to drive wherever and whenever you like: Priceless!

Tasmania has a sad past. It started off as a dreaded penal colony, wiped out the entire aboriginal population (due to "land disputes", which essentially meant there were already Aboriginees living on the land the white people decided to settle on, as well as the kidnapping of women) and the iconic Thylacine, the Tasman tiger.

Adelaide is a decently sized city, but nothing special (unfortunately for me, I didn't know this and had 9 days to spend here, and at times I really wished I'd decided to spend them somewhere WARM, but at this time last year it was actually 37 degrees in Adelaide - now it's between 11 and 17 most of the time).

I finally found some other people who were interested in renting a car and going to Kangaroo Island. One Dutch, whom I met at the Darwin-Alice tour, one German, whom the Dutch girl met in the train from Alice to Adelaide, and one French we picked up at the YHA noticeboard.

This headline is about a croc attack very close to the place we went to just days before.

Finally Uluru! The group had changed a little, but good company was still abundant. Everyone was excited about Uluru, and the trip began with a visit to a camel farm with plenty of wild and farm animals and a long drive.

Most of the people from the Kakadu tour were also on the tour from Darwin to Alice Springs. The new guide was a cheerful and friendly Aussie who kept us entertained in the bus with music and jokes.

I felt very lazy booking the 9 day tour, but it is lovely to have someone telling you when to eat, sleep and get up ...