Day 7 Alice Springs to Kings Creek Station Tuesday 5th September 2017:

This morning the 4 of us that chose to do the Outback Ballooning Optional woke up bright and early at 5:15am for our Outback Hot Air Balloon Trip.

This was a brand new experience for me as it was my first time experiencing Hot Air Ballooning!

We were picked up from our accommodation at 5:30 am and made our way past Alice Springs Airport, where our Outback Hot Air Balloon Trip departed from.

When we arrived our pilot gave us a safety briefing including how to enter and exit the balloon safely, before we made our way into the basket of the hot air balloon in the crisp 5-degree air.

We took off at 6 am as the sun was starting to rise which was an absolute breathtaking view from the balloon!

We then made our way towards the MacDonnell Ranges as the sun rose in the distance, while flying over the MacDonnell Ranges the sunrise bathed the whole area in an amazing red glow reflecting off the MacDonnell Ranges.

 Viewing the outback from the air is such a surreal experience, seeing the panoramic landscape from a different point of view.

The best part of seeing the outback from the air is the amazing panoramic views which makes for breathtaking photos which you are unable to take on the ground with all the bushland blocking the view.

As we flew over the outback we made our way to our landing spot and started our descent and landed in a field in front of the MacDonnell Ranges, after touching down we then helped deflate the balloon and pack it away which was such a team effort which resulted everyone being covered in red dust!

After we had packed the balloon away we were treated to an amazing champagne and fruit breakfast as we enjoyed the sun warm us up after flying in the cold outback air which was an amazing way to end such a new experience!

We also received an Official Flight Certificate so we would always have a memento of our experience Outback Ballooning!

After our hot air balloon ride had concluded we were transported to our included Aboriginal Dreamtime and Bush Tucker Tour.

We arrived at our included Bush Tucker Tour at 8:30 am for the last hour of the tour, the rest of the group had arrived at the tour after breakfast while the 4 of us were on our hot air balloon ride.

When we arrived the tour guide was serving up homemade damper cooked on the open fire!

We then learned how the Aborigines used spears and boomerangs to catch wild animals for food.

We were then offered the opportunity to put our boomerang skills into practice by throwing them at a fibreglass kangaroo about 10 metres in the distance!

After testing our boomerang skills, we were offered the opportunity to purchase some authentic aboriginal art paintings painted by the local aboriginal people who live in the local area.

After purchasing some aboriginal art, we boarded the coach at 9:30 am and made our way towards our next stop of the day.

We arrived at our next stop of the day the Welcome To Alice Springs Sign at 10 am for some photo opportunities.

After lots of great photos at the Welcome to Alice Springs Sign,we boarded the coach and had a 2-hour drive towards our lunch stop at Erldunda Roadhouse.

We arrived at Erldunda Roadhouse at 12:30 pm.

The Erldunda Roadhouse is quite a unique roadhouse featuring an Emu enclosure which was a great way for people who hadn’t seen Emu’s before to experience them face to face including taking photos with them and feeding them.

 After lunch we made our way back on the coach at 1:30 pm and drove towards Kings Creek Station.

After our 2 hour drive, we arrived at our accommodation for the night in Kings Creek Station at 3:30 pm.

The accommodation at Kings Creek Station is called a Contiki Special Stay as tonight we were sleeping under the stars in Swags!

A Swag is a traditional Australian canvas bed roll with a mattress inside. Basically, it is a large sleeping bag with a built-in mattress!

After we made our way to our camping area we hopped off the coach and collected our swag and sleeping bag.

We then set up our swags upon the grassed area of the campsite.

After setting up my swag I helped some of the others who were having difficulty setting their swags up mostly non-Australians who hadn’t seen a swag before and didn’t know how they worked.

It’s quite an amazing feeling seeing the look on your fellow traveller’s face when they experience something new for the first time!

After setting up our swags we enjoyed a cool drink in the afternoon sun before walking to the campsite restaurant where we had our included dinner at 6 pm.

After returning from our included dinner we set up a campfire to help keep warm for the night.

After lighting the fire, we sat around drinking and talking with each other about how we were enjoying the trip and all our new experiences!

During the night I got to talking to an English friend Jodie I had talked to a few times on the coach, we got to talking about all the photos I had taken and what our lives were like back home.

Meeting such amazing friends from all over the world is one the best things about travelling the world.

After heading back to the campfire everyone got to talking and to find out some more about everyone we played Never Have I Ever which resulted in quite a few embarrassing and funny results.

Having a campfire and sleeping under the stars is a very iconic Australian experience and it’s so good that Contiki offers it on Outback trips to provide a once in a lifetime experience for Australian and Non-Australian travellers alike.

Sitting around a campfire drinking and making amazing new friendships makes you realise how amazing life is!

After such an amazing night with unforgettable memories we headed to bed in our swags with an amazing full moon lighting the campsite as we fell asleep under the stars!

Safe Travels!

Campbell 🙂