“Ayers Rock next stop!” shouted the driver. The message was relayed from passenger to passenger along the length of the 224 bus until it reached our gang on the back seat of the single decker. Our leader JS doubted this news. How could Ayers Rock be found on the outskirts of Stockton-on-Tees somewhere just off Darlington Road?

Despite our doubts we all piled off the bus. Our group comprised me, TPR, my sister J, JS and RR plus their two children A and J, CP and DA, N and SY. How astonishing that in the distance we could just about make out the Australian landmark sitting on the border of County Durham and North Yorkshire!

However, this was nothing compared to what we saw when we stepped into the narrow country lane that led to the rock. Grazing along the hedgerows were a dozen or so animals that from a distance looked just like cattle. However, close up it was obvious that these creatures were the result of some ambitious genetic experimentation. Amongst the cross-breeds was an elephant-horse and a pig-cow. Some of the creatures that were quietly working their way along the spring foliage resembled prehistoric versions of their modern selves. My favourite was the black-haired short-snouted cow that looked like a throw-back to a dinosaur ancestor that it most likely shared with the modern rhinoceros.