the Outback

The first thing to keep in mind when traveling in aboriginal lands in that nearly everything is sacred. During my time at Uluru, I had to hear this word over a hundred times. Uluru and the surrounding area are known as the red centre. That’s because the sands and stones are literally RED! It’s really beautiful. We were fortunate to see the colour green, which is rare because it is a desert. April is about the ending of Wet season and the beginning of dry season. The weather was pretty much great the entire trip because the forecast was rain rain rain. I am glad weathermen are wrong here too.



The night before we departed to the desert outback, I was booked in at the “Haven” hostel resort. It was much nicer than the place in Darwin, but I didn’t get a fridge and television after my trip from the desert outback. We had another early start to the day around 6am again. We met our guide Miles , who looked younger then he really was because he had a big black beard. Miles took us to the “Adventure Tours” station to make sure we all paid and got all the food and sleeping bags for the trip. I learned from the road trip down from Darwin to Alice Springs that I torch (aka flashlight) was a good investment for the nighttime. We had a bit of a drive Jsmuni (pronounced “SSHH-moon-e”) and I grabbed the back of bus, which was nice cause we didn’t have to sit next to anyone so we were able to stretch a bit more. Our first stop was a Camel farm. So what did you think I did???? No, I did not eat camel this. I rode them instead. Camels are pretty fun to ride. Their “yelp” is amusing as well. It felt pretty cool being high on top a camel hump and it only cost a few bucks. At the little barn café in the farm, I got the best chocolate chip biscuit (aka cookie). It was worth every 5 cent! I would say “every penny,” but pennies don’t exist in this country. After a couple hours we had another stop at “Elmunda.” It was just a Shell gas station, nothing special. However, our next stop was camp! We got there and did a quick sandwich lunch. I feel like every time we had a meal, I got stuck with washing the lettuce. That’s okay though as long as I did not have to do dishes. I hate doing dishes! Mostly because I feel like I am the only one who does them in the room sometimes HA HA. However, they all do dishes somewhat.



Anyway, after lunch we hit Kata Juta. This site was so scared to the Aboriginal people that no one knows why it’s so scared. I laughed when I was told that. I was really ready for a good story. However, the hike through the rocky area was pretty nice. It was a pretty cool day, but the flies were still out. Now, the Outback flies are the worse kind of flies. They literally attempt to go into the sides of your eye lid. No JOKE! They were annoying, but a pair of sunglasses fixed that problem till nightfall. I was also happy to test out my new hiking shoes. They are the comfiest shoes I think I ever had. Worth every penny! I can say that cause my mom got me them in the US.




The night ended by a loving sunset over Ayers Rock.



That night I feasted on some camel sausage and kangaroo steak that Miles made. It was awesome! Camel is alright in sausage form. This was the first night I got to sleep in my “swag” and it was not going to be the last. A swag is this big burly sleeping bag. Think of taking a small mattress and covering it over, that is what a swag felt like It was the best I slept the entire trip thus far because I was so warm. Not to mention I got to sleep under the endless amounts of stars.



The next morning was an early start. The campgrounds are a huge bathroom area, which was clean and warm with almost no bugs! It was a nice change for once. I had my typically peanut butter, nutella sandwich. Nutella is a chocolate spread for those who don’t know. Soon we were off to catch the sunrise at Ayers Rock. It was a cold morning, but soon heated up.



Miles took us up to the base of the rock. He began telling us stories about the rock. Most were about the geography of the rock, and not too much about the Aboriginals that view the rock as a scared site. The thing with Aboriginals is that their stories are very secret. Very few outsiders know the stories about Ayer’s Rock and for those who do know only know parts of the stories. Interestingly, each tribe holds parts of a story so you’d have to visit them all throughout Australia, gain their trust and respect, to even be considered to be told the story.



Ayer’s Rock was more impressive then I thought it be. It was HUGE! It took a 3 hour walk just to circle around the rock once. Areas of the rock were considered scared so you could not take pictures. As I mentioned before, I do not know why they are scared, but they are.



I ended that afternoon with a climb up the rock. I did not make it far due to time constraints plus I was super tired! It is a difficult and steep climb. Our next stop was camp for the night near our last stop of the tour “Kings Canyon.” However, before we got there we stopped for milkshakes. Now, when Australians say something they literally mean what they say. For example, the “Harbour Bridge” and “Sydney Opera House.” Very creative names, right? Well, a milkshake in Australia is literally milk with a scoop of ice cream. It’s a disappointment, I KNOW! They remind me more of root beer float just with milk instead of the root beer.



At our new campsite for the night, we had a campfire. It was a lot of fun roasting marshmallows with my new friend from Perth, Renae. She is a pretty funny and cute Australian. I enjoyed her random humour throughout the trip. After making a few jokes about how Dan, this mate from England, has the most pale white skin in the Outback, it was time for bed.



Again it was an early start to the day. This was probably my favorite hike. Kings Canyon was beautiful. It was a prefect place with perfect weather to do an amazing hike. Being tired from the day before, Tom and Catrina the couple from the UK, asked me to improv tour as we hiked up the canyon so we would get distracted from how swore our legs were. Needless to say, I was funny and I really miss improv. Anyway, the canyon was great. The rock was all sandstone. You could literally take two rocks, rub them together and create piles of sand. Miles talked about the local vegetation and wildlife. Ask me how Aboriginals kill, eat, and utilize kangaroo when I get back. It’s pretty cool and disgusting. The canyon was additional huge. It is scary getting close to the edge.



This tour we ended up back in Alice Springs, where I had a free day to do some more touring around the area. So of course, I went out.