The Outback...well part of it..

Ahh, so there is so much to discuss! However, I'm very busy - so this is only part of the Outback trip. Since then, I have taken sailing classes and gone to the Blue Mountains.

I’ll warn you now, it is going to be long. The cliff notes version: my Easter Break trip to the Outback was nothing short of amazing.

Saturday, March 15th

Sarah and I went on a walk that we found in her guidebook. It took about 3 hours. We walked from Shark Beach to Watson Bay. The beach is surrounded by shark nets (perhaps, how it got its name, though I don’t know if the waters are particularly infested with sharks around the area). It was a really nice area. The water was really calm, unlike Coogee. We swam for a bit, took photos, and had lunch before commencing the walk. The walk too us through a really wealthy area of Sydney – the houses were gorgeous. Another highlight was the South head of the harbor (and of course, we took a thousand photos).

Thursday, March 20th

Good thing I have a roommate or I would have slept through all three alarms I set! I got a bit of a late start, but so did Becca (my friend at Sydney Uni who also went on the trip) – so it evened out. We met in the middle of campus and hailed a cab to the airport, as it was cheaper to split a cab than to take public transportation and it was a much shorter journey. We got to the airport early and breezed through security (the only thing they do remotely similar to the US is you have to take your laptop out of its case. Other than that it is pretty much like US security pre-9/11). We walked around the airport before making our way to the gate. At the gate, we met Jeff. Jeff, is another study abroad/Sydney Uni kid that went on the trip

I slept through the majority of the flight. Only to wake up as we were descending into Alice Springs. After gathering our belonging and we grabbed a taxi (again, cheaper to split three ways than to each pay for the shuttle). Our cab ride was nothing short of the perfect introduction to the Outback. The driver was definitely from the “bush” and half deaf. Of course, there was also country music on the radio. Really, what could be better or more appropriate?

We stayed at the YHA Hostel. First experience in such accommodations, and it really was not too bad. Luckily, we were with all Arcadia people. We were the first to arrive as I think the others on our flight (who we didn’t know at the time) took the shuttle. Being that no one was around, we dropped our bags and started to explore Alice Springs. Now, Alice Springs, really not that big, but somehow we managed to entertain ourselves for a few hours. We went into the majority of the shops and even took a didgeridoo lesson! I sucked at it, I couldn’t even get it to make the proper sound. But, Becca and Jeff weren’t so bad.

When we were back to the YHA we ran into the Arcadia staff and caught up with the rest of the group. First impressions were good (and this held true for the whole trip, everyone was really cool and nice).

Later in the evening, there was a group meeting. While we were in our meeting (which was in a public space/park area) there were these Aboriginal children (around 11 or 12) “playing.” There were throwing rocks and glass bottles at each other, and got terribly close to us while doing so. Additionally, some of them would just wonder in our circle and sit down and then run around us. I must say the glass throwing was only abut 5 feet away from me, and I was not a fan of it. It didn’t really help that their English is poor, so when were like “hey, why don’t you guys stop, we’ll be out of here in 15 minutes,” they did not really comprehend.

After the meeting, Jeff, Becca, and Lindsay (a new friend from the University of New South Wales) headed to a pizza place and got something to go. We then watched this documentary in the park about “the last great cattle drive.” It was ridiculous, but all in all a good night. After more walking around Alice Springs (by places we had been pass 10 times by this point), we went back to the hostel and got ready for bed and our big day on Friday.

Friday, March 21st

Today, started bright and early at 6:30 AM. We packed up the troopies and headed out of Alice around 9 AM. The first stop was actually just outside of Alice – the Alice Springs Desert Park. Here were watched a Birds of Prey show, say kangaroos, listened to a presentation on the Aboriginal people.

We left the park at noon. Almost immediately after leaving, we started smelling burnt rubber in our troopie (which was quite spacious at the time because only 6 people were in it and it was made for 11, though the other troopies were fuller). Yet, no in our troopie could figure out the source of the smell, until we saw the smoke coming from the troopie’s trailer (where all the food was). The tire ended up blowing out on the trailer. This meant everyone in that troopie had to divide themselves among the other two, and one of the leaders took the trailer back to Thifty while we went onto our next stop.

The next stop was Stanley Chasm. We had lunch here and took a short walk to the chasm, which was gorgeous! Cam had great timing, arriving at the parking lot just as we got back from our walk. Unfortunately, he had no trailer. There was a bolt cutting into the tire – he actually blew another tire on the way back to the rental company. Being that it was Easter weekend, there was no one to fix it. So, all the food went in that troopie, meaning the other two troopies were packed to capacity with campers.

The final stop for the night was Wallace Rock Hole, which was on Aboriginal land. Here we unloaded the troopies, pitched our tents. We had a bush dinner – kangaroo, rabbit, baked potatoes, corn, and damper. We saw the kangaroo and rabbit get prepared as they still had their fur on when we arrived. I wouldn’t eat the rabbit again, but kangaroo is delicious! Luckily, tonight we had full amenities – bathrooms, sinks, laundry, and showers! We all took advantage because this would be the last day we had showers for a few days.

Saturday, March 22nd

Today started at 6:30 Am with breakfast. Then, we packed up camp and got into the troopies and headed to Wallace Rock Hole where Dorren, an Aboriginal women gave us a tour. We looked at rock art that is thousands of years old. She also discussed the Aboriginal community in the area – in total only 60 people live there.

After the tour, we received word that we were not getting a trailer for the food. And, we would have to make due be super close to each other in the two troopies. The troopie ride to our next location was quite fun. We told jokes and stories over the CB radio…it was quite hilarious.

The next stop was Ellery Creek Big Hole. Here, we ate lunch, then had a swim. The water was quite deep and cold. After a while though, you adjusted to the water. But, the sand was incredibly HOT. You literally had to run across it. There was also a man playing the didgeridoo, which was lovely and added to the “Australia-ness” of the experience.

After swimming, we set up camp. For dinner we broke into smaller groups to cook. I was with Jeff and Ramon. We made a chicken stir fry in a trangia, which is a pot-like/stove-like thing.

After dinner, we washed everything up and then went down to the beach area. We listened to nature, had question of the day (basically, it was a sentence that everyone had to finish), and listened to the man play the didgeridoo again.

Sunday, March 23rd

Another early start at 6:30 AM with breakfast and packing up camp. Next up was an “easy” hike. To me easy meant a straight, flat path that my grandma could do, clearly that was not Lydon’s (our leader) definition. It was a steep and rocky walk, but the at the top it was beautiful.

Around 10:30 we pulled out of Ellery and pulled off and did a random walk. This one was much steeper and it was a challenge. There were this anthill we had to walk across, and the ants attacked your feet. I definitely got a few bites, and they were not pleasant.

The next stop was some orca pits. Not too exciting. The 3rd stop was Glenn Helen Homestead – civilization! We had lunch, got to go swimming, and was able to buy snacks at the shop.

The campsite was 5 minutes away – it was by the oldest river (now dry) in Australia, Finky River. While looking for a site, we saw a wild bull. We later chased that bull away and made camp where he was. The campsite was on beachy, white sand. It was really nice. Tonight, we did dinner in small groups again – I was with Jeff and Ramon again.

The flies tonight were soo bad. Seriously, it was not uncommon to have 50 flies on your back. This sounds gross, but better to have them on your back than in your face. This night, I greatly regretted making fun of Sarah for purchasing a fly net in Sydney. They look ridiculous, but are very effective. I was also upset at myself because I had an opportunity to buy one at Glenn Helen – but didn’t.

We had the question of the day again, this was a nightly occurrence. We also told ghost stories and random stories, and all in all it was an excellent night.

However, later the time came to use the bathroom. And, yes we were in the middle of the desert. The bathroom consisted of a hole in the ground. Not the highlight of the trip for me.