Lanky’s blog

I left Alice at 11am (had a nice lie in, little did I know it would be my last for a few days). We stopped off at a camel farm and I got the opportunity of riding a camel. It was very bumpy!! The temp for the trip was hitting 40 most days. There was a barometer in the one of the petrol stations in the shade and it registered 30 degrees! We stopped a bit later to gather wood in the outback. I cut my leg in the process but it wasn’t that bad at all. Saw a little lizard who ran away when I walked past. Before we reached camp we saw wild camels and a wild dingo. The dingo was too near the camp for my liking. We set up camp around 7pm ish. The lads made the fire while the girls prepared the food (not stereotypical at all). We cooked the dinner on the camp fire and had this amazing chicken tomato stew type dish with the nicest mash spuds I have ever tasted (no I am not gone senile with the heat it really was). When it came to bed time we were given two options, sleep in a swag or sleep in a permanent tent. I took the wuss option and chose the tent. Most of the group chose the swags though. I was too afraid to wake up with a dingo licking my face. I did wake twice to them barking and howling which made me happier for choosing the tent even if it was like sleeping in a sauna.

We were woken the next day at 5am yes 5am. It was still dark. We had a very quick breakfast and headed to Kings Canyon to do the rim walk. It was tough enough 6.5 km and it was very hot too. We all felt like mountain goats. When we were finished we asked the guide for the time. It was 9.30am. None of us could believe it was still so early it felt like afternoon. Due to the heat we all had to carry and drink at least 1.5 litres of water. We were provided water from the camps. The water in Kings Canyon was disgusting but we had no choice but to drink it. It tasted like TCP. I was a tough call at the time to either drink the water or let myself dehydrate. On the way back we stopped at a petrol station and I got myself a can of coke and it was the nicest tasting can of coke ever. Next was a 4 hour drive to Uluru and the Olgas. We did a short 1.5 hour walk of the Olgas and back to Uluru to view the sunset. We drank sparkling wine (from plastic camping cups) and had crackers and dips like the posh smelly dirty backpackers that we were :). After a BBQ dinner back at camp I went straight to bed. I decided to brave the night in a swag as there was no dingos in the area. (A swag is like a large sleeping bag with a small mattress inside, you get inside the swag with your sleeping bag and zip them both up and fall asleep on the ground looking at the stars. The stars are amazing in the outback, there are so many, the sky is so clear.

 Next morning was a 4.30am start yes 4.30am. I went to the showers and there was the biggest grasshopper ever in the shower. It was 4 inches long. yuck. We caught sunrise at Uluru and then did the base walk (9.6km). I thought I wouldn’t be impressed with Uluru after all it is just a rock but it really is amazing. There are lots of cultural stories about it and it really is amazing. I’m finding it hard to describe how impressive it really is. It is the most impressive rock I have ever seen After lunch at the campsite it was a 5 hour drive back to the dump that is Alice Springs

Flies: There are about 60 billion flies in the outback. The feckers work as teams to bring you down. One goes in your ear while the others go for your eyes and mouth. One went in my mouth when I did the Olgas walk. I didn’t swallow it thank God. I won’t miss them at all.