April 29-30, 2013
Aussies are some of the most open-minded, easy going people on the planet. It's just their nature to go with the flow and I'm loving it. I think I've heard "No worries, mate!" a hundred times since I've been here. It's a "we'll get there when we get there" type thinking and its been great to be able to take in the full experience and not stress about getting from point A to point B. i think this helps them have good relations with most everyone in the world. So of course I'm taking in as much as possible and enjoying every bit. However, I have learned that Aussies aren't constantly waving at you to say hello; they're actually swatting away flies. I've never seen so many in my life, so I, too, take part in the "Aussi Wave."
I do think I've got the easy going deal down pretty well in most situations, but I'm going to go back to trying to be more open-minded. Staying in a hostel with a lot of strangers was a start, same with learning more about Aussi and European culture. It's difficult, however, to be open-minded and understanding to a culture of people who complain about being victimized, but who also won't accept help from "outsiders." We see that in America everyday and it just gets so old. Plus, as my roommates could surely bet, I was ready to fix their situation in the snap of a finger. I'd have a meeting that covered basic financial planning, education, and alcoholism. We did hear that the brokenness is mainly seen in Alice Springs, though, so we saw the worst of it first.
So beyond that, I'm going with an open mind about the different ways of life around here, and there is surely a variety. However, I do have a fun fact: there are .02 people per square kilometer out here! If you didn't believe me about being in the middle of nowhere, you should now. You can look west for miles and miles with no life in sight, same towards the east. I don't know how the discoverers journeyed through these parts without really knowing where they were going.
I heard "waky waky!" at 5AM. Again, its a little difficult to get up and get everything together with a flashlight/headlamp or "torch" as they call it. I made my toast and Nutella for breakfast, repacked my backpack, rolled up my swag and we were out of there by 6AM before the sunrise. The constellations had moved about 145 degrees across the sky and were still beautifully shining down on us. We learned about the Southern Cross, which is the kite shaped emblem that is placed on the Aussi flag, that helps you find your way South. We made it out before sunrise to go hike King's Canyon. Belle kept saying it was going to be better than Uluru. I can't say it was "better" but it was different. There were more views and we got a more hands-on experience. We got to hike the top of it and go down through the bottom where there were trees..rare.
The very beginning of the hike is straight up, but after conquering the first part the views were so worth it. We took so many pictures and walked the top around the whole canyon. It was beyond cool. You could see for miles, and again I just felt so small against this massive rock!
Our group got pretty close over the three day tour and I'm hoping they will keep in touch. It would be fun to have some more international travel buds. They said I was welcome to stay with them in Germany, Holland, and Nova Scotia. I may have to take them up on that, as I do hope they will come to America as well! So when Vera (Dutch), Michelle (AUS) and I had to say good bye and travel on with the continued trip headed toward Adelaide, we were all sad to leave.
Belle dropped us off in Erldunda, a campground out In the middle of nowhere, south of Alice Springs. We somewhat wearily met our new guide, anxious to see how we would fit into the new group. I was glad there were three of us though! Well, we met Squatter our guide for the next five or some days and... We're the only ones in the group! Kind of weird to be so small, but also exciting because we'll get to see/do more! The first leg of this tour was run by Adventure Tours, and now we've switched over to Top Deck. We'll be sleeping indoors at nicer places, and im not totally against that. I'm exhausted! We spent the day at the Erldunda roadhouse and checked out the pool that was freezing, did some laundry, etc.
Laundry is four dollars to run the washer, and we all went in together. We brought our wet clothes to lay out on the table. It took less than the afternoon to dry up because the water evaporates so quickly!
Packing tip: I would recommend bringing saline spray. It's ridiculously dry! Pretty dang hot! And gets pretty dern chilly at night. So, packing right has been working out so far in the Outback. I've had more than enough clothes so far. I have a feeling it'll be a little different on the East Coast.
April 30..( pics to come)
We got to sleep in! Yes, I'm calling 6:30 am a sleep in now. Still dark, it was difficult to get up, gather my belongings by "torch," and grab "brekky" to be on the bis by 7am. Luckily, Squatter likes to stop for coffee where I can also get some caffeine. My poison of choice is Coca-Cola, and its just about the same tasting over here, however $4AUD (Aussi Dollar) is a bit expensive for a CAN!
Squatter, by the way, is a nickname. He's been working for Top Deck for six years now and is an amazing guide. We're pretty sure he's kind of a big deal around AUS and Top Deck. He's in his forties, and is clearly passionate about what he does. He does have a family, but is on the road for tours a lot of the time. He seems to know just about everything, and is also educated in international affairs. He was in the army at one point as well. I feel like he has done all the trips so many times that he's been able to fine tune his tours to make them even better. The first night we all got into a deep conversation via politics. Can you imagine a civil debate? Why yes, we did it. We talked about gay marriage, gun control, economy, and Australian governmental affairs.
We all had the same opinion about Obama, and I'm leaving it at that.
What a way to get close as a group haha. Squatter left nothing to question and got to know us all pretty well even by the first night!
Our journey was to Coober Pedy(pronounced "peedy"), which is a small town in the Outback off of Stuart Highway known for Opal mining. On our way, we stopped at the border for a picture. We were crossing from the Northern Territory into Southern Australia!
From there, we went out to to see a dog fence. I'm not kidding. The Australians have built the longest fence in the world. It was to keep the dingoes out of Western Australia since they seemed to be migrating that way. They had gotten dangerous amongst the communities and "The dingo and my baby" story was a major reality. The fence helped in stopping that tragedy in the rest of the country.
We went to see the Breakaways. These were natural mountains (hills) formed in the desert, and some of them were used within the local aboriginal dream stories. A dream story is their beliefs in creationism. Forget Darwin's theory or Big Bang, it's all about people coming out of the earth, turning into stars, and turning into other spiritual animals. Each tribe has their own story.
From there we rode into town to check into the underground hotel. You heard right, I slept in an opal mine!! It was so neat, pitch black, cool, and quiet. We had a ton of beds to choose from and lots of space. On the mine tour, we learned the cave housing was very popular in town, as it let people get away from the heat. It also was essential because when their town was developing, they had run out of building materials. Clever thinking ! The mine tour was really interesting, I really just can't believe that there were so many people to come out and try their luck.. Especially after we also went "noodling," to see what it was all about. We went to some of the sand hills to picks at the dirt in hopes of hitting it big with the opals. I had to hit it big at the jewelry store instead.
We saw an underground Serbian church, and then we headed to the kangaroo orphanage, run by a man named Terry and his wife, Josephine. The Roos were so cute as we fed them and played a little with them. Petting them was good enough for me, then Terry brought out the Joey (baby kangaroo) and the cute war was over, this one took the cake.
We hit up the famous John's Pizza Bar for dinner an then checked out an underground bar in another hotel. There was a NASCAR racing game in the game room.. I just can't get away! Anyways, we said cheers to the new Dutch king who Vera was really excited about and then hit the hay. Such party animals, we are!
I'd rather spend my $10AUD per drink on souvenirs or extra experiences along the way. Not many people have been drinking since it's so freaking expensive, but I'm not complaining. It's actually kind of nice. I sleep lager and there's no drama and save money. Win-win!
and PS. I still wake up every morning needing to pinch myself because I keep wondering.. "is this real life?!"
