Like a caterpillar in the outback

Sleeping in the Australian outback may sound romantic, exciting and adventurous to most people. For me it was as attractive as spending the night on a plank full of needles. I have never been a enthusiastic camper, I always prefered to have four walls around me at night. But once you are in Australia for a year, you get used to experience new things. Like feeding crocodiles and being in the ocean next to a barracuda. Now it was the time to sleep outside in a swag – in the country with the most toxic snakes, spiders and lots of other critter. Jippie! After watching a beautfil sunset at Urluru, eating camel burger and sitting at the camp fire, it was time to get in our swags. A swag is kind of a big sleeping bag with a harder material which should protect you from the cold. Good idea, but it doesn´t work if it´s minus 3 degrees Celsius and the swag seems to be as old as Urluru. When I closed the hook-and-loop fastener at the header, I felt like a caterpillar right before the eclosion or like being in a body bag. Surprisingly, lying there with leggings, pants, socks, shoes, T-Shirt, pullover and a jacket in the sleeping back in the swag wasn´t warm at all. Even though I was wearing clothes like I´m off to a polar expedition, I was freezing and shivering like a Californian in Antarctica. Unfortunately I couldn´t find my spectacle case in the dark so that I had to hold my glasses in my hands the whole night. Totally relaxing. Suddenly I felt the need to use the restroom. Perfect! Our guide James warned us not leave the swag because something can crawl in. So this wasn´t an option. Moreover I forgot to take my mobile phone with me so that I didn´t know what time it was. So I lay there shivering with the glasses in my hand and got claustrophobic when I closed the swag above my head. Once I opened it a bit to see the stars, ice-cold air got in. Next to me, a Spanish and a Finnish guy were snorring. Everyone seemed to sleep like a baby, but I just hoped that this night would be over soon. The only good thing really was that I seemed to be too cold for any critter. I was so relieved when I heard James saying: „Waki, waki“ at 5am. Then the sunrays inched it´s ways forward over the wide country. The colour of the sky was wonderful. No cars, houses or humans – only Uluru rose from the flat land. Somebody played a song from „The Lion King“ on his cell phone. This sunrise at Uluru totally compensated for this unforgettable night in the cold.