Hello All!
Just finished up an amazing 5 days in the Outback. We arrived in Alice Springs on Easter Sunday (Happy Easter Everyone!) and the next morning were picked up by our guide Tam, and her trusty steed Nelson (aka her truck), which was basically a small army tank. Greeted by the energetic and all smiling Tam we climbed into Nelson and started on our journey. After stopping to grab some fire wood for the campfire we arrived at our first destination, a beautiful swimming hole between two giant red cliffs. Cameron and Hannah jumped right into the freezing cold water while the rest of us just admired the beautiful scenery. Shortly after that we took a short hike to the top of a cliff overlooking the outback then later went to yet another swimming hole (who knew there would be so much water in the outback?) and most of us jumped in and swam for a while until we picked up and headed to our first campsite. We celebrated Annie’s 19th birthday with a delicious cake underneath the stars, a great way to close off a wonderful first day and a celebratory birthday for Annie, before climbing into our ‘swags’ (basically sleeping pads but 100 times better) and heading off to sleep. The next day we got to sleep in until 6:15 and were awoken by Tam’s lovely music selection. After a great first breakfast cooked over the campfire we packed up all our gear and headed out. The next few days were spent hiking through different locations all over the outback, seeing all sorts of animals (lizards, camels, donkies, cows, birds, emus, etc.) and plant life, giant red cliffs (literally red), campfires, stars, and even palm trees. With only one set back after losing our tralier on the highway which broke and flipped off the side of the road, we quickly and efficiantly used our teamwork skills led by Tam to pick up what we could, eat a quick lunch, and continue on our way.We were all amazed by the unexpected beauty we found at every corner. Sleeping underneath the stars was a personal favorite for me, I don’t think any of us have ever seen as many stars as that… just incredible. Our last morning we woke up at 4:40 Am, ate a quick breafast, and drove to watch the sunrise at Uluru, one of the most famous places in the outback, and absolutely stunning. We watched the sun come up as the light slowly started to hit the giant red rock behind us. After many photos and a quick snack we began our walk around Uluru (6k’s) learning geology and creation stories from Tam along the way. After finishing the amazing walk we headed back to Alice Springs. We said our goodbyes to the outstanding Tam, who was such a pleasure and so kind, and now we’re flying to Cairns for our last two weeks of Yoga and Scuba. Can’t believe there’s only less than two weeks left! I know we’re all going to make the best of it and cannot wait to see our loved ones once we head home.
Thanks for reading!
Until the next blog,
Olivia 🙂