The Outback, Australia

Located in Central Australia, the outback is a vast landscape of gigantic rocks, luscious springs and wild life.  After traveling the outback for ten days with a group of friends as well as our two guides Tony and Jude, I learned that the outback was more than just a desert with an abundance of large rocks. It’s a place filled with magic.  During my time there I did a lot of hiking; including a 3 a.m., 9-mile sunrise hike that paid off as soon as the sun began peaking over the immense territory preceding the gigantic shadow the mountain cast over the land.  By day we explored many trails as well as some off-path hiking which usually included a dip in a nearby spring.  If the heat got to anyone of us, swimming in the freezing water would have you wishing you never complained about the heat.  When we were driving from one location to another seeing dingos, kangaroos or camels was no rare occasion  By night we helped Tony and Jude make a huge bonfire while others would start preparing dinner which if we were lucky didn’t consist of Kangaroo tail!  The best of the food was emu sausage, crocodile or even regular kangaroo meat.  I know, it does sound odd but before you knock it try it first.  You might be surprised how good it actually is.  Some nights we would play charades around the fire or listen to Jude play the harmonica and others we would sit around the blaze and get to know each other a little better.  One of my fondest memories was hiking through Kings Canyon and sleeping on top of a honey-comb shaped rock.  Sure, if you roll in your sleep this might have been a bad idea but we were willing to trust our sleeping habits for the stars that filled the sky that night.  There were more stars than heaven and the most shooting stars I had ever seen in one night.  It was one of those nights when the sheer beauty of the world somehow stirs an inevitable conversation about human existence, religion and other life.  Although these conversations can never end with any answer, they make you think about how lucky you are to be living and experiencing the most pure parts of life.  I think there is something important to take from secluded trips like the outback.  Some trips are scheduled around some sort of planned entertainment that costs money and others, like the outback, are free from this.  Entertainment is being disconnected with the sometimes hectic world that we live in and substituting it for a night of laughs and smiles centered around a campfire.  These types of memories are long-lasting and shape the character of an individual in a positive way.   

*I did not receive any funding to travel to or write about these places.