Feral Tucker in the Outback

G'day mates! Here I am in Alice Springs, in the Red Centre of Australia, in the middle of a BIG ADVENTURE! I had become a bit lazy, going from city to city, walking in botanical gardens, sitting in town squares, so it was time to shake myself up a bit, so I booked a 14-day 'adventure tour' from Adelaide (more or less in the middle of the south coast) up the centre to Darwin (more or less in the middle of the north coast). I have done the first six days, and they have been wonderful. I was pretty scared at first, bearing in mind my already much documented phobia about snakes, but I 'felt the fear and did it anyway'! I was in a group of 20 travellers, mostly very young, with an excellent driver/guide. I rode 'shotgun' with him a couple of times and he told me of his upbringing in the outback and as a jackaroo - really interesting to meet the 'real thing'. The group was very lively and engaging - I felt a real buzz being with them, apart from one morning at about 2am when I'd rather have slept than listened to them a-whoopin' and a-hollerin'!! We've driven about 3000 kms to include various places off the beaten track, getting up before dawn most mornings, maybe watching the sun come up somewhere, driving, walking, cooking over roadside BBQs. You don't have to be too finicky on these trips - washing up in filthy, cold water; drying the dishes on wet, filthy towels. Amazingly, we all resisted the bugs. Maybe we worry too much about cleanliness in everyday life? We stayed in a couple of hostels, one in a town with population 6; one underground in an opal mine, and camped out a couple of times. Most people slept in 'swags' - canvas bags containing a mattress and sleeping bag, out on the ground, looking up at the stars. I'm sorry to say I chickened out, not wanting to lie awake waiting for a slithery sound..., so I opted for a basic tent instead. So far, so good; 6 days down, no snakes yet... (no big spiders, either, in case you're wondering).
The highlights of the trip have been Uluru (Ayers Rock) at sunset and sunrise, of course; and Kings Canyon (second picture). The latter was even better than Uluru, I thought - the canyon is surrounded by a vast area of rocks shaped like igloos; there are (small) waterholes in the centre, and lush vegetation (the 'garden of Eden'). We did a 3+ hour walk over rocky terrain - not too difficult, but enough to stretch the legs a bit. We walked in the Olgas, which from a distance look like Homer Simpson lying down (really!).
We've seen a fair bit of wildlife - the kangaroos were actually eating out of our hands. There are also smaller 'roos called euros, and lots of emus. We've heard dingoes (wild dogs), howling at night and early morning, some quite close to the campsite, but haven't seen any yet in the wild. We've eaten Kangaroo steak (tastes a bit like liver); emu burgers and camel sausages. All very tasty.
Our driver had ways of keeping us amused on the long journeys of several hours at a time. We were given felt-tip pens to draw on the windows (brilliant, why didn't I think of that when the children were young?), so there were games of noughts and crosses, hangman, boxes, going on plus some maps of people's home countries and great artwork; we did quizzes, we passed cheesy rings up and down the bus using straws but no hands, Loads of fun. We waved at the 'grey nomads' - retired people who buy a campervan and travel - I know some at home?! We listened to 3 versions of 'Waltzing Matilda', and sang a jolly ditty entitled "G'day g'day" at ;least once a day. Loadsa fun.
We arrived in Alice last night - tired and very grubby. Everything is covered in red dust - the backpack is full of it, so washing clothes hasn't totally solved the problem. My convertible pants still have red stains after a run through the washer - a souvenir, I guess; proves I was there.
I have today and tomorrow here to sort my gear, relax a bit and contact y'all - thanks for all your messages once again, I love to hear what you're up to. Hope you all had a good Bank Holiday weekend, wherever you were. I told my new friends about Haddenham and Rochester morris weekends. They were pretty bemused, I think. I drew a picture of a morris dancer on the window of the bus, but they weren't impressed!!
So, I go on this Thursday to Darwin. More camping and cooking and exploring. I'm getting good at stamping my feet and singing loudly while walking through the bush. "they are more afraid of you..." I don't think so!!
Cheers, mates!

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