Day 12 - the outback, the olgas and the heat

Day 12 - Valley of the (fill in the blank)
Originally uploaded by photog larry.

getting back to the campsite, I remember thinking that I wasn’t sure what to expect. we were given fairly scant details by our travel agent, except that it was a tour, we would be fed, and would be sleeping in private camp facilities.

as we drove up, you couldn’t really miss Uluru (or Ayers Rock). There is really nothing else around, and its pretty darned big. Part of me, due to the heat, was saying to myself – ok – great, seen it, now we can leave.

we got to the campgrounds and were greeted by the rest of the group, who had actually driven as a tour from Alice Springs, starting in the morning (our flight didn’t get in til after they left). Since the drive to and from Alice Springs is filled primarily with nothingness, we probably took the more luxurious route anyways.

We had some lunch of cold cuts and stale bread, and unpacked into our tent. All I can remember, is going into the tent, and realizing that it had just gotten about 5 degrees hotter, just from being inside. I was hopeful, that after sunset, the tent would cool down.

Anyways, after lunch and unpacking, we headed to the Olga’s for an afternoon hike into a valley. Since we were provided very little information by our tour guides, i can’t really present you with any fun details.

Back to campsite for a quick dinner of BBQ. It was pretty bad, but I suppose adequate enough, and what were we expecting? Perhaps knowing that other groups were doing a “Sounds of Silence” gourmet dinner was making me jealous.

Back to the Uluru site, were we witnessed a fairly unspectacular sunset, due to the clouds and generally overcast skies. Oh well. Such was our luck.

Back to the Uluru site, were we witnessed a fairly unspectacular sunset, due to the clouds and generally overcast skies. It wasn't too bad tho. you be the judge:



We went back to camp, relaxed as much as we could in the 30+ degree heat, and attempted to go to bed.

I don’t think I can ever describe in words, what we felt that night, lying in a tent that hot, sweating as we attempted to sleep.

Anyways, part way through the night, I couldn’t take it anymore, and got up from my bed/puddle and headed for the canteen, in hopes of some cold water to cool off. Of course, there was none. Oh well. Had some strange conversation with one of the frenchmen on the tour, who couldn’t speak a lick of english. I tried my best to communicate with him, but it ended up being completely incoherent. How awkward. Heading back to the tent, though it was dark, my eyes had adjusted, and I swear, I saw a snake wrapped up in the tree beside our tent. I froze for a minute, trying to think of what my next move was, but really, all I could think of were the brochures and steve irwin, talking about australia and all the most poisonous snakes in the world populating on this continent. I cursed myself for thinking that somehow, picking the tent near the tree was a good idea. Composing myself a little, I got back into the tent, and quickly closed the flap that we had openned to get some minimal airflow. Snake bites preceeded crappy airflow, so I made the executive decision to increase the air temp in the tent by 1 degree. I considered telling linda about the snake, but she was sleeping for the time being, and I figured it would make things worse, so I let her sleep through.

Suffice it to say, I didn’t sleep much the rest of the night, and before we knew it, the guide was getting us up to get ready for sunrise.

So for those of you who are wondering about whether I’m in for a trip to algonquin or other such camping adventures….i’m going to go ahead and pass on that. I’m a city person, and I don’t think that’s going to change!

pics here...