Caroline in the Outback

As the name of this blog clearly states, I am a city girl. The country scares me for its lack of wifi and proximity to nature. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Australia, experience the outback, even if you’re terrified of dingoes, snakes, spiders and anything non-human.

I signed up for my Groovy Grape Getaways Rock 2 Water tour without doing much research. I knew I would be camping at some point and even though I hadn’t done it in at least ten years, I was prepared to deal with it. I read in the brochure that we would be sleeping in swags. “That sounds fun,” I thought to myself, until I actually looked up what a swag was. When my guide, Brian, said it was like a “body bag,” I was even less enthused.

Swag: A modern swag is a waterproof canvas sleeping compartment that is sometimes bug-proof. All swags come with a foam mattress, and can comfortably be slept in with the addition of a pillow and sleeping bag. When rolled up the swag is relatively lightweight and compact, making it ideal for storage and transport. It is typically easy to erect and roll up can be done quickly. (Source: Wikipedia)

After a night at a mediocre hostel in Alice Springs (more on that later), the van picked me up at 7 a.m. and we started the five-hour trek to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The first glimpse I got of the rock from my window was amazing.

We stopped at the Cultural Centre, which has exhibits to explain the significance of these monoliths to the Aboriginal people, allowing you to draw your own conclusions of why they don’t want you climbing Uluru or taking pictures of their sacred sites. For this reason, no pictures are allowed in the centre. My favorite part of the exhibits was what they called a “Sorry Book,” a book of letters people have written over the years, apologizing for stealing rocks from the parks. Some were from twenty or more years ago and some letters stated that the rocks had given them bad luck and that’s why they wanted to return them.

Obviously, I chose not to climb the rock because I don’t want bad Aboriginal karma following me around and also because I’m terrified of heights, especially when the only thing keeping you from plummeting to your death is a bit of rope. Not everyone in my group had the same idea, but that was their choice. I hope that if any of my readers visit Uluru they will choose to respect the wishes, just as they wouldn’t want anyone to desecrate the sites of their own beliefs.

After walking around Uluru, we waited for the sun to set, when the rock really comes alive, changing from a burnt orange to a bright red to an almost grey color. It’s known as the “many moods of Uluru.” We opened some beers and cheers-ed to finally being there, finally seeing the Australian landmark.

The next morning we woke up at 5 a.m. to watch the sun rise over Kata Tjuta, which I found more impressive than Uluru. I put on every item of clothing I had packed, because that’s one thing you don’t expect from the outback: extreme changes in temperature. Kings Canyon ended up being the complete opposite, with me carrying every item I had put on by the end of the hike.

Coober Pedy was a town I was very excited about, having seen it on the Travel Channel many times. Instead of sharing a small campsite with a school group in Marla, we decided to press onward one night and instead got to sleep in an underground bunkhouse at an opal mine. There is no better sleep than underground sleep. It’s cool and completely dark. The next day we took a tour of the opal mine, saw an underground church and saw the Breakaways, a set of mountains outside of Coober Pedy.

Tips for any outback tour

1. You MUST bring a water bottle. This is no joke. You’re supposed to have one liter for every hour you will be walking. Not all water is drinkable, so fill up at every place that has it.
2. BYO alcohol. Only one site in Yulara, Ayers Rock Resort, sells alcohol, so it is expensive. Buy in spots like Alice Springs, Erldunda and Curtin Springs. Boxed wine, or goon as it is affectionately known, is an easy option because if it’s red it doesn’t have to be kept cool.
3. Shower in the afternoon. It gets so cold at night that you will wake up as a popsicle.
4. Bring bug spray and a net. My $8 fly net saved my life as we went south through the Flinders Ranges. The flies and mosquitoes show no mercy.
5. Lots of layers of clothing. The outback has a range of temperatures, from freezing cold in the early morning and night to scorching hot in the afternoon. I slept in a hoodie and jeans on many nights.
6. Pack as light as possible. Bring lots of clothing options, but in a smaller bag if possible. Leave some items at your hostel if you are returning to the same city.
7. Wear a hat to protect your head from the scorching heat, in addition to well-soled shoes. I didn’t have any hiking boots, but my New Balance tennis shoes worked just fine.

*I received a discounted tour from Groovy Grape Getaways, but all opinions are my own.