The Rock Tour

Thursday was my first night ever sleeping directly under the stars in a canvas sack, or as they call it here, a swag. The first night we slept in the middle of the outback surrounding one of the biggest fire pits I have ever seen. I was slightly paranoid of the creepy crawlies so I didnt sleep well that night. We spent the second night in a campground/resort area so I felt a little more at ease sleeping under the stars. The stars themselves are worth mentioning. It seems as if there are more stars here compared to home and they appear clearer and brighter, which is most likely due to the lack of pollution interfering with the view. I got to look through Charlie's binoculars into the center of our galaxy, which was clearly visible across the southern sky. Thursday night was also the first time I have ever seen the moon rise. It was a full moon and its brightness nearly took over the sky making it harder to see all of the individual stars.

As much as I love camping and sitting around the campfire, my favorite part about our trip into the Outback was learning about how the Anangu survived off the land. The ghost gum tree is covered in a shiny powder that can be used as sun lotion equivalent to about SPF 15. The blood gum tree produces a red sap that resembles blood and can be used as an antiseptic and an anesthetic. The rock mint was used by hunters as it would be thrown into water holes so that when animals came by for a drink they would get loopy from the plant's toxins, making the animal easier to capture. There were a number of other plants used by the Anangu for medicine and/or tools that are just as interesting. Our tour guide Scott kept our interest with his knowledge about the Aboriginal culture in addition to his dj skills during our long trek to and from the outback.

Thursday we hiked kings canyon, which included a climb that felt as if it would never end, but the burn was well worth it. We learned that its formation was due to an orogeny many years ago where the tectonic plates collided pushing the ranges upward forming the canyon. We also learned that the Grand Canyon is not actually a canyon, but a gorge because it was formed by the Colorado River. I went swimming in a rather cold water hole fully clothed to cool down from the heat of the hike. We spent Friday visiting Kata Tjuta ("many heads") and Uluru, which are sacred places used by the Anangu. There were a few areas around Uluru with signs asking to refrain from pictures and even looking because they were sensitive sacred areas for either men or women. We saw some people climbing the rock but we refused to do so as it is a sacred area to the Anangu, and the climb as caused a lot of damage and pollution to the surrounding area, which the Anangu consider their home. Sunday we travelled out to the west Macdonnell ranges, where we learned a little more about the Anangu culture and had a barbeque at one of the gaps. The gaps were breaks in the mountain range characterized by a water hole. The water at the one we visited after lunch was so cold it actually hurt to keep your feet in, however, I braved the temperature and ran into the water for a very quick swim and ran back out just as quickly! We topped off the greatest weekend ever with dinner as a group at the Rock bar down the road from the YHA! Good times!!