Chapter 1 ~ Breakfast for Dinner
Our last day in New Zealand came quicker than I expected. Before dinner we walked up to the summit of Mount Eden and had our last New Zealand group meeting beside a crater, overlooking the Auckland city skyline. We watched the sunset and saw the transition of lights as they became brighter in the city. When we got back to the hostel we cooked our last dinner: eggs, pancakes, and veggies. I’m not entirely sure why we decided on breakfast for dinner but it was good and a nice way to end our stay in New Zealand.
Chapter 2 ~ Espresso Yourself
We made it to our third and final country, Australia. I never imagined I would get the opportunity to travel to Australia; nonetheless, Sydney! Although our stay in Sydney was only one night, we made the most of it in our awesome hotel that was given to us due to a mix up in our flights. We ate dinner in the hotel’s restaurant which included a coffee machine we gladly took advantage of. It started off with Danielle and I taking one espresso shot and ended with a countless number of espresso shots and five empty mugs. After dinner we all had enough caffeine in us to keep the whole city of Sydney awake. We then took the subway into the harbor. Everything was lit up including the bridge, boats, ferris wheel and more. We made our way over to the famous Sydney Opera House as I took endless pictures that all definitely looked exactly the same, but every step I took I convinced myself it was a better view. The more I walked around the more I fell in love with this city. As mad as I was about how short our stay was in Sydney I’m thankful I got the chance to see even just part of it.
Chapter 3 ~ Chewy
Today marked day one of our five day Australian outback tour. It’s also the day we met Tamara our enthusiastic and highly energetic tour guide. We signed our lives away on a consent form that made me question why they even let people enter the outback in the first place. However, we all seemed to get over the fact that we were going into a place filled with poisonous spiders and snakes quickly, and jumped into a landcruiser with the name “Chewy” painted on the drivers side door. Before we got to camp each day we had to collect firewood in order to make a fire for dinner and breakfast. Our first stop was a little sandy/mucky cove where Greg and Eytan were brave enough to swim in the chilly water. Soon after, we did a short hike and enjoyed a beautiful view of a river flowing through a canyon. I was surprised at how much green vegetation there was considering we were in a desert. Our second stop was at the bottom of the canyon. The river was flooded for the first time in decades so we took the opportunity to take a quick dip. After another short drive we made it to Glen Helen, our first campsite. It was right next to the Finke River which is the oldest river in the world! It’s estimated to be about 385 to 400 million years old. After a delicious meal Tam made for us over the bonfire we were introduced to our swags. Swags are basically a sleeping bag outside of your sleeping bag with a thin mattress inside of it. They were surprisingly snug! It was amazing to sleep under the stars.
Chapter 4 ~ Roo
Today we had a 5:30AM wake up call with the moon and stars still shining bright above us. The cool air was not making it any easier to get out of my swag to start the day, but the sound of the burning fire and Tam’s music helped me finally get out of bed. We rolled up our swags and cleaned up camp just in time for a story from Tam. Today was a bumpy, off-roading day full of laughter and sore necks. On our drive as I was looking out of the window I saw a kangaroo in the bushes and yelled ROO. I was so excited to see one because they’re nocturnal and Tam said it was unlikely that we would see one on our trip. We stopped and watched them for a solid fifteen minutes until we continued our journey to Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) a giant crater in the middle of the outback. It happened 142 million years ago when a meteor hit creating a crater twenty two kilometers long in diameter; however, today it is only five kilometers. The meteor had the power and impact of twelve atomic bombs. Our last stop that day was Palm Valley, where the only palm trees in the outback are. We walked up to sunset rock and watched another amazing sunset, and had a good end to a long day.
Chapter 5 ~ Snowy
Today we had a long drive in order to make it to Kings Canyon. I had a headache so I stayed back while the rest of the group did a three hour hike around the canyon. I did a short walk to another lookout point and waited to hear them yell to me when they reached the top, but I got bored after a good five minutes and headed back to Chewy. While I was sitting down in the shade, the flies kept me company. They were awesome. The buzzing sound was soothing and the best part was when they landed on my face without me even having to ask. I’m sure going to miss them! When the group finished their hike and made it back to the car I was so happy to see everyone! Before we drove to our campsite we stopped and met Snowy. A friendly baby camel who gave us all kisses.
Chapter 6 ~ Our Last Night Under the Stars
Today was our last night in the outback. We arrived at our last campsite before lunch and headed off to Kata Tjuta which looked like big piles of dirt from afar. We did another hike there and saw more amazing views. That night we slept at Wayoutback Tours campsite which was awesome, almost too awesome… like glamping. We went up to yet another lookout point and watched our last sunset in the outback. For dinner we ate Kangaroo! After, we went back to the lookout and looked up at the stars. From there we could see Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter which was incredible.
Chapter 7 ~ By the Way, You’re All Looking in the Wrong Direction
Today was our earliest morning. We woke up at 4:45AM so we could see Uluru sunrise. When we arrived it was still dark outside. We walked for a couple minutes until we found a good spot to watch the sunrise. We were all facing the sun, waiting for it to come up in the distance until we heard Tam tell us we were looking in the wrong direction and that we were supposed to be looking at Uluru in order to see the orange, bright glow the sun gives the rock when it rises. Good thing she told us because it was truly unreal and like nothing I’ve ever seen before! We walked around the base of the rock which took about three hours. It was a relaxing walk which was a nice way to end our cloudless and thrilling outback adventure.
~ Courtney Lee Owens