The Outback: The Land and The People

It's about time to start documenting this trip, and there really is no better place to start than to tell a bit about where we went, and the people who made the trip what it was. It was really the whole essence of the experience, and without it, there's no chance it would have been the same.

We arrived in Alice Springs, one of the largest and only cities in the Red Centre on Thursday, the 24th. We met up with our leaders, Mazz, Cam and Lyndon and met the others that we'll be spending the rest of the trip with. We totaled 20, and it was one of the most dynamic groups ever. Every single person was amazing, and I love them. The group just "clicked" from day 1, and it made for a fabulous time.


The trip consisted of 10 days in the Outback, and we traveled by 3 large 4WD cars and did a big loop from Alice to Uluru and back, including many amazing places along the way. Most the nights we spent camping in the middle of the bush: no electricity, bathroom, other people. The other few nights we ventured closer to the conventions of modern life (i.e. showers).


The Outback isn't quite as desert as you might expect: in fact it was quite chilly several days, and it even rained more than once while we were there. It's just as beautiful as I'd hoped, but in many unexpected ways. Almost every day we woke up, and went hiking; sometimes in more than one spot. It was hard at times with my knee, but the support from everyone got me through every single hike- including the 4 hour Orminston Gorge trek that was the most testing. There were so many beautiful places, and we all felt really in touch with nature and the spirit of the Outback.