SLEEPING UNDER THE STARS
The three-day Outback hike with Emu Runs from Alice Springs starts when a bus picks you up at a crack of dawn, and takes you to Uluru (4-5 hours away). Along the way you can ride the camels, and buy a fly net. Camels came to Australia from Afghanistan and were used for building the railway. After the rail was finished they were let loose and now these feral camels are considered pests, as their population spiralled out of control. As for the fly net- buy it! There are so many flies landing on your face, and they somehow just love your nose, mouth and eyes, so fly net was the best investment we ever made.
The Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, is a beautiful rock, in the middle of nowhere, sacred to the Aboriginals. It is recommended that you don't climb up, although it is not forbidden. After an easy stroll around Uluru, we went to a super touristy spot to watch the sunset and sip on some prosecco. Very romantic, just us and 10 other buses. Afterwards we went to the camp site, and everyone participated in preparing dinner and cleaning up.
And then our true adventure began- sleeping under the sky while watching the stars. If you have your glasses on of course. We slept in swags- basically it is a sleeping bag with a mattress already included. It is one of those things you are happy to have done, but not really enjoying the moment of doing it. First of all it was really cold (8C), and our guide nonchalantly mentioned right before we went to sleep that there were only 2 things that are most likely to kill you here: red spiders and brown snakes. He added that because now there was an antidote, no one has died from the spider bite in along time. As for snakes, he said that it was unlikely for snakes to be out when it was that cold, but that they may seek the warmth of our sleeping bags so we should be careful! Needless to say, most people in our group did not sleep well that night after hearing this. But it was really beautiful watching the Southern Cross and the star lit sky above you.
