Day 291: We'll be OUTBACK

Statue in front of the "Second Hand" store in Alice Springs

We finally made it to the Australian Outback!! So excited we don't even know what to do with ourselves! Funny, not many Aussie's we've met have actually been to the Outback. Which doesn't surprise me since many American's have never been to the Grand Canyon or Mt. Rushmore....Hoover Dam? Shall I continue...

Well, our time in Australia wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Northern Territory. We arrived in Alice Springs, NT today. From here we'll jump on a backpacker's tour to drive about 1000 miles into the Outback. Then we will hike around 20 miles thru the desert to see sacred Aboriginal sites.

Firt Impressions:
Go to HELL, you mean Alice Springs??

Okay so this Celsius & degrees thing needs to be more equivalent. There has to be a better way to let people know that if you walk outside your skin will burn off!! Reading 41 degrees on my phone just doesn't equate to "put you face in the oven while its on pyro-self clean mode" hot. The only benefit, if there was one, is that it is dry heat. So you just dehydrate and stick to the concrete like a worm the day after it rains. Rant aside...

Alice Springs is a small town. One main strip with bars, restaurants, and community/cultural buildings. This was our base camp before and after our tour around the Outback. Surprisingly there were several facilities to learn about the Aboriginal's arts and culture. On the downside this would be a good place to see how they were utterly screwed out of there land. Humm..just took a negative turn there. But the Aussie's that decided to come over with guns and disease and say, you can have the Outback....have no GOD. They were literally, and as far as I'm concerned, sent to hell. Another story for another time.....moving on.