I've been seriously slack with the blog and I need to improve- though internet access is "slightly" limited in the Outback.

The last few days have been really great. I started out in Adelaide and headed towards Wilpena Pound and the Flinders Ranges National Park. Myself and the few others on the bus had an evening of camping with rented tents. That was an experience and a large kangaroo was scratching at the side of the tent. I did a walk that made me sweat a bit and I got myself bitten by a poison ant while I was stalking a kangaroo. OUCH!!!

Speaking of critters, I've seen a good number of 'em while here, and when I find a cdrom drive that I'm allowed to use, many MANY photos will be uploaded. I saw a blue tongued lizard which has a super infectious bite, many many kangaroos (in the wild and on my plate), a stunning wedge tailed eagle (massive wing span), and more emu than you can shake a BBQ at. Snakes are always nearby (you can tell by the squiglies) though I haven't actually seen one.

On the second day of the journey, I stayed at a little hostel in the middle of nowhere. On the way to the hostel, I stopped in Blinman town and me and a few other girls got to chatting with a local bloke. I'll call him "Bruce". Bruce informed us that there were 19 residents in the town. NINETEEN people!!! Imagine you don't get along with one or two people! Your life could be hell. One of the girls joked that he must be married to the barmaid because she's the only woman we had seen. Bruce looked down the bar at his "mate" and said "no, he's married to her." See what I mean? It's a small place.

Another town we stopped in was Clare, where there are some decent vineyards. I bought myself a nice reisling and also a shiraz malbec, one of which was gone before the day was over. When we stopped in the town proper of Clare, not a thing was open except the supermarket. The young guy at the checkout was so shy and embarassed to meet four foreign girls and kept blushing at us. He was so sweet though and when he asked how long we were staying in Clare, we had to tell him only twenty minutes. He blushed again, probably not realizing we were just trying to find some supplies for the next few days and that Clare wasn't drawing international acclaim.

Another strange hermit character that we met was Talc Alf. This is a odd loner type guy who lives out in the desert. He spends lots of time pondering the meaning of words. He's very clever, but he seems to have made loads of ideas up to fill in the gaps of his knowledge. He also carves things out of talc stone both for sale and for his own pleasure. The best bit about his ranch was the washing machine- it's hooked up to a bicycle for power.

After a long day on the road, we wound up at some roadside hotel/campground/mechanic/restaurant combo. It seems to be common in the Outback for men to have massive beards, and the barman was no different. He kept us laughing at his stories as well as in beer. The evening was not complete without a game of "boule" which is basically bocci ball. The best part about it is, that when we were done, I realized we were playing in the middle of the road. Not one car had gone by in hours!

To end the night, the small crew slept outdoors in "swags". Swags are basically an old canvas tent made into a sleeping bag cover that is super durable. Once the campground lights went off, you could see the brilliant stars that are ten times brighter than anywhere in a town or city. In swag, you sleep under the stars and open to the sky. It also means that sometimes critters like snakes can slither in with you and once or twice during the night I swore I hear something slithering around even though I know it's too cold out for them to be wandering.

Today, we arrived in Coober Peddy, which is Aboriginal for "white man in a hole." In this area, most people mine for opals. However, because it's so hot (last week it was 52 degrees celsius) the miners all have underground homes. When I visited an open home today, I was amazed how comfy it was, very cool and spacious. It is rumored that there are houses with swimming pools underground, as well as huge mansions with forty-two bedrooms. Wouldn't that be cool? Tonight I sleep underground like the locals. It should be interesting, especially since I'm claustraphobic.

I'll write again soon.