It seems as though I have a lot of catching up to do

I don't really know how I'm going to go about this...

Um.

Well I just got back from a week-long trip into the outback BUT I also never blogged about our Study Abroad excursion to spend time with the Aboriginal people SO...sadly, I'm going to leave that part out because I don't have the patience or the time to write about both. Sorry 'bout it.

This trip....epitome of my Australian experience. IMO. Now that I've been up north to see the outback and all the way up to the Pilbara to see the mountains and the gorges and everything else wonderful, I'm satisfied. Totally and completely satisfied.

How about some good highlights and then cool pics, eh?

Hmmmm...
So we rented these cars. Super cool because although the plan had been to campervan it again, that didn't work and we saved like 200 dollars on the cars. NOT cool because they didn't give us the sedans we ordered, they gave us four Toyota Corolla hatchbacks. In case you are unfamiliar with them, imagine trying to fit four people's things, food, and camping equipment for a week into this:

Yep. No trunk space. See that one behind it? That one has trunk space. We were supposed to get that one. 

We miraculously fit everything though. Our pillows and sleeping bags formed a wall in the middle back seat, forcing the two passengers to communicate via flashlight Morse code. 

We also had to leave behind the sleeping mats which we regretted when we soon found out that the Australian outback provides you with a nice mattress of boulders and jagged rocks to sleep on. I have bruises on both hips, the reason being that if one is a person who prefers to sleep on one's side, one must awaken on the hour to flip side to prevent the rocks from piercing skin. 

Anyways, I digress.

Our first stop was the Pinnacles. Google them, I'm not keen on going into detail. I have limited time and space here.

Our first night, in spite of the ground, was a party in the four-person tent. Gurl bonding time, awwww...

The next day was a trip to Kalbarri National Park to visit Nature's Window. It was like a big hole in a rock formation. Not that I wasn't excited about it or it wasn't cool, but IMO it was a mediocre experience. Too touristy and advertised for something that wasn't life-changing. 

I believe this was our first dirt road experience. As Kaylee likes to call them, the roads were full of "chatter bumps". The only way to handle said bumps is to turtle it at <15kph or floor it and take it at about 50 kph. We did the latter. I learned two things. One, that the handle located above the car doors is affectionately referred to as the "Oh Shit! handle", and two, that my calm bravado does not hold up on chatter bump roads. The rest of the car learned that I scream like a young girl when threatened.

Oh hey, later that day we hit a kangaroo! To be fair, we only nicked its tail, but it was cool to say we hit one and didn't have to really suffer the consequences. Oh, and to be really fair, Alecea was the only one who hit it.

We drove up to Coral Bay that night and spend the night in the backyard of a hostel. That was an ordeal. It was a prime holiday day and every other place was full, but hey, here's to adventure!

The next day we snorkeled there! It was wonderful. So wonderful. Picture yourself stepping into the Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo, and you'll get an idea of what it was sort of like. Only cooler because nothing was animated. There were like...bright blue and purple and yellow and orange and red fish.

The NEXT day, part of the group went to swim with whale sharks. I mean, I would have gone, but I had better things to do with $380 dollars...
No, they had a lot of fun and so did we! We went to Cape Range National Park in the Exmouth region and did a bit of sightseeing. We went down to the end of the park and did a nice little hike along the top of a gorge, which was absolutely breathtaking.

I mean, this picture doesn't really do it justice, but it will have to suffice. I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the canyon...

Another night, another mattress of rocks!

On the upside, the stars are absolutely beautiful way out there. I have never ever seen a sky full of stars like that. We literally saw a black hole, thanks to Sydney's astronomical expertise, and shooting stars every few minutes.

:)

Also, over the course of the trip we all watched 7 sunrises and 7 sunsets. Our schedules were closely attached to that of the sun's. Which meant that most nights, we were in our tents ready for bed by 6:30 pm.

To be continued...

Tune in next time for Spring break road trip part 2!

- Manders