Johan got sick this hot and busy day

(The Outback, Australia, 14th of February 2017)

As promised Josh woke us up at 04.00. None of us had been attacked during the night and we were all ready to leave at 05.00. Johan did not feel well when he woke up in the morning – he had lost all appetite and was generally drowsy. Breakfast was served at a place overlooking the sunrise and Urulu and Kata Tjuta and we photographed the sunrise along with lots of other tourists.

Kata Tjuta was the next goal of the day where a hike was awaiting. Johan decided to stay by the bus and I think that was good as the walk was quite difficult with many loose stones, not so fun if you are not feeling ok. Kata Tjuta is also a sacred place for the Aborigines, and especially for men, but was not as impressive in size as Uluru.

ome of our fellow travelers had only booked to join half the trip in the outback and we dropped 7 people off in Uluru before we had our lunch at the roadside – tacos with vegetables, tuna and ham. Not super tasty but ok.

The afternoon was spent gathering wood for the evening campfire – an activity that made us becoming slightly scratched on our arms and legs but it was great fun. Then we looked for Bush Tuckers. It is a kind of larvae that live in the roots of a particular kind of tree and Aborigines like eating. Luckily, we did not find any so we did not have to try.

We arrived at our campsite already at five o’clock and there we found a swimming pool with nice and cool water. It has been between 35 and 40 degrees since we left Alice Springs and then a pool with cold water was just what we all needed. Above all, Johan enjoyed the coolness of the pool and went swimming for more than an hour. But he still did not feel better, and after the evening meal, cooked in our campfire, chili con carne with vegetables, he went straight to bed. You could choose to sleep out under the stars or inside a tent. We and a young boy chose to sleep outside, everyone else slept in tents.

/Christel