On Thursday, I returned from my first trip to the Australian outback. I’d meant to post this blog sooner (it’s Sunday here), but a chaotic school schedule and just general tiredness has gotten the better of me. So, here I am now. I present to you: Five Things I’d Never Done Before I Went to Chillagoe.
1. Seen a wild kangaroo.
I know, it’s absurd. I’ve been in Australia for a month now and I hadn’t managed to see a kangaroo until this week. But, it was made so much better by the fact that it was a real, wild Eastern Grey Kangaroo. And it wasn’t just one, either. It was many, many kangaroos. And it was SO awesome. I would also like to point out that my childhood nickname of Eagle Eyes still holds true: I was the first one of the group to spot a kangaroo as we drove along the dusty, unpaved highway to Chillagoe.
2. Gone caving.
Let me just say, caving is amazing. I was incredibly nervous before we began — I’m a huge klutz and my balancing abilities are less than ideal. We went into two different caves, one open (meaning there was natural light) and one closed (no light once inside). My group went into the open cave first, and I’m glad. It gave me a chance to adjust to that whole rock climbing concept and gain the tiniest bit of confidence in my footing. The open cave is also where the previous post’s picture was taken. After 45 minutes exploring the open cave, we moved on to the closed cave. This one was much more intimidating. You sort of had to shimmy into the opening and then climb down a rather steep descent — I actually had to slide down one rock face. Once inside though, it was absolutely perfect. Once we’d all explored a bit, we just sat down and turned off our headlamps and stayed silent. It was unreal to experience such complete sensory depravation. I couldn’t see a thing; I couldn’t hear a thing. Too freaking cool.
3. Drank hot, yellow water and didn’t mind.
In a climate that dry and sunny, you really, REALLY need to keep hydrated. This sometimes means drinking about 1 litre of water every couple hours. I brought two Nalgenes with me, and I tried to keep one filled as a backup at all times. As said backup bottle generally remained in the van, I was always drinking hot water. And I don’t mean warm, either. I mean almost-hot-enough-to-steep-tea hot. This hot water drinking got even more interesting once we reached our campsite for the second night, which was a Aboriginal clan’s outpost on reclaimed land. They had a spigot for drinking water, but let me just say, I’m grateful my Nalgene is colored. Otherwise, I could’ve seen just how opaque the water was (and how many dirt particles were floating in it).
4. Counted weir swimming as bathing.
I discovered that in the outback, you’re constantly covered in a thick sheen of orange dust. Seriously, you can’t tell if you’re tanning or just dirty. Your once-soft and shiny hair becomes a dusty helmet of straw. Showering seems completely futile, because the second you leave the stall, you begin the dust re-accumulation process. As someone who showers almost every morning without fail, this was a hard realization for me to accept at first. But then I just decided to fully embrace it. We were all incredibly dirty, so why even bother? That first full day in Chillagoe (and up until the second night), I considered swimming in the local weir (dam) to essentially be bathing. It got the dust of me and cooled me down — at least temporarily. And, for the record, I did finally give in and shower on Wednesday night at the outpost. It felt wonderful.
5. Played a didgeridoo.
Okay, so the use of the word “play” is a bit optimistic… Really I just attempted to blow air through the instrument and mostly failed. You’d think an instrument that is essentially a piece of termite-hollowed bark would be easy to play. Not so. There’s a complicated process involving proper embouchure and circular breathing and different breathing patterns to make different sounds and oh, it’s all just too much for me. Hearing it played properly though was entirely awesome. And if you haven’t heard a didgeridoo played, you should probably hear one here (note: that links to a YouTube video that I can’t actually watch here at the centre, so I hope it’s a decent one).
Although I don’t think I could have dealt with the dirt and nasty water, but seeing the kangaroos in their natural habitat must have been awesome. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Love,
Mom
What a thrill to see a group of kangaroos – live and in person in their native habitat! I didn’t get a chance to comment on your birding adventures. Although you say you are not to into the birds right now – keep a list of all you see, you never know, when you get older, you may change your mind about birding, and want to keep a list of all the birds you see and identify. Dave and I have a list, but I doubt we will ever have the diversity on our list that you could add after spending a semester in Australia.
Don’t laugh– you may decide to keep a bird list someday!
On Joe’s first trip to Australia he brought back a CD of didgeridoo music with Magpies singing in the background. Hauntingly beautiful!!! I’m really enjoying your posts!
I’m jealous that you got to “play” the didgeridoo. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try.Keep having fun out there! Aunt Pam
Okay! Okay! So it has taken me a while to get into emailing (outside of work emails, that is) and blog reading and…blog comment-writing. For a variety of reasons, I’m fearful of leaving my comments. My insane reasons are my own, but I owe you a comment, nonetheless. So, I’ll take a dive.
What an experience you are chronicling! I would love to try my lungs on a didgeridoo. Do you think my experience playing trumpet would offer some advantages? Hey, if you find some money out there in the woods, send me a six-foot didgeridoo. How much would that be? (How am I doing so far on this comment?) Maybe I’ll send you some cash.
How far away were the kangaroos? Do you have a telephoto lens? What kind of camera are you traveling with? (I’ll get the hang of this.)
Here’s my real question: any reflections on your Philosophy 101 readings? You DID promise me that you’d take a philosophy course. Have you found any philosophers in your travels?
I remember the weir swimming in Chillagoe! Dude, there’s some weird mineral deposit in that water that just completely changes the texture of your hair. Plus with the dust…my hair was narsty. And it was awesome.
I miss it! And you!