The only dingo I’ve seen was chained to a stake, and it wasn’t even eating a baby. Not only that but there are bushes and vegetation everywhere. And if that wasn’t enough, its frickin’ freezing here. Winter in the Australian outback, the Western Desert to be more precise, is NOTHING like I thought it’d be.

Wild Camels in the Outback

There are camel herds here. Did you know that? Wild camels, wondering around in packs like they own the place. I had no idea. I looked pretty stupid after being surprised by the lack of dingoes, the bushes and whatnot, the freezing nighttime temperatures, and the wild camels, that I thought I would impress our guide, Miguel, by saying I knew how to play the didgeridoo.

“They don’t play those ‘round here, mate, just on the coasts. Folks here, the aboriginals, just as soon chuck ‘em in the fire, got no use in the desert.”

You gotta be kiddin’ me. I thought “outback” meant barren desert hotter than Kobe’s jump-shot (I’m a Lakers fan, deal with it) and I thought the aboriginals would only be carrying two things, a spear and a didgeridoo.

My ignorant stupidity aside, this place is incredible. The rocks glow red and I haven’t seen a cloud since I got here. Seemingly out of nowhere, the massive natural formations of Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and King’s Canyon rise up and lord over miles upon miles of flat desert. Over the past few days, I’ve sat by a campfire looking up at a totally new night’s sky, discovered the oldest culture on earth, and hiked amongst the most spectacular natural beauty I could have ever imagined.

I’m still waiting on my first wild dingo and koala, but Australia is full of surprises, so I think I got a better chance seeing a kangaroo in a canoe, playing a blue didgeridoo.