A Jolly Swagman

So back to camp we went. We arrived and unpacked our belongings. The way camp was set up, there were about twelve permanent tents in a circle around a campfire pit. Included in the circle was also our kitchen/eating area. AJ and I had already decided that we were going to forego the tent experience and sleep on the ground in swags, but we claimed a tent anyway as a backup and changing place.

As AJ went off with Dan, one of the Canadians, to make a fire, I joined some of the girls in the kitchen to make dinner. (We were not only in the wilderness, but also playing some stereotypical gender roles!) My role in the kitchen that night ended up being to prepare the pasta salad, which consisted of ziti, peas, corn, mayo and some seasoning. It became a big hit among the group because I had endless amounts of jokes about how scrumptuous it looked. However, its limelight didn't last long given AJ's culinary skills the next night. But, during its time, the pasta salad ruled! The rest of our dinner was a traditional barbecue of steak, kangaroo (yup, more roo!) and sausages. It was quite delicious!

After finishing the dishes, we all grabbed warm drinks and gathered around the fire for a while. It was terribly cold on this night. In addition to my sweatpants, I also had on a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt and a fleece! Thank goodness AJ and I went shopping in Adelaide, otherwise we would've freezed. The sky was dark and we were able to get more great views of the Southern Cross (and every other star in the sky). Before too long, knowing that we had to get up at 5:15 the next morning in order to catch the sunrise, we pulled out our swags and had a quick demonstration on how to use them.

So, a swag is a traditional Aussie bed roll. It's a large canvas bag with a mattress on the bottom. You slip yourself and your sleeping bag into the swag, zip it up over yourself, and lay under the stars until you fall asleep. If you want, you can also pull a lid over your head for extra warmth and protection from the elements. A swag is meant to keep you warmer than a tent because it keeps all of your body warmth to your body. Want an example?

This is AJ just after he'd gotten himself settled in his swag.

On this night, given how cold it was, I was quick to pull the lid over my head, so this is me all curled up in my swag.

In a fairly short amount of time, warmth took over my body, and I fell into a deep sleep. At some point, very early on, I woke up with a need to pee, but there was no way I was getting out of the swag and into the cold to make my way to the toilets in the dark. So, I was able to get myself back to sleep, and before I knew it, I woke to the rustling sounds of other people already up and about. I peeked my head out of the swag to see AJ just getting up himself. I knew, even though it was still completely dark outside, it was time to get up. So, I rolled my swag (and had AJ give me a little help with it), threw it back in the shed, got dressed and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Before I could barely blink, we were jumping back on the bus and making our way to the sunrise point overlooking Uluru. It was still dreadfully cold, so it was almost painful to be standing there, waiting for the sun to make an appearance, but I was able to endure. Again, the color of the rock came to life once the sun was on it. Definitely a beautiful sight to see!

Once the sun was out, we headed off to the base of the rock. We all piled out of the bus and began an easy hike around the perimeter, a trek that is almost 10 km in length. Fortunately, it was all flat and we had two hours to do it, so there was no rush. AJ and I made our way around the rock, enjoying the scenery and lamenting about how much walking we'd done since coming to Australia. And once the entire group had finished (I'm proud to say that we were the first done!), we headed back to camp one last time for lunch before jumping back on the bus and driving to King's Canyon.

Along our drive, we stopped at a farm where we were able to do a camel ride, if we wanted. Well, of course we wanted! So, AJ and I jumped onto a camel by the name of Mabel and rode into the sunset (well, just around the farm during the sunset, to be exact). AJ says it was beautiful, none the less. And around dinner time, we pulled into camp #2 for the night.

This time, it was AJ's turn to shine in the kitchen. Justine asked for someone to volunteer to make the damper, and AJ was quick to volunteer. What's a damper, you ask? Great question! Apparently, it's a bread that you make and cook in a dutch oven over the campfire. So, AJ rolled up his sleeves and got working with flour and water and herbs to mix up quite the damper dough. In AJ's special way, he had everyone adoring him and his damper-making skills.

Dinner was delicious, especially the damper! After, we again grabbed some warm drinks and gathered around the campfire. Fortunately, it was much warmer that night, so I only needed my fleece (no sweatshirt!) Though we were able to sleep in the next day until 6 a.m., we still headed to bed on the early side to get our rest. And though it was warmer, we still all slept with the lids on our swags because of the dingos in the area. Justine and Erics told us that they more than once woke up to a dingo sniffing around. And as much as I love to share a bed with my parent's dog Dylan, I had no desire to wake up snuggled next to a dingo!