Travel Tuesday: The outback

October 16, 2012

in Australia,The outback,Travels

uluru australia

Uluru or Ayers Rock is an icon of Australia. As is the kangaroo. All photos by Robert Corkery.

uluru australia

Hikers climbing up Uluru.

Outback Australia holds a special place in my heart and not only because I am married to an Aussie. To me, it’s a  starkly beautiful place and not easy to define, with the exception of being sparsely populated and remote. If I were to try to define it in more concrete terms, I would say it’s a land of extremes: blinding heat, creeks with no water, millions of flies and a rugged and often otherworldly landscape. But that’s in the dry season. In the outback in late summer, I’ve seen what the aboriginals call knock ’em down rains, been in a cyclone, countless floods and stuck in the mud. I have met people who live underground to escape the heat, as well as such characters as Mick, the guy who crafts whips and sets them on fire at shows, as well as Klaus the German vagabond who has walked across the center for years with only his dog and camel for company.

Any time I visit this empty and remote expanse of land in the center of the country, I am captivated all over again by its uniqueness. I’ve explored quite a bit of the outback with Robert and I hope to see a lot more. In the meantime, here’s a variety of photos from different parts of the outback.

outback australia

A wallaby just outside of Alice Springs.

emu in australia

This emu was sticking his head in the window of the car and seeming just a bit crazy. I was not happy. On the other side of the car, Robert laughed so hard he cried.

outback australia

I am afraid that the fly population is not over-estimated.

outback australia

Klaus, his camel and dog travel the outback together.

And you can see more Travel Tuesday options as well.

outback road

Entering the danger zone, otherwise known as the outback.

outback road

Driving yet another road into the outback

coober pedy

The crazy looking moon landscape of Coober Pedy. The hills are the leftovers from opal mining.

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