HELLO EVERYONE!!! I am finally getting around to blogging about the Outback Northwest Trip that I went on for 10 days!! But before I update you all on that experience, I just wanted to say that it FINALLY RAINED today in Perth! I realize it's just rain, but this is the first rainfall that Perth has seen in over 2 months (66 days to be exact) which is the third longest dry spell since the record in 1975 of 83 days without a drop of rain!! Pretty exciting!! Alright, i have no idea where to begin about telling you what happened on the Outback trip! I am gonna try going though day by day and hit the high/ most memorable points; that usually is the easiest for me to remember everything! Some days where purely driving days so nothing too exciting on those days except riding around in our "Jurassic Park Buses" as we all called them for many, many hours! I, of course, will post pictures of this trip when I am done writing this! I am sorry if this gets a bit long, it's just that we saw so much! The saddest thing is, I am not even telling you close to everything that happened! Oh, and I did post a video of my experience on day 5 so definitely check that out!! You don't wanna miss it! Alright, here goes nothing...

Day 1- We got up VERY early to get a good start on the day, which was a bit tough for some people considering it was St. Patty's Day the night before! I was a good girl, and didn't party too hard! There were three buses for everyone going and we all fit snug and sound, not one seat was left empty! Today was basically a driving day... 9 hours to be exact. We stopped at a park to have lunch! Lunch was the same thing for the duration of the trip: Tuna or pork sandwiches with salad! Throughout the 10 days, there was a rotation of who was on kitchen duty. These people would help prepare the food and then do the dishes afterwards. My day didn't come until day 9 of the trip! We got to our first camp site about 20 mins before sunset: Northbrook Farmstay in Geraldton! We were not yet into a rountine so we had a very small window of time before all light was gone to assign ourselves to a tent and set it up properly! Everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off! The plan was to tent with Katie and Caitlin so we needed a 3 person tent. There were a limited amount of 3 person tents and the rest were 2 person. We told Caitlin to get the tent while Katie and I picked a spot. We were VERY slow at putting the tent up for the first time and had so many issues. However, the biggest issue of all was realizing that after the tent was all set up, that Caitlin had choosen a 2 person tent instead of a 3 person one!! Everyone was already in their groups and had tents put up so there was no one to switch with. So point of this story is that the three of us were assigned to this tiny, two person tent for the next 10 days!! Needless to say, we became VERY close!! Once the tents were wet up, we passed the time til dinner by playing ping pong on an old table that was at the camp site. Dinner this first night was rice and Chicken Lime Curry! The dinners on this trip exceeded my expectations by far!! They were amazing! Caitlin, Katie, and I played our favorite card game which we named "Bula" and went to bed!

Day 2- We were woken up at 5:30am this morning! The first thing to do, like almost all the mornigs to follow, was to take down the tents. It was still dark so this was a task as well! There was still a fair amount of driving this day but we stopped at Murchison River Gorge and Kalbarri National Park. This is when we first met our new friends who would follow us for the next 9 days: THE FLIES!! I cannot explain to you how bad these flies were! I will put up some pictures of people outside and how the flies just sit on yours arms and backs! Fly nets were a huge fashion statement on this trip and I am pretty sure we wouldn't have survived without them! At the Murchison River Gorge, we were very lucky to see a wild Kangaroo!! He looked right up and me and I got a great picture of him! He seemed to like posing for the camera! We stopped at a the mouth of a river which led into the ocean; i forget the name of this place. Many of our group just layed on the beach, but me and about 5 other people decided we wanted an adventure. We decided to take a LONG swim across the mouth of this murky river to an island on the other side! The swim took about 10 mins! It was exhausting! On the island were TONS of sand crabs! They were about the size of a softball, only flat! We got to our second camp site around 6:30 in the evening! We would stay at this camp site, Hamelin Pool, for 2 nights! We were told to set up our tents in the grassy area in the middle of the campsite! What we were not told, was that we would be sharing this grassy area with THOUSANDS of grasshoppers!! I have NEVER seen such a concentration of them, not to mention they were huge and on steroids! I really don't mind grasshoppers, so it was hard for me to walk to and from our tent, hearing them crunch beneath my feet with every step!! Pretty sad actually! Dinner was Chinese stir fry (in my opinion, the best dinner we had). I wasn't feeling to well this night. I had gotten sick before the trip even started, but it hit me hard this night. I had a terrible cough and a really stuffed up nose! I felt bad for my tentmates who had to deal with me! I took some NyQuil and passes out before everyone else!

Day 3- We were up at 5:30 again, but did not have to pack our tents up today! We headed to Monkey Mia where we got to stand in the shallows on the beach and see wild dolphins swimming just feet away from us! Some of us got to feed them as well! We had the opportunity to go out sailing on the "Aristocrat 2" This boat had what they call a "boom net" on the back of it! Ten people at a time could sit in the net and go for a ride! And a crazy ride it was!! We were getting thrown all over the place!! The crew of the boat found some Dugongs (like manatees) at sea which were pretty cool to see! After Monkey Mia, we headed to Denham Park for lunch! THis is a more urban area in the Northwest, so it was quite a sight when we saw an EMU running down the road with the cars! He looked so confused and out of place! They are such big birds! It almost felt like a dream! After lunch we went to a sheep shearing station! This place was home to hundreds of GOLDEN ORB SPIDERS! These things were massive! Biggest spiders I've ever layed eyes on! I've got some pictures, but they don't do them justice! I hated getting so close to them to take pictures, but i knew I would want to remember them! After that, we went to our last stop of the day, Shell Beach! This was a beach that was composed of billions of sea shells! Not one grain of sand to be found! It was painful to walk barefoot! Shoes were much needed! We went back to out site, ate Beef Stroganoff for dinner and then one of the guides took us to see the STROMATOLITES! These are the first living organisms and there are only 4 places to see them in the world! Without them, we human beings would not exist! Kinda cool to be able to see something like that, even though they did just look like a bunch of rocks! haha We saw a gorgeous sunset this night as well! Gotta love those sunsets!

Day 4- We were up at 5am this morning! Normal routine of packing up, breakfast, and getting in the buses! We were on the bus this day from 7am-4:30pm (with restroom and food breaks). It was well worth the drive though!! When we finally got to the Bayview Coral Bay Caravan Park, we were so HOT!! One of the hottest days of the trip! Before we even set up our tents, we went down to the beach for a swim! There were sting rays in the shallows that blended in and we had to be very careful not to step on them! THis place was like paradise compared to where we were before and where we would be going! We enjoyed our two days more than you know! This was our first chance at a shower since we left, unfortunately, they were salt water showers like most places in the Outback! The water here was so warm that you didn't eve have to turn on the hot water k*** in the shower. If you did, you would get burnt! Dinner tonight was lambchops and mashed potatoes! YUM! It was very hot and sticky this night and I had some difficulty sleeping! Everything had condensation on it! Everything felt wet! AND it so happened to be my turn to sleep in the middle of our little 2 person tent!! haha rought night, but it was all worth it for what I would experience the next day!!

Day 5- We were up at 6am this day (Yeah we got to sleep in haha). We had some freedom this day to do different activities within coral bay! There were different snorkel tours and scuba diving tours which lots of our group went on. However, there was a group of about 10 of us who dared to do something way more exciting than any scuba or snorkeling trip on a reef would be... We got the opportunity to SWIM WITH WHALESHARKS!!! For anyone who doesn't know what this creature is, google it!! haha A whaleshark is the biggest fish in the ocean! It resembles a whale, but it is not a mammal and it technically a shark! No worries though, it only eats planktin and crill! We first went snorkeling out on the reef to practice keeping up with the guide while in the open water! We were super lucky to see what we did while on the reef. We saw a huge leopard shark, a sting ray, a reef shark, and.... a GIANT MANTARAY!! Once we were done at the reef, we got on board and waited to hear word from the spotter plane about any whale sharks! They cannot guarantee that you will see whalesharks, but we luckily were able to see three!! We were told this was amazing and rare! The first one we saw was about 9 meters long which is 30 feet long!! Can you imagine!?!? we swam within 3 feet of these gentle giants!! The other two we saw were a bit smaller, 6 and 7 meters! I will try and post the one video that a guy in our group took with his underwater camera! Otherwise, i do have pictures of us swimming with the whalesharks too! The crew of the boat prepared this AMAZING lunch for us! I was surprisingly feeling seasick, so unfortunately i didn't eat much, but it looked delicious! After the whalesharks, the boat took us to another part of Ningaloo Reef where we got to snorkel for another hours! They say this reef is comparable to the Great Barrier Reef! Some of the best snorkeling i've ever gotten the chance to do! We saw a sea turtle here as well! This was, by far, one of the best days I have had since being in Australia! I have NEVER experienced anything like it! The rush of jumping in the water and seeing this enormous creature coming directly at you, its mouth stretching to be 5 or 6 ft wide, is unreal! AMAZING!! I slept very well that night! All seemed right in the world!

Day 6- Okay i promise these next 5 entries won't be nearly as long as the first 5! After Coral Bay, we headed inland, away from civilization, running water, and any form of artificial light! We were heading to Karajini National Park! Lots of time spent on the bus again today! When we arrived at the site, all you could see was the bare outback, and TONS of RED DIRT! There was no running water (hence no showers or sinks) and there was just one single toilet in a metal shed which was surrounded by Golden Orb Spiders and Cockroaches! THIS WAS MY NIGHTMARE!! I literally drank as little as possible becuase i was scared to death to use the toilet! Might I add that we stayed here for 2 nights!! We were told not to leave our shoes or anything else sitting outside the tents, becuase the dingos come through at night and take them! haha I definitely head them walking around the tents at night! Kinda creepy! I made a new friend this night...we found a HUGE stick bug that I was very intruiged with! He sat on my arm for about an hour! If anyone else tried to hold him, he would fly off! I oddly enjoyed this! haha I had never seen a bug so big that I was not afriad of!

Day 7- We got to sleep in til 7:30 today!! It was a nice treat, but we had a full day ahead of us in Karajini National Park. I will not go into too much detail as im sure you are getting tired of reading all this, but we hiked to Dales Gorge, and then were told that we would hike DOWN the gorge! When you see the pictures, you will understand why this is shocking! It was some tough hiking! Once down in the gorge, we went to 3 different sacred swimming holes: Circular Pool, Fortescue Falls, and Fern Pool! I have pics of all of them which will be posted! They were all gorgeous and we swam in all of them! We even cliff jumped at Fortescue Falls! It was awesome! That night, we were all exhausted! Caitlin, Katie, and I played cards again in the tent before dinner. After dinner, Craig (one of our tour guides) took me, Gabby, Alisa, out into the bush (outback) away from the light of our campsite so that we could see the outstanding night sky in all its glory!! I have NEVER gotten the opportunity to see the sky like this! There is literally no city within hundreds of miles! It is indescribable! You can see EVERY SINGLE STAR!! He showed us how to find what direction south was based off of the Southern Cross and lots of other tricks! We sat there in silence for the longest time just taking it all in! Probably up there with one of my favorite moments from this trip (or my entire life)!

Day 8- This day didn;t quite go as planned! Our bus had some mechanical issues so the other 2 buses went to see another sacred pool while we were stuck in the town of Newman waiting for our bus to be prepared! I actually didn't mind. There was a Subway at the shopping center nearby that we all got to eat at! First time I have had it since being in AU! After Craig got the bus fixed, we found out that the buses that had gone to see the sacred pool had gotten stuck in a deep trench in the middle of the road! Apparently, everyone had to help unhook the trailers and push the buses for about an hour before they got them free! I was very glad we weren't on those buses! Craig had some time to spare, so he decided to treat us all to a beer at the nearby local pub! hahaha Craig is now our favorite tour guide! Everyone was jealous of us when they finally got back! After this whole fiasco, we drove on to our campsite! We finally arrived at Kumarina Roadhouse and set up tents! This place was very nice after being in red dirt for the last 2 days! We got our second showers of the trip and our first freshwater showers in 8 days!! We were all refreshed and happy!! THis was the first night of the trip that was actually FREEZING!!! I wore sweatpants, sweatshirt, and socks to bed! When I woke in the morning, I was also covered with my 2 towels that I had brought along which I do not remember doing! haha

Day 9- Today was my day for kitchen duty!! Woke bright and early to help with breakfast! We got on the road and drove to our last campsite! We arrived at Wogarno Sheep Shearing Station for the night! THis is a real live operational Sheep Farm which is still up and running! This was our one and only night that we were allowed to have a campfire! Unfortunately because I was on kitchen duty, I didn't get to sit around and enjoy this much! Making dinner was fun though! We made another Chicken Curry like the first night! Barry (our other tour guide who reminds me of uncle shane, ALOT: his personality and looks) let us drink rum and cokes with them while we cooked!! For desert, Barry taught Caitlin and I how to make "Dampers" This is basically bread from scratch! We each got to make one! The ingredient to make it rise was beer, but when we got to mine, we didn't have quite enough left so Barry just grabbed my can of rum and coke and dumped it in there! I gave him crap that is wasn't gonna taste good, but he proved me VERY wrong! We cooked them in kettles over the open fire! It was a good night with lots of laughs! We had the option to sleep in the shearing shed with all the sheep wool with NO tents, or outside with NO tents! Just in sleeping bags! After seeing a gigantic huntsman spider crawl by on the ground while we were cooking, I mad up my mind to sleep in the shearing shed with Caitlin, Katie, and Ryan!! haha We were the only 4 who didn;t sleep outside, but the shearing shed was an experience in itself! I had 3 huge moths crawl in my sleeping bag with me, and there were mozzy's flying around in there as well! Not to mention, it smelled like barn animals (since thats basically what was in it 90% of the time)! Us four sat up laughing and chatting about life and the trip til about 1am! Then we hit the hay (or sheep wool) becuase we had a long drive back on the Jurassic Park buses the next day!

**2,200 miles and 43 mozzy bites later, I finally arrived back at Murdoch University!! It was an unforgetable trip to say the least! There are so many other little things and funny stories that I didn't include because this was just getting WAY to long, but i did keep a very messy journal, so it is documented! I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure in the Australian Outback!! Make sure to check out the pictures and videos which I will try and post now! Until next time, Cheers!!

Miss you all! Becky Anne!