What You Didn't Know About The Outback

Imagine, if you will, a vast dry landscape that unravels itself in front of you. Areas of cracked, brick-red earth and light, loose sand are also met by mass quantities of patchy, green shrubbery—though it is not the rich kind that produces morning dew or attracts pollinating butterflies. These plants are just as dry as the land they grow from, and their brittle appearance provokes within you urges to water them, as well as a terrible thirst for a tall glass of water. The land is largely flat, though there are a great number of sizable hills that require stamina and perseverance to climb. This dessert boasts the largest wild camel population on the planet, and you encounter a number of road signs that warn of their presence.

It might come as a shock to many that the aforementioned place is not located in the Middle East or Northern Africa but right in the heart of lovely Australia. Oz (as it is frequently referred to in an effort of abbreviation) is the planet’s driest inhabited continent. The entire center of the country is not farmable and lacks water sources, making it practically inhabitable—hence the entirely coastal population with upwards of eighty percent of Australians living within fifty kilometers of the coast. And yes, although camels are not native to the land, there are over a million wild camels in Oz.

Welcome to the Outback, the place known to many but understood by few. I was graced with the opportunity to visit the great Australian Bush (named after those dry green shrubs) as part of a class trip. Our outback location of choice was Broken Hill, a once-great mining city turned desolate town surrounded by nothing, the residents of which are mainly descendants of the miners who just have no desire to leave. Broken Hill is the closest bona fide outback area to Melbourne, and it requires a 12-hour drive each way.

This trip might sound like a bore, but it was actually a great deal of fun. My friends and I climbed down into one of the old mines (which was actually quite difficult and claustrophobia-inducing), rode camels, visited an old aboriginal territory and watched the sun set over the sprawling bush. I saw wild camels, wild kangaroos, and wild emus. It was one of the places I least expected to visit in my lifetime, and the fact that I did makes me feel accomplished.  Though I cannot imagine living in the outback, the experience of my visit was incredibly unique and, for lack of a better term, pretty darn cool.

P.S.- We turned about four kangaroos into road kill with our bus over the course of the trip, something that greatly disturbed us students but did not seem to faze the bus driver in the slightest. Apparently kangaroos are the equivalent to the American squirrel, though I will argue that kangaroos are indubitably cuter.