Things that will (possibly) kill you in the Australian bush

Things that dig holes – then camouflage them

I never used to go camping. Too cold, too many insects, too uncomfortable. Then Doc dragged me kicking and screaming into the outback in a swag, and I was hooked.

All my objections were overcome. Modern camping is comfortable, campfires help with the cold, or you can just go north where it’s never cold, and there are even good products that will keep mosquitos away.

And all those stars!

One thing that is still true though, is that there are many, many things in the Australian outback that will kill you!

If you think spiders and snakes are scary, wait until you come up against things you never see.

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Kanku/The Breakaways – Painted Desert

The colours of Kanku/The Breakaways and the Painted Desert are truly breathtaking.

Check out the photo gallery

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More car trouble in the outback

Well, it’s happened again. I’ve had car trouble.

Driving from Coober Pedy to Arkaringa and the Painted Desert, one of the clips holding my back window in place broke. Of course it was the strongest one, the one that holds it all in place. Without that, the clip that holds down the other corner just pops out. So I drove through the dust with my back window flapping in the breeze. Letting in the dust that the car was kicking up behind.

I tried putting the front windows down to get an airflow through the car and push the dust out the back. It didn’t work. All I got was a dust storm swirling in front of my eyes. It was a bit cool anyway, so I was happy to put the windows back up and deal with it when I got to my next stop – 45k down the dirt road.

Nope.

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Outback Australia landscapes

The Australian outback truly is remarkable. And ever changing as you drive through it.

I left Coober Pedy heading north for the Painted Desert. First stop, Kanku/Breakaways again. Last night I drove in from the highway to the lookout, so today I wanted to drive in via the Moon Plain, and actually into Kanku to see the hills from ground level.

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Coober Pedy, the wild outback

Coober Pedy.

It’s not as I imagined it would be.

Yes, there are a lot of opal mines, surrounded by even more mounds of dirt, looking a bit like crab holes in wet sand. You know how little crabs throw balls of sand all around their hole while they’re digging? Well, that’s what the surrounds of Coober Pedy reminded me of. If we really are in the Matrix, or there is a giant looking down on us, I’m sure that’s how Coober Pedy would look to them.

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Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, all to myself

Halligans Bay is the only place you can camp at Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre), and I have it all to myself.

Well, not quite to myself. There is a bird who appears to be trying to mate with his reflection in my wing mirror. And there’s the spiders – but more on them later. First, the bird.

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