After a day of the usual hostel limbo at the Alice Springs YHA (did manage to get to the tiny Flying Doctors museum - sort of remember the TV show from when I was a kid - and the Reptile Centre to cuddle some cute lizards and snakes), I set off early on Saturday morning on a quasi-tour bus destined for Adelaide. I spend most of the early km's out of Alice getting to know the other travellers (ie conducting the usual sermon-like conversation about travel plans). I'm sitting next to an interesting guy from Yokohama in Japan who was initially attempting to motorcycle around Australia on a 250cc 'bike' ('bonzai!' to that my friend), until he broke down just outside of Alice and didn't have the money or inclination to continue.
As the day unfolds we stop at a number of roadhouses (each of which seem to have some kind of tourist gimic - emu farms, a world-famous singing dingo etc etc) and witness some juggernaut road-trains steaming by, before finally reaching our campsite at King's Creek Cattle Station. We set up camp and I go for a walk around the station, happy to be out in the Bush again. After a few minutes I come across something quite unexpected - a paddock full of Afghan camels. I had completely forgotten that there are in fact thousands of imported camels, many of which are wild, that live a happy existence in the Outback. I enquire with a chap sitting nearly barely over 18 whether it's possible to take rides. He offers me a few hours for a couple of dollars. We saddle up and head out of the Station on an old path through some hills. I have a great time plodding along atop my mighty ship of the desert, his name is Bulka and is remarkably well-behaved (from movies you always expect camels to be mischievious, in fact they are usually very loyal travel companions).
We return to the Station with the sun slowly setting and despite the severe thigh workout, I feel sad to leave Bulka behind but promise to visit him in the morning. I return to camp and fix up some dinner before picking my swag (= rain-proof sleeping bag with in-built mattress and fly-net cover) for the night.
After sitting around the campfire for a while I am soon curled up inside my swag and looking up at the thousands of crystal-clear stars above me. I try to spot a few constellations but my exhausted eyes refuse to keep open for long and I'm soon asleep.
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