"Woman, 55, severely mauled by pack of 8-10 dogs in Alice Springs. No charges filed, and dogs have not been found."
Hmmmmm, Alice Springs sounded very familiar I thought to myself as I read the newspaper. Why is that? I pondered for a bit, and then it hit me - I'm flying to Alice Springs tomorrow, a city in the middle of the Australian Outback where water and human life are a scarce as non-surgically enhanced breasts in Scottsdale! Normally, I am not a fearful person, but the thought of possibly being mauled by Australian dingos struck a chord of fear in my heart. And it certainly does not make my list of "Top 10 Ways to Die." (Come to think of it, what does???)
As if flying to this city and being turned into dog food wasn't enough to scare me, the security (or lack of) at the Adelaide airport certainly did nothing to assuage my trepidation. Accustomed to the strip searches, car searches, bag searches, shoe removals, x-rays, beeping wands and scowling security guards which are now so common at US airports, I found myself walking straight past the smiling security guard with nary a second glance. My ID was not confirmed, and for all practical purposes, I could have boarded any of the planes idling on the tarmac. In a way, this trust and innocence was a refreshing change in this crazy world we now live in.
Before I wax philosophic over the horrible state of the world today, I think I'll digress and share with you a bit of my day in Adelaide. Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia (pop. 1,000,000), and is where my brother is currently studying. It is a charming city located on Australia's coast, and I was fortunate to have my own personal tour guide for the day. We first visited the Museum of South Australia, which boasts the largest collection of aboriginal artifacts in the Southern Hemisphere. (On a side note, Australia boasts the largest, longest and best of everything in the southern hemisphere, but the claims are a bit unfair when you consider that the comparisons are against relatively small third-world countries in Africa and South America! Its sheer size gives Australia an advantage over any country in the southern Hemisphere).
Back to the museum - it was an amazing yet sad look into the culture and life of the peoples who inhabited the continent many years before white settlers forged in and "civilized" the land. As we left the museum, we saw the distressing reality of the chasm between white man and the Aborigines - the huddled dark skinned homeless figures in the city's parks, the poverty stricken housing projects, the rampant alcoholism....it was an eye-opening glimpse into Australia's history and the present it must now deal with.
A lingering stroll led us to the Botanical Gardens where my eyes feasted on the green plant life and rainbow of roses and dahlias that abounded here. Although the desert of Arizona is beautiful in its own right, I found myself basking in the gloriousness of soft grass between my toes, leaves rustling in a gentle breeze, honeybees flitting about in gardens sprayed in hues of pink and gold and orange. In a word, my soul left refreshed.
Naturally, this moment of peace had to end for we had things to do, places to go, people to see....and so we went. Off to the city Central Market, strolling along cafe-lined streets, to home for dinner (where Tim delighted my palate with kangaroo steak, a somewhat chewy cross between beef and venison), and then to the seaside town of Glenelg. While standing on the pier gazing at the stars, my brother pointed out that just beyond the buoys was the greatest concentration of great white sharks in Australia. In fact, just several weeks ago, a man was swimming in these waters and nearly became shark bait. While he managed to keep all of his limbs intact, he nonetheless lost a fair share of blood. Needless to say, I don't think my big toe will even venture into the surf for fear I'll return to the US without it.
What a crazy dangerous, yet stunningly amazing place this country is.
Finally have internet access after a few days - here's a bit from the past few days....
4-19-03 - on a bus in the middle of the Australian Outback
Flies, flies, flies. Everywhere I go, there are flies. It's maddening! They're flying in my eyes and going up my nose. They've landed on my bum, and in between my toes. Welcome to the Outback Melissa. My guidebook warned me about these little flies that swarm around me as if feasting on a carcass. They don't seem to take note of my constant swatting, hands flying wildly in front of my face in attempt to ward off their attack. It is futile. I should have purchased one of those fly nets that seem to be all the rage here. They are quite attractive, and would have gone quite nicely with my fluorescent green jacket.
I'm on a little 4WD mini bus beginning my Outback adventure with 20 other adventurous souls from around the world. Jake, our tall, dark and ruggedly handsome guide (whoops, just found out he's only 20 years old!!) has entertained us along the way with stops to look at colored rock formations, interesting road kill and herds of wild camels. Let me share some of the interesting camel facts I have just learned:
1) A recent camel census puts their numbers at over 70,000 - and that's just in the western part of the country. Australia actually has more camels than the Middle East, and is the leading exporter of camels to this region of the world.
2) Because camels have no natural predators in Australia, camel shootings are perfectly legal, if not encouraged.
3) And last, but definitely most interesting, male camels have U-turn shaped genitals. I could have done without this fact, but Jake seemed to think it was a crucial point in our camel lesson.
We've now been driving for approximately 10 hours, so until the real adventure begins, I'll regale you with tales from Alice Springs. Obviously, the fact that I'm writing to you today means that I managed not to get eaten by wild dogs during our brief stay. I didn't even see a wild dog. Come to think of it, I didn't see much at all. Besides the fact that it was Good Friday and most of the shops were closed, Alice Springs was simply not a place I'd like to call home. It mainly serves as a springboard for tourists heading to the Outback. Most of our excitement in Alice took place at our hostel that evening. After an all-you-can eat BBQ and a few drinks, my brother and I settled in early to rest up before our bus came to pick us up at 6 AM. I was sleeping so soundly, excited to be in a bed and not sitting upright on a night bus. At 2 AM, the most horrible animal-like scream came from the courtyard just outside our window. A timid peek out the curtain revealed Ozzie coppies chasing an Aboriginal man caught stealing from the backpackers staying below us. After many more screams and a few punches, the cops caught the thief before he could get away. I was a bit terrified, but comforted myself in the fact that had it been our room, my big burly brother would have protected me...wait a second, I don't have a big burly brother. Oh well......