Steamy Centre

I'm flying down the road, CD blaring and I'm singing along to Madonna's "Material Girl" at the top of my lungs as I look at Uluru outside the window. The bush version of an 80's party in my Maruku van.

The rain has now cleared, grey clouds float above the Rock but are moving east. It's steamy as the moisture rises from the earth. Big puddle! Minga! (Direct translation: ant. The locals call tourists mingas because they look like ants when they climb Uluru). I can do 1 of 2 things.

Swerve and miss it, or, drive straight through it and saturate this poor bastard!
SPLASH! I know karma will get me for it, but I figured, that was their karma if they climbed!! Not the nicest thing I've done (nor the nastiest for that matter!) but it was a great story to tell the old women, and, a story for the minga to take back with him!

Further along, I could see something on the road, raised, a reddish brown colour. "Aah" I thought. "Ngiyari" - Thorny Devil. A very ferocious looking reptile, which, in actual fact, is slow moving and very gentle when handled. They are an adorably delightful little creature who become disoriented if you pick them up then put them down in the opposite direction that they were heading! I'm notorious for pulling over several times on the road, chucking a u'ie and picking the little critters up off the road and propping in the scrub.

That's the beautiful thing about Australia's Red Centre. The phenomenon of the weather - heavy rain and then extreme heat, brings different creatures out in various stages. So at the moment, Thorny Devils are out and about, Centipedes are causing havoc, and the frogs, well, they've come out from underground and their crazy mating frenzy and are hopping about all over the place!

Yesterday, Australia's central landscape was silver and wet, today, the wildlife are roaming and she's red.