Things I learned in the desert

Currently in Coober Pedy, South Australia.

1. An 80 year old ex crocodile hunter can still grope you.
2. He also thinks I cook like a young Irish virgin.
3. I can hate flies more than I did before.
4. Ditto for mosquitoes.
5. Flies can sit on your eyelids and not be shaken off.
6. Heat rash sucks.
7. All I need to get me up in the morning is the desert sun through my tent.
8. I don't hate camping as much as I thought I did.
9. Things still grow out here.
10. The Northern Territory doesn't have daylight savings.
11. The desert is very flat.
12. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Ayer's Rock and the Olgas) is phenomenal, and well worth the extra 1500km of driving.
13. Wild camels are cool.
14. Lizards are cool.
15. Scorpions and snakes are cool, but I haven't seen any yet.
16. Underground internet cafes are cool, in more than one sense.
17. I can live without phone reception for more than one day.
18. I have met more New Zealanders than Aussies living out here.
19. There are more stars out here than anywhere else I've been in a long time.
20. Leaving the headlights on to set up camp drains the batteries.
21. It's possible to push start a Ford Telstar when you have the help of some passing Spanish people.
22. You can drive around a storm.
23. Storms can last for hours on end.
24. I love fork lightning.
25. Red sand gets everywhere.
26. How to count to 10 in Irish (and other useful words).
27. Sunset in the desert is stunning.
28. A swimming pool makes a big difference.
29. The Melbourne Cup is a big deal anywhere in Australia.
30. I can write legible postcards whilst in a car.
31. Don't walk backwards in a mining area.