The shuttle dropped me off at the hostel at 8.45, which gave me just enough time to drop into an internet café and see if anyone had e-mailed me recently (thanks, Matt!) Soon enough it was time to pop back, as another bus with another trailer was coming to pick me up as well as a guy I met on the Rock trip.

What were Tom and I off to do? Why, quad riding in the Outback, of course!

And what a blast we had. The two-hour trip involved a nice variety of terrain, and a small group size (just four of us plus the owner/guide.) Ripping through the desert, we threw up huge dust clouds, against which I employed my visor just in time — barely three seconds after I first pulled it down, a large insect slammed into the plastic just in front of my left eye.

I started just behind the leader, but eventually worked my way to the back of the pack. This was in part because I wanted to let other people ride in different positions, but also because I quite enjoyed falling back for awhile, getting some distance, and then balling that jack to the max to catch up. It was just totally invigorating, and I had a great time.

Judging by the "after" picture*, it also looked like I got a great tan, so caked with red dust was I. (But you should see the other guy.)

Anyway, dust be damned, it was so worth it.

* I’d post it, but I blinked. So it’s a bit sub-sly. If you still want to see it, just e-mail.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2003 at 11:00 am and is filed under Travel.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.