On Getting Out Of My Comfort Zone In The Outback

FIRST AND FOREMOST, LET ME JUST SAY THAT I’M NOT AN OUTBACK TYPE OF GIRL.

I’m more of a big-city-espresso-martini type of girl.

So I was a bit hesitant in spontaneously booking a trip to the outback when I was in Adelaide because the very thought of me sleeping outside with all the unhuman things that can kill me in Australia made me really nervous.

But I booked the tour anyway.

The thing about getting out of your comfort zone is that whatever you do, it’s uncomfortable.

It might be a little uncomfortable.

It might be a lot uncomfortable.

But it will be uncomfortable.

And chances are that it’ll be scary, you won’t like it and you’ll start dreaming about a more comfortable place to be (i.e in bed watching Netflix).

This is exactly what happened during my recent trip.

It was a 5 night/6 day tour from Adelaide to Alice Springs. I enjoyed parts of the trip and got to see cool things. However, I would say that 90% of this trip was out of my comfort zone.

And here’s why:

Traveling With A Large Group

I traveled with a group of 20 people for 6 days and after the third day I wanted to get away from them. Most of them were really kind, but I know myself too well and after awhile I craved alone time. However, it wasn’t like I could go wander off on my own. I was in the middle of the desert with all sorts of scary (and deadly!) animals.

The Heat (Oh, Dear God, The Heat)

It was hot. Like, really I’ve-Never-Experienced-This-Type-Of-Heat hot.

Although I knew it would like this, I wasn’t expecting to get sick due to stupidity.

While hiking Kata Tjuta or attempting to (it wasn’t an easy hike), I didn’t drink enough water and started to dehydrate to the point where I didn’t know if I could go on. Our tour guide was nowhere to be found. Luckily there were two people from my tour who noticed that I was wasn’t well and made me drink water and helped me back to the tour bus.

The summer time in the outback also means lots of flies, and there were times when I had to cover my face with a fly net.

Sleeping Outside With All The Snakes

I’ve never slept outside before, so I was a bit nervous. Ok, fine. I was super-duper nervous. Like, OMG-I’M-GOING-TO-DIE nervous.

For two nights we camped outside in the Uluru campground. I couldn’t sleep. At all.

I was terrified that I’d see a dingo or a snake or something. Our tour guide even found a deadly snake not far from where we were sleeping our second night there and, well, do you think I slept that night?

Of course, they say that snakes are afraid of you and won’t attack unless you attack them, but it wasn’t comforting knowing that there were snakes around where I was sleeping. In fact, it was just terrifying.

I didn’t really enjoy the trip but the thing about getting out of your comfort zone is that you don’t have to like it. Push yourself out of your comfort zone anyway, and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished so much more than binge-watching Netflix.

If I never took this trip, I’d would always wonder what it would be like. I’d always be curious.

I’m not an outback type of girl, but now I can say that I’ve been to the outback. Now, someone please, get me an espresso martini.

PS: I lost most of my pictures as most of them were on my iPod and it exploded while trying to charge it on one of the campgrounds. Seriously, this was the Best. Trip. Ever.

PPS: I’m chilling out in Sydney now for a bit because I need a break from all of these adventures I’m having.

What Have You Done Lately To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone? Did You Sleep On the Ground With Deadly Snakes? Well, Did You?