Foodies in the Outback

We woke up early for our camping trip and headed over to the bride's family's house. They had a basic breakfast spread (I ate a banana dipped in peanut butter and topped with Rice Bubbles - Aussie name for Rice Krispies, and tea). Apparently, the bride's dad had planned the entire trip around food stops. So, here's the account of our meals punctuated by tales of our camping trip.

We drove into the Outback in two 4x4 Land Rovers (rented stock-full of camping equipment) and the bride's dad behind the wheel of his own 4x4... um... was it a Subaru? Guess I pay less attention to cars than I do to food. I kept my eyes peeled for kangaroos and saw a couple on the side of the road - dead, roadkill. But none alive.

Around 10:30am we all got the munchies and stopped at a bakery the bride's family knew about. Here we piled up on meat pies, pasties (pronounced like pasta but ending in "ee," are meat pies in a hand-held burrito-ish form and tend to also have vegies), tarts and slices (a slice is any pastry baked and cut into square slices, i.e. a brownie down here would be a "chocolate slice," a lemon bar would be a "lemon slice" etc.). I think I may have had a muffin which was not daring or different but tasted really good. Plus it was apricot - so how could I refuse? X's pastie was super good.

Around noon it's time for lunch. We stop off at a cafe/bookstore/museum at the South Australia Arid Recovery Reserve. You'd think the food wouldn't be so good and you'd be wrong. We had amazing platters like the "Banjo": tuna patties (slightly crispy) with sour cream, sweet chili sauce, avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers; or the "Billabong": crispy battered prawns in a sweet/sour/cream sauce with avocados, tomatoes and cucumber. Also, this place is supposedly famous for its blended coffees and milkshakes. For good reason. X and I shared an apricot (again, how could I refuse) milkshake and it was fabulous. We tasted the quandong milkshakes others ordered and they were really good too. A quandong is a South Australian peach, much smaller and sweeter. You can find quandong smoothies, tarts, pies, sauce for your meat pie etc. etc.

Still no sight of kangaroos but my wardrobe begins to self-destruct. At some point, without my knowledge, my pants split at the crotch. I had to change at a rest stop and toss the torn pants. Then, while staring out the car window for kangaroos, my sunglasses broke. I didn't touch or move them, they just snapped under the strain of my intense gaze, I suppose.

We pulled off the road and onto a dirt road and all of us visitors got really excited about it. The landscape was just what you'd imagine: rust-red dirt far as the eye can see and scrubrush under a wide open sky. Then things got really exciting when we pulled off the dirt road straight into the bush. Once we found a sand-duney hill we pulled around next to it and got out. That is how easy it is to find a camping spot in the outback.

The bride's father had organized dinner and he and her mother set about preparing. We all pitched in, some building the fire, others chopping and peeling, others handing out the beers. X and I were excited to eat a good meal and stay up late drinking beers (and the whisky X brought) and talking into the night. I was sure this would give me a great opportunity to get to know these people, and to let them know me.

Dinner was bea-u-ti-ful. Cooked in roast pots set into the campfire we had roast chicken and a roast beef wrapped in lamb! Both dishes were cooked with peas, turnips, carrots, potatoes and onions. We were all beside ourselves when the meal was lifted from its containers and carved up. See picture above. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

But then everyone went to bed. Guess we're still a little jet-lagged? X and I could simply not convince them to stay up with us. So we went to bed too. Bed: a "swag," i.e. a one-person tent about the same size as a person with the head end tied to the car for some breathing room. You and your sleeping bag, shoes (don't want to leave shoes out for spiders, scorpions and dingoes!) and maybe a small bag are all that fit. X and I were the only couple to be in singles; all the other couples had doubles. Now I have always been tickled pink by small cozy spaces. Since I was a little girl I've sought out tiny places to curl up in with a book. I was a little disappointed not to share the giggly joy with X but oh well. When I mentioned we could trade the next night, no one was that enthused.

The next morning X and I took a walk and watched the sun rise over the red horizon. The full moon had been incredible all night and was still up in the morning. I got some great pictures. We had some tea and toast and eggs and bacon - a word on Australian bacon: I had already discovered it my first morning at the hotel breakfast buffet and swooned. It is my new favorite thing. A cross between US and Canadian bacons, this bacon is juicy and greasy and meaty with less fat but more flavor. I don't want to think about how much Aussie bacon I've been consuming. But I don't think they have it back home and we aren't allowed to bring back meat. We played some cricket with a cricket set we'd purchased the day before. I was an ok bowler but a horrible batman (batwoman?).

Then we all packed up and took off to the next meal. This was in a tiny middle-of-nowhere town at a cafe that was all decorated in plants and glass and blue walls. Very cute. We had meat pies and pasties. My meat pie was a disappointment and I looked around the room and realized how little I still knew anyone on this trip so I had a brief moment of crankiness. But recovered. I tasted someone else's quandong pie and it was yummy, but perhaps a little too sweet for me.

We drove into what I'd call a "high desert," with eucalyptus trees, a dry river bed, and rocky hills. The dirt was less a red and more a mauve. Here, we took a quick evening walk and saw goats and *gasp* kangaroos! We set up camp and then took off to the Prairie Hotel. http://www.prairiehotel.com.au/ If you are ever in the outback of South Australia you must must must go there. It is quite an experience. Outside, it looks like an outback ranch with a fire burning out front and some rough looking guys warming their hands. Inside, there's a lively bar, tons of people swigging beers and a cozy dining room decorated with local art. We sat down at a large, rustic farm table and chowed down on the tasting menu. The Prairie Hotel specializes in feral food. Their merchandise and menus are decorated with icons of kangaroos, goats, camels and emus over the proud motto "Eat some today!" We had incredible emu pate (what distinctive flavor), smoked kangaroo (sooo good), goat cheese, camel salami, kangaroo steak (best thing on the menu, grilled to perfection), emu sausage and more. We were filled to bursting and still had to get through dessert: quandong pie.

That night, back at camp, the fire was roaring and X finally convinced some of the guys to drink some whisky. But then, sometime around 8, everyone disappeared except X, S, and me. I bowed out too, frustrated that yet again everyone went to bed early.

We woke up early again and had some bacon and toast and tea and then the visitors took a nine mile hike while the Aussies drove to meet us at the end of the trail. We saw many many kangaroos but no koalas (I kept my binoculars trained to the trees and nada). It was a great hike, a great day, and I finally connected with someone. One of X's friends, a woman whose husband had not yet joined us, has a fantasy of being a writer, and we shared interests in books and movies and food.

When we were done with the hike, we had candy and fruit bread and tea. Then, exhausted, we piled into the cars and back to Adelaide.