The desert and camels on the way to Uluru

We left Alice Springs by buswatching for kangaroos> which we did not see, and feral camels, which we did see. In addition to the wild camels,we stopped at a camel farmwhere I experienced my oneand only camel ride that I expect to take in my lifetime, even if I do return to Egypt! Oy, it was rough! While I am sure that one can adjust to the lumpiness of the camel gait, it would be easier if the stirrups were properly adjusted. We no sooner took off than the stirrup flew off my right foot, making it really difficult to control the movement of my body in the saddle. The drover did not hear me, or chose not to hear me (hysterical woman, etc.). I finally gained stability by stretching my stirup-less foot out staight, with firm, locked knee. Had a few back twitches for days afterwardsThe trip across the desert was beautiful and austere.We saw birds of prey galore.We stopped at the huge salt lake I had seen from the airplane, climbing a sand dune for the blinding view.