Known for its distinct wildlife and breathtaking landscapes, Australia often appears on bucket lists of must-see destinations ...

And that's Australia. My affection for the outback is, frankly, a mystery to me. Nearly everything about it is alien or alarming to my nature. It exceeds by a considerable margin my personal ...

You don't so much backpack the Australian outback as bushwalk it. A remote and sparsely populated area of Australia, the outback is a vast, wide-open place. But therein lies the appeal.