Emus, 'roos and spiders

So I left the comfortable confines of McLaren Vale and traveled 7 hours north into the deep outback of Southern Australia to hike in the Flinders Rangers.  It is a trip that takes you through the dry farming country of South Australia and then the scrubby outback beyond.  I went to hike Mt. Saint Mary's- the highest peak in the Flinders Range and SA and it overlooks this unusual sort of pound area--

And one pic looking out from the rim-

It was quite the hot hike- 36 C degrees, which must be close to 100 F.  But if you don't mind nearly unbearable heat, flies, being soaked in sweat and unable to see because of all the sun screen stinging your eyes- not to mention being parched for thirst every 30 steps- it is a very pleasurable hike.  Or at least it would be were it not for the spiders-

At one point, I ran into this huge spider web and- much like Sam or Frodo in the Lord of the Rings- had to fight off this monsterous spider- a veritable Shelob as it were- with little more than my water bottle and hiking poles.  Perhaps it was a question of who was actually retreating faster- me or the spider- but, for the record, I am counting this one as a battle heroically won.

My journey to Flinders and my outback hike did reveal some wildlife, like these far from the beaten track emus-

And dozens of what we here call 'roos-

Those guys are fast and not easy to catch on camera, much less afoot.