5 Outback Occurrences That You Never Want To Experience

3. A Red Xmas

Dust storms suck people. They really do. There is nothing either beneficial or positive about these massive walls of dirt and sand that are so thick you can't see five feet in front of you. They are the definition of a pain in the arse. And the Australian Outback is famous for them. We had them all the time but the worst one I remember clearly (except which year it was, 83-84 maybe) was one we had while celebrating Xmas. You could not have the traditional family bbq or visit the relatives. You could not take your newly acquired toys outside to play. You could not see. If you went outside you couldn't breathe. All we could do is border up and wait it out. Because certain types of ventilation ducts don't exactly keep the dust out. But it did give us a rather unusual sight (and pretty awe inspiring one at that), a xmas spent in a sea of red dust. Everything had a red filter on it, not unlike the end of "Mad Max, Beyond Thunderdome." or if the town itself was transported to Mars. But unfortunately whereas some people might find it beautiful, to us kids it mean't a ton of cleaning and a crappy xmas.

Cheers nature.