Posts filed under 'Australia'
Enjoying sunset in the bush with a nice glass of red, listening to the sounds
of a didgeridoo being played by my camping neighbor and relishing in the
fresh feeling of having just had a nice swim. It doesn’t get much better than
this. I had a good drive up from Mataranka today, considering that I had no
set plan, as usual. I stopped in Katherine to refuel at about 9:30am when I
saw the sign to Katherine Gorge and I thought, well why not? I had forgotten
all about it actually, but since it was only 30km out of my way, I figured it
would be an ok side trip. I did about a 45-minute walk in the park to see the
gorge and stretch my legs a bit and then I was on my way. Not before re-
supplying the food and wine rations though.
While in Katherine I received a text message from my friend in Darwin who
said she wanted to drive down and meet me at Litchfield tonight so I said
great! I was excited to have some company. It tool me another 3 hours to
get to the park and for the most part it was an uneventful drive with me
singing Eddie Rabbit’s ‘Driving my Life Away’ over and over to myself.
Got into the park and went to the first carpark to meet Shaza as we agreed…
.it was the viewing area for the termite mounds so I checked them out while
waiting for my friend. Another hour later and getting almost dark and there
was still no sign of her, so I left a note and took off for the first campsite. I’m
here at the Buley Rock Pools campground paying $6 for a site. I was hot and
sweaty after a long day of driving so I changed and went down for a swim.
Ahhhh! I walked about 15 minutes downstream and found the perfect pool
away from the crowds. It was heavenly. I’m told there are no crocs here this
time of year but I didn’t stay in long, just in case.
Now I’m back at the van and the wine’s been cracked, but there is still no sign
of Shaz. I can’t help but feel how lucky I’ve been to see so much of Australia
on this little road trip of mine, and for almost no cost apart from food and
some petrol. It’s been really fun. Tomorrow it will be sad to turn in my last
van, for now. Signing off with the sounds of didg still going strong.
Late note: Found out the next day that Shaz didn’t quite understand the
meeting point and couldn’t find me so she drove back to Darwin that night…
June 26th, 2006
I highly recommend ending a long day of driving with a nice relaxing soak in a thermal spring whenever possible. I’ve done just that today on my ride north to Darwin. I arrived here at the Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort at about 2pm, and could have continued driving for another 2 hours, but why? I spent the afternoon exploring some lovely walking tracks, and then had a nice soak in the thermal pools, and that to me is much better than just getting a bit further down the track. There was really nothing to see along the road today, and all I can say to that is thank you Apple for iPods and iTrips. I am noticing a very slight change in the terrain as I leave the desert behind and head closer and closer to the tropics – the termite mounds are getting bigger, the trees are getting taller, and the landscape is slowly getting greener. I sense that I am now closer to the ocean than the red centre. It?s about another 500km to Darwin from here, but I am thinking of taking 2 days to do it because there is still another interesting spot to check out on the way.
Website note: Sorry to everyone who is trying to navigate around the site – I am very aware of the gremlins still lurking about – actually I am working now on re-doing to entire site, so please be patient for awhile longer and I will reward you all with a flash new and exciting fabulous homepage.
June 25th, 2006
Back in another relocation van again and it feels good to be on the road. The road north from Alice Springs is extremely flat and straight, and in true Northern Territory style, it has no speed limit. There really isn’t much to see along the way except for red dirt and bushland but I kept myself entertained by listening to an audio book. There are a few places worth mentioning though – one is Barrow Creek, made famous from the Peter Falconio “backpacker” murder a few years back. If you didn’t know about the murder, you would have no idea that anything ever happened there, but if you do know then I think you can’t help but drive along and wonder where his body might be (it was never found).
Much more interesting heading north is Wycliffe Well, otherwise known as the UFO Capital of Australia. It’s just a roadhouse and caravan park, but the entire place is decorated in tribute to the many alleged UFO and alien sightings there. Even the toilets are labeled ‘Femaliens’ and ‘Maliens,’ but it definitely adds interest to what would otherwise be just another caravan park. It also happens to known for having the largest selections of beers of any roadhouse in Australia – about 160 I think – hmmm, could there be a scientific reason why the aliens would single out a place with an extraordinary selection of beers???? Things to think about while driving I guess.
I’m camping tonight at Banka Banka. For $6 you get a campsite, a nice hot shower, and a slideshow by firelight about the Banka Banka cattle station. It was interesting to see photos and hear stories about a different station after having just finished working on one myself. I couldn’t help but look around at all the people watching the show getting their 40-minutes insight into station life and think how fortunate I was to be able to live and work amongst it for 5 weeks. I definitely got the real deal.
On a side note, the temperature’s been rising as I head north as well, so I can well and truly say goodbye to -5C nights in Alice and hello to 30C days in Darwin very soon! Tomorrow I continue north. It’s about 1900 km to Darwin from here.
June 24th, 2006
I’m back in The Alice again, back to civilization that is this small country town after having finished my job at the cattle station. It was a great adventure to work ‘out bush’ for 5 weeks, to see how outback Aussies live, and also to experience life on a real working cattle station. And no, I did not sample the fresh organic beef, not even once, to the dismay of my boss who was convinced that he would convert me away from vegetarianism. I happily ate my veggies and we still managed to get along fine. The boys finished all the mustering in about 6 weeks and I completed my job of spring-cleaning the house, so the three workers – ‘Bones’ the Aussie fellow from Queensland, Jim the Irish backpacker, or ‘Packer’ as he was called, and myself – all left the cattle station for our next destinations. Bones drove back to Queensland to be with his 3 kids, Jim flew south to Perth, or ‘Pert’ which is how it sounds with his thick Irish accent, and I have been in Alice Springs for the last week waiting to get another relocation van to get to Darwin. There is a lot to see around Alice and I’m lucky to have friends here so it’s been an easy place to spend another week. Admittedly though I am feeling ready to move again and I hope to be in Darwin in the next few days. I have another Lizard Island friend up there, and I know she is waiting anxiously for me to arrive so we can hit the pubs!! It will be good to catch up with another old friend.
On a side note from the traveling, I had some sad news from home this week – my Pop-Pop Kazelis died last Friday and being in the middle of Australia, I’m just not able to realistically get home for his funeral. When you are traveling as long as I’ve been these things are bound to happen and this is not the first time that I have received a bad email, phone call, or text message. Life on the road is still life and it’s still full of the same ups and downs that people have at home. My Pop-Pop was old and not well and everyone agrees that his passing was for the best, but it is still sad to lose a part of the family. Since I can’t be there to say goodbye to you in person Pop-Pop, I hope you check my website from heaven and see me writing that I love you and I am glad that you are finally with Grandmom. This entry is dedicated to you.
June 23rd, 2006
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