Well the image isn't great, but we landed in Sidney (SE Quarter)went straight to the middle, up to the top, across the NW, and around the west and south coast back to Sydney.
It was our introduction to flies, SWARMS OF THEM. If you ever wondered why people in Africa don't shoo the flies, go there or come here. If you don't ignore them they will drive you crazy!!
These signs would be at the entrance of dirt tracks that led to the outback. Once you started out on one of these, you were on your own. There are major roads that connect the cities, and loads of these "tracks" that criss-cross the outback
The outback is truly remote. There are aboriginals thought to live out there who have never seen white people! Check out the map some time (www.expediamaps.com). Any "roads" you see from the middle to the west are tracks. Many with hundreds if not a thousand miles between them.
This pile of rocks are actually HUGE. The "Olgas", near Ayers Rock (Uluru)were once much larger, but have worn down to a series of gigantic rock mounds. We spent a day hiking through here.
The colors of the outback are amazing. Most of the towns and highlights are near waterholes. The animals all come in at night to drink here.
The hiking was great and so was meeting so many great people along the way.
We made the obligatory stop at the "Devils Marbles", North of Alice Springs on the way to Darwin. Obligatory because there is nothing for 300 miles in either direction but this collection of rocks, hanging precarously, awaiting photo opportunities.
If travelling by bus, you have to get up very early to make sure you catch the morning one that passes by, or else you are here another day.
The "Salties" would surely eat you up, so be sure there are none around before venturing near the water. These signs were everywhere the road came close to water. If there were "Freshies" (Fresh water crocs) the sign would say "Swim at your own Risk". Comforting??
Of course if you chose to ignore the sign, your memory would live on as they usually named the place after the victim.
We rented a "Tinnie" (aluminum boat) and motored up and down the river. This area was just outside Kakadu National Park. The crocs here were huge. Since there was nothing between them and the nearby campsite we decided to head on for the evening!
One last look led us down to the waters edge. Seeing bugs and fish, we thought we'd get out and have a better look. Before doing that I asked everyone to wait a second as I pulled Matilda back from the waters edge. Lo and behold, there was a croc sitting on the bank right next to the car door. If we had gotten out, it would have all been over but the crying (no pun intended). We stayed in the car....
A typical bush camp. First find a shade tree (no easy task)(2)Set up tents (3)Lie on tarps (4) Sweat.
It was so hot your water would be toasty in the afternoons. Not quite refreshing, but not drinking gave worse results.
The Aboriginals have a story about the Boab Tree. The boab was rather vain and was always talking about how beautiful it was. The Gods played a trick and caused the Boab to forever be upside down so only its' roots were showing. The boabs came from seed that drifted from Africa. We started seeing them about 2/3rds the way across from Darwing to Broom in the Northern Territory.
That day we were ready for those pesky flies!!
Rob with a couple of brothers who shared gas from Darwin to Broome. We met loads of people travelling around the country and shared rides when we could. It really helped with the petrol expenses.
Halls Creek is literally in the middle of nowhere, about half way from Darwin to Broome in the Kimberly (Center-North). It's the site of an old gold rush. You need a sense of humour to live out here.
The gold rush began when a bush party on the way to another gold rush site stopped for lunch and found nuggets lying on the ground!!
We found these images in a park near the Northern Territory/Western Australia border. We stopped here because you could not take any produce across the border, and we sure weren't going to throw it away. We ended up finding a fabulous park with lots of historical Aboriginal sites. We spent a day in a hollowed out rock overhang admiring the art all by ourselves.
There are lots of people travelling around, many retired full timers, but you can still find yourself in a magnficent spot all alone for a day or week.
We finally made it to Broome. Here we settled in to the easy life. Every day entailed driving Matilda out to the beach and watching the day go by.
Dinner time in the bush camp. Every sunset was magnificent in the outback. It was always a relief for the sun to set. It cooled down a bit, but really the nights were spectacular too. The sky was so clear you could easily see the milky way. If there was a moon out, it was hard to sleep for the light.
Occasionally we would be treated to a blue-green meteor that would illuminate the ground like lightning. There are multitudes of meteors that fall each night. Out here you would see one a minute if you looked.
Roos are everywhere, and pretty accustomed to people. This one is near Exmouth. In the mornings they would come here for the shade. The sun would rise at around 5 am, and the park office wouldn't open till 9 or so. As we rose with the sun, we spent a while hanging out in the shade with these guys.
Another obligatory tourist stop at the "Pinnacles" in Western Australia.
This cheeky "Quoll" kept us entertained as he rummaged through our camp one night. At one point I had to get up and put a big rock on the nearby garbage can to quiet him down. Maybe that's why they are an endangered species!
Camels, Wombats, and Roos-- Oh My
The southern beaches in Australia are beautiful. The land comes to an abrupt end as if you are at the end of the world. We would have to call this one "typical".
Oh yes. The Kings Cross Backpackers car market. Located in the bottom of an underground car-park in downtown Sydney. We bought and sold Matilda here and made new friends. Of course with every car sold the previous owner was required to buy a "slab" of beer for those still selling. After a couple of days of beer drinking we bought a slab for those left. I think I actually drank more than 1 slab as Mel didn't drink her beers.
