The Desert Venturer, day 3

We left Wirrelyerna at 6am, in the bright sunset light which painted the landscape in a fiery red. High up in the sky, the moon was finishing its journey from the East to the West and would soon disappear as the sun rose to a new day...

We probably drove for 3 hours without coming across any township or any sign of human life. However we did see lots of kangaroos bouncing about in the morning sunshine. And then we reached the border between the state of Queensland and the Northern Territory, which isn't a state and thus doesn't have a lot to say in Australian affairs.

Greg didn't really know whether the 3 R's on the sign below were a joke or an actual mistake. But he seemed convinced it was the first option, another way of making a road sign famous.

We then had a short break in Tobermorey Station which would close down (permanently) the next day, making the journey from Boulia to Jervois Station even more difficult since its closing down meant drivers wouldn't be able to stop there for fuel anymore.

After our lunch break in Jervois Station, we hopped on the bus again and stopped next to a 5-metre termite mound. I actually thought it looked like a giant obese penguin.

Yes, a penguin!

Our last stop before arriving in Alice Springs was the Atitjere community, an aboriginal town. There, we could have a look at aboriginal art and Greg explained to us the great diversity of the aboriginal world. While we tend to think of Aboriginals as one homogeneous group with one culture, they actually represent hundreds of various "language groups", with their own culture etc...

Stopping in the desert, as the bus had to cool down again.

And we finish this 3-day photo album with a portrait of Nicole, I mean Doctor Nicole ;-) who, together with a few other backpackers, made this epic journey an incredibly enjoyable one, with great laughing sessions, as well as very interesting conversations about life and travels...

This is the end of the Cairns-to-Alice story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed being part of it. It truly was a fabulous time, with breathtaking landscapes and a lot of meditation in the remote outback. I have met great people, Dr Nicole and Gary, and I hope I'll keep in touch with them. So I say thank you to both of you.

Thanks to Nicole for your smile (how do you keep it going for so long?), your conversations, your strawberry Tim-Tams and for waking me up at 5.10am on the second day, and thanks Gary for your advice on photography and for lending me your polarising filter - it definitely made a huge difference!!!

The Desert Venturer, day 2

We left Hughenden at 6.30am and hit the roads again, our stomachs full and our spirits high.

We came across a giant monitor, which translates in French as "un varan". This enormous lizards can run fast and blend in the landscape thanks to the brownish colour. Greg even stopped the bus so we could have a closer look at the beast. Who said dragons didn't exist?




And next to the bus, something we unfortunately saw very often on our way: a dead kangaroo. The bouncing animals get hit by cars or road trains and lie on the road, their body roasting in the sunshine. Sometimes, a baby is left alive in the pouch. In the summertime, it can survive for 3 days in there.




We then went back to civilisation by stopping in a tiny town called Winton. Despite its relatively small, not to say minuscule, size, Winton is rich in history:

- it is the birthplace of the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (1920), later renamed "Qantas" and now one of the largest airlines in the world.

- it is also the birthplace of Waltzing Matilda, Australia's "unofficial" anthem. It tells the story of a swagman, i.e. a man who travels in the outback with his swag on his shoulder. And as he walks, the swag naturally swings, or waltzes. A swag is nicknamed a Matilda, hence the name: Waltzing Matilda. It could have been the official anthem but when the government organised a referendum to give citizens the choice between various songs, Waltzing Matilda wasn't included in the options because it tells the story of a "criminal", since the itinerant swagman stole a sheep and later drowned. And the government knew that everyone would have chosen this song... So now you know what is Waltzing Matilda, Australia's unofficial anthem.

- there's a very unique wall, built by one of the town's inhabitants, a German man. A German wall, that might not sound very original. But this one is strange (see the pictures further below).

- Winton used to be known as Pelican's Waterhole but the lazy postman got a bit fed up with the complicated address so he decided to write the name of his British hometown on envelopes before dispatching them. This is how the town changed its name to Winton.





What happened is this man decided to build a wall with all the stuff he was going to throw away, including: motorbikes, engines, and other various pieces of "stuff"...







The original Qantas office, before it was moved to Brisbane.




A swagman.




Back on the long and not really winding road...







Impressions of the Australian bush... A Monet-esque picture, don't you think?




After a few hours of driving, we stopped just outside Middleton, where we would have a picnic lunch. The land's bareness was breathtaking.
















But even in this hostile region, trees manage to grow...




Next stop: Middleton. Greg was telling us we'd have lunch at the Hilton Hotel who kindly let us use their facilities. I thought that was rather exciting although I didn't even consider the fact that the probability of seeing a Hilton Hotel in the outback was close to 0.

But I was wrong !!!

We did have lunch at the Hilton, which welcomed us with a simple sign: "vacancies, no air conditioning, no TV, no pool, no charge". I suddenly realised I loved outback Australians' humour.







This is the town of Middleton. Population: 6 and one house which includes a pub.




Gary on duty. We never knew whether he was cleaning the windscreen to help Greg or to make sure his own pictures were clear...







Another abandoned house in Middleton.







The other thing I couldn't get enough of was mirages. As we drove along endless straight roads, the landscape around us was trying to trick us. Giant rocks and trees would lift themselves up and float on the horizon line. A very impressive sight indeed.




A few hours later, we stopped again in the middle of nowhere, to enjoy the rocky landscape from a lookout up on a hill. We met a man who'd been there for a couple of days and was intending to spend a total of 40 days to meet the Lord and meditate on life in the company of God. We had a very interesting conversation with him and couldn't help but wonder how he would survive for 40 days in one of the most naturally hostile places on earth.










Here is our religious man's living area for the next 38 days.

He even posed for us, the Holy Bible on his lap.

We left the contemplative man in his world of prayer and jumped back on the bus. Our next stop was Boulia, where Greg told us about the Min Min lights. These lights follow cars on their way to Boulia but no one has been able to identify exactly what they are... Mystere et boules de gomme...

Our last stop of the day, where we would stay overnight, was Wirrelyerna cattle station, probably the remotest inhabited place I have ever been to. Outback cattle station can be as large as 15,000 square kilometres if I remember well. Cattle live there independently, without farmers looking after each one them. In a way, they're free but still controlled when it's time to gather them and, well, meat-pack them ha ha. This is known as "mustering" and farmers use helicopters, 4-wheel drives and motorcycles...

The stations' mascot: Mary the kangaroo. Mary knows how to get men to please her. Everyday, she enjoys her morning coffee otherwise she gets very grumpy. She even gets on really well with the two dogs which also live there. A little angel she is, and everyone loves her!

Most cattle stations have their names written on the roof so that, in case of an emergency, the Royal Flying Doctors can spot them more easily. I'll talk more about the Royal Flying Doctors Service soon.

When I told you we were in the middle of nowhere, I REALLY meant it.

My dear Desert Venturer friends, Gary the artist from San Francisco and Nicole, the medical student from Maastricht, gazing in the evening light, waiting for the sun to disappear in the horizon.

And we all watched the sunset from a hill. A fantastic moment, peaceful and silent...













Backpackers' shadows in the sunset light... One of my favourite pictures.

As the sun disappeared and a red moon rose in the opposite direction (sorry, no photos, this is all for me in my little head - and I was too lazy to go back to my room and get the camera again), we went back to the station to have dinner. Even Mary was allowed to have her own plate of vanilla ice cream. This time, no killer chicken game as we were told that breakfast was scheduled at 5.30am the next day, so we could leave at 6! And so I went to bed, after going back to the hill to watch the stars for a few minutes...