From Darwin to the Centre

After 30 days of silence I've finally regained my voice and have a lot to tell everyone.

So, after purchasing a camper van in Darwin, I posted adds on Gumtree and to get people to come along. I ended up with two German passengers, Jana and Paola, when I finally hit the road.

Jana tenting

Paola eating 

The first few days were a little hard. I wasn't used to being alone and the two girls I was taking were hard to talk to. Conversations didn't come to easily and I felt a bit like a taxi driver. It didn't matter though, cause I distracted myself with all the places I was seeing.

Common road breakfast

We went through Litchfield national park and spent two days seeing waterfalls and all kinds of stuff. My favorite part was Edith falls. We camped there one night then got in the morning to swim in the falls. It was a beautiful place where you could climb to the top of the waterfall and look over the edge. I even found a spot where the water was flowing on either side of me.

other waterfall

Edith falls

Because of the water I didn't take my camera everywhere and honestly lugging it around was sometimes annoying. It was often better just to experience things then bring the camera
when it was entirely necessary. I'm going to invest in a tough all terrain camera in the future.

The road

Anyway, once we hit Katherine the road suddenly became far more desolate. Where we had once seen signs every half an hour or so for an historical site or a track to a natural beauty, now the road just stretched on for hours without so much as a WW2 historical site. The brown government signs were replaced by blue truck stop and free camp signs.

Free campsite

Somewhere before Alice

In Litchfield I was almost trampled by this pigs mum

Despite the desolation, there was always a spot on the side of the road made for free camping. There were often toilets and water and somewhere to sit

with a roof. Actually, when we pulled up to free camps we wondered if the population of the camp was more than most of the towns we were passing.

In the 1200 km between Katherine and Alice Springs I think we passed one or two bundles of houses that I would really describe as a town. The rest were like encampments with a permanent petrol station.

Also the gas prices rose sharply until we got to Alice. In Darwin we were paying 1.55 a litre. On the road it quickly hit 1.80. The cost seemed to make the girls stressed along the way. I had explained they would pay for gas and food because I provided the van, but I don't think any of us had anticipated the trip to cost so much.

The girls

Antonia and me

Anyway, Alice Springs finally sprung up among the mountains and with it the gas prices dropped. Not all the way though. We booked a hostel for one night and refilled our water bottles and containers. We stayed in a hostel and had a well deserved shower.

Before I'd left from Darwin, I'd put an ad on gumtree looking for people to come along with me. In the add I mentioned that I found voodoo dolls in the back and was a bit afraid. A few days later I was texted by someone telling me I didn't have to be afraid because I have to tell them my worries.

I'd thought nothing of the text, and texted back thank you. I asked why she'd looked at my add and if she wanted a ride, but the girl told me she was in New South Wales but wanted to see Uluru. We started talking and I found out her name was Antonia, and she was from Germany. Somehow after a marathon of messages Antonia asked if she could join us in the van. I told her to meet us in Alice Springs.

Antonia and me again

So the day after my shower and my shave I drove to the airport and went to meet her. I was excited and so I parked up in the parking lot of the airport. I waited first and told her where I was then, then I thought she wouldn't get the message and so I went in, then I thought maybe she left already so I went back to the car. I saw a girl walking towards the parking lot and then she turned around for some reason.

The flies!

She looked at me with that "Is that him?" look and I guess I must have given the same stare. I don't remember what she was wearing although I think she was wearing a her hat. I can't remember what we said, but I can remember her smile and the way she laughed. I'd known her words for so long, and heard her voice once when we called, but suddenly I had a face to match to it all. She was beautiful.

loved our eyes

Anyway we got in the car, I embarrassed myself by trying to leave and forgetting to pay the ticket. We went back into Alice Springs and picked up the girls. The trip suddenly seemed like it was going to be a lot better. I think from that point on I haven't disliked a minute of my time on the road.

We all set off for Uluru Jana and Paola confronted me about the money. They wanted me to pay for the gas too, but I said no. I said I had paid for the van so they could pay for the gas and stuff. I think and still think it was fair, but they didn't think so. This created a bitter air for the next little while. The girls would ignore me and I didn't really do anything to help the situation. They ate alone.

We got to Uluru and the everything remained the same. On the first night Antonia and I watched the stars for a while, which are far more clear than at home. We saw many shooting stars.

Uluru!

Uluru at sunset

Kata Tjuta

Uluru under cloud

We moved on the next day, arrived at Uluru and went into the national park. We bought our pass, something like 3 days for $25 and then went on many of the trails. The weather was really bad, I remember how cold the nights and the days were. I hadn't bought warm clothes thinking the temperature in the day would be 30 degrees plus. It must have averaged around 16.

So the sunset on the first day was covered by clouds and we drove out 30 km from the national park to sleep. That night there were many other backpackers in vans. Some had made a fire.

Uluru next to girls

Aboriginal wacking stick (not to be
confused with the digging stick
or music stick)

We visited Uluru again and this time walked all the way around. It's a really big rock. It took hours. It also rained. Which didn't seem that cool right away, but when it rains the big red rock turns white and this day a massive low altitude cloud covered the top. It was different to what I had expected to see. There were waterfalls everywhere.

Antonia looking over kings Canyon

Lost white people

Another night at the campsite then we saw Kata Tjuta. We got up pretty late and had breakfast. Antonia talked to me about the girls and how they weren't enjoying the trip. I said if they don't talk to me and just be passive aggressive I can't do anything about it. We talked about it, then I decided to do something.

I don't know why I did, because I still think I was totally in the right to have them pay for gas when I provided a van and drove them everywhere. But, I decided that it wasn't money I wanted right now at this point in my life. Paola and Jana were nice girls and if they couldn't see passed the money and neither could I, then the whole trip would be bitter. So, I decided that from that point on we would split the gas until we got to Cairns.

Wanderers of Kings Canyon

I pulled them aside and talked to them about everything. At first I was reluctant, before Kata Tjuta I explained my point of view. We talked and got everything off our chest. It was after we left and drove to Kings Canyon that I decided to split the cost. This seemed to solve every problem. Suddenly the trip was much happier and the girls and I were on our way to being friends.

Hiking

We drove through to Kings Canyon. It was massive and the walk took us over a massive gorge. It was cold again, but we just dealt with it. There was a place in the canyon called the Garden of Eden where Antonia decided to swim like Adam and Eve. It was cold, and we had no towels. I think I was shaking the rest of the walk.

We got some good shots then stayed at the resort near the site. It was expensive but we didn't have a choice. We filled up with gas there. It was 2.30 per litre.

The stairs from the Garden of Eden
(I have a panaramic of the garden)

The next step was to get to Alice Springs again. There was one way, a 100 km unpaved track that would take us through the MacDonald ranges. We tried it but after 200 meters we turned back. The van would have fallen apart. Our effort wasn't in vain however. There are melon like fruits on the side of the road and so Paola jumped out and cut one off. He has been adopted to the family. His name is Wilson.

Kings Canyon

White people still lost

We had to turn back and go on a 500 km detour to get back to Alice Springs. Things were happier on the way back. We stopped at a campsite one night and I made a fire. I had to drag a massive bundle of wood out of the bush but I made it. The fire attracted some other campers, an older Taiwanese woman and an Aussie man. He told us he was a Buddist and talked to us for a bit then came over with a bottle of wine. He said someone had done a good deed for him that day and so he was doing a good deed for us. Good man. We used him as a character in famous heads on the remaining drive.

Wood gathering

The road back to Alice wasn't filled with much. Just more desert and roadkill. But that was only half the journey. We still needed to get to Cairns.

I'll tell the rest later.

Took ages

 -James