We made it! We spent a lovely few days with Jeff and his family in the outskirts of Adelaide (very stunning), and ate delicious food, saw really strange animals and generally had a great time.
We picked our Wicked campervan up on Thursday (named Candy) - pictures on the picasa website - and started our drive up to Uluru. 2000 miles round trip - 4.5 days... need I say more?! The drive was stunning - so flat and beautiful - the road was straight, we didn't even get to hit a kangaroo... although Haz was absolutely fabulous avoiding a stray emu. We weren't allowed to drive in the dark as the risk of hitting 'roos was so high - they are attracted to the headlights and jump out in front of the car, the stupid things! So we had to get up at 6am every day when the sun woke up and start driving.
I love the Outback - far more than Sydney! It is beautiful - pictures on picasa too. Everyone waves hello from their cars and campervans. They have road trains here -3 massive trucks put together to form a massive vehicle. Also the trains have more than 50 carriages - everything is on a large scale in this place! We stocked up on water and food, and camped our way through rain to hit the Northern Territory. Candy (although a little filthy - metaphorically and literally) - did us proud, and didn't even complain. She is a little snug for the 3 of us, but we are getting used to fitting our stuff in (including ourselves), and thoroughly love her.
So we hit Mount Ebeneezer services on Friday night, where we met 3 truckers who entertained us with their Australian humour. Sitting around outside, drinking goons and beers - it was pretty perfect. They came to visit Candy and completely appreciated her - a lovely evening - completely unexpected.
Uluru Saturday - basically a big red rock. But it's pretty spectacular, and of course has loads of Aboriginal meaning. I'll talk about the Aboriginals another time - lets just say there is a huge amount of discrimination and stereotyping - and a lot of gestures from the government seem to be either window dressing or handouts, rather than a policy of integration. But the rock was pretty cool, and we respected the Aboriginal people and didn't climb it, as it is sacred to them. But we walked 9.8km around it, getting hotter and hotter... and more irritated with the flies! They are completely unlike anything else - up the nose, in the eyes and ears, and in the mouth. So persistent, and enough to make anyone utterly miserable. I had great joy in killing those I could!
We also visited The Olgas rocks - larger than Uluru and about 30 minutes away. They were so impressive - far better than Uluru. They were so unusual in their formation, and the colours were glorious. We headed back to Uluru for sunset and sunrise again, before heading back to Adelaide...
So spent yesterday and today in the van, and are running some errands in Adelaide at the moment before seeing Paul and Jeff this evening. We feel very proud to have survived the Outback although we didn't get to hit a kangaroo... (they taste darn good!)
Must dash to see Hayley's family now, but love to all, from us all
Alice xxxxx
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