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Published: April 13th 2013
Lets go for a swim!
Well, we did not swim here - but at least Bernie didSince we got a late start leaving Karajini, we decided to spend the night at a nice-sounding free campsite only 50 km down the road. The Albert Tognolini rest area has a nice little 4x4 track going up the side of a mountain, and we just kept driving further and further up along the ridge, over steep rocky climbs. At every turn we thought the track must end, but then it just kept going. Pretty certain we would be alone for the night (or at the very least that we would hear anyone coming our way long before they reached us since the track was so rough), we set up camp overlooking the valley and proceeded to hang out in the nude, just because we could (ok, it was boiling hot as well). We also did a fair bit of what we can only call “the bush dance”, which involves continuously shuffling our feet in order to not get bitten by the millions of ants, and waving our arms violently in order to swat away the flies. But we had the valley to ourselves, and had a wonderful night.
The next day, after sunrise and a delicious top-of-the-world breakfast, we
Love tree
In our series with love shaped stuff; here's a tree! drove to Auski Roadhouse for a refill of diesel, drinking water and camping gas, decided we were better off without using the internet (5 dollars for 15 minutes!) and headed back out into the dirt. We drove the unsealed, 4x4 track across Mount Marsh to Roy Hill, and begun our travels through roads that were barely signposted, mostly only used for mine and railroad access, and where the only other vehicles were service ones (of the white 4x4 with neon yellow stripes and alarm lights previously described). We relished, as usual, in being the only tourists, in being alone with the open road and the country, and yes, we had a little fun talking on the CB radio. It was rough and the dust was so thick that when the occasional road train passed by, we were immersed by a cloud so thick we had to slam on the brakes until it cleared.
That night we did some more bush camping, by Wild Dog Creek, which was less secluded, though we still had it all to ourselves. The ants were not as vicious but we saw some huge spiders on the ground when we were looking for a site.
Road kill 1
it's not only animals that die on the roads in Australia. Cars do die to, and they are not being picked up it seems like Once again, we were glad we sleep in the car... We were often visited by cows, and in the morning after sunrise a kangaroo was drinking by the creek just next to us (confirming there were no crocs in it).
We stopped in Nullagine for some information, since we had had the crazy idea of driving the long 4x4 track leading into the last portion of the Kidson Track, in the hopes of mitigating our disappointment at not being able to really get into the outback. We were quickly dissuaded from doing anything that crazy, as the area had been getting tons of rain and almost everything was flooded. We drove to Marble Bar, officially the hottest town in Australia, and quickly abandoned our plans of spending the night in the area. It really lives up to its reputation. We were, however, cleared to drive the Boreline Road up to the coast, a rough dirt track once established for bore drilling and mine access, and now mostly used for the latter.
We drove through beautiful, desolate scenery, changing from gorges and red rock to desert track to lush pastures. By the time we hit the Great Northern Highway
Up the mountain
We found a track that went up a hill next to the rest stop - and it just kept on going - and so did we again, we felt like we had been away from civilization for days...
As often happens when travelling for longer periods of time, holidays had crept up on us, and Eastern Weekend was approaching, which meant getting to Broome too quickly would just involve a lot of waiting around for things to open. So we decided to stop at Eighty Mile Beach for a couple of nights on the way. The beach was beautiful and covered in shells, and the tide differences were so big that in the morning and evening you could easily walk out a few kilometres without getting your feet wet. However, during the day the jellyfish and sharks kept us out of the crystal-blue water. The locals were brave enough to fish, but watching them throw back several small sharks after catching them right on the shore was enough for us... The crowds descended upon us our second night at the camp, but it was fun to be in the middle of an Easter Aussie get-together (and at times included in it too), it was a nice break from all the Germans... 😉
- new passtimes: taking pictures of each other jumping in the nude
Somewhere flat?
As we had climbed the hill almost to the top, we found no flat parts to camp, so we had to go back down a bit at our far-away campsites, getting into bed before dark (so, before 6!) to avoid bugs, doing the bush dance, showering with a water bottle, and other pleasures of the Australian bush...
- the Australian diet, by Sadie and Øyvind: breakfast is egg and bacon and black coffee for him, a nectarine and some nuts (and a drizzle of yogurt when possible) and coffee with condensed milk for her. Lunch is one can of veggies (baby corn, or corn kernels, or baby carrots or water chestnuts), and some canned chicken or fish (preferrably of the flavoured variety, mustard mayo chicken is a favorite, about 160 g between the two of us), which has been pre-chilled as to taste almost like a fresh salad, with some olive oil and spices. Dinner is any two-can combo (f.ex. Beef casserole and one can of mushrooms), plus one or two diced onions (also to make you feel like you are eating fresh food), and one beer per person. If this is a lucky day, a dessert of a couple of spoonfuls of chocolate spread and peanut butter will follow...
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