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On Wednesday I started my big outback adventure - 8 days in the Australian desert with Wayward bus and the guide-driver crazy Glen. In the morning the group met and we started doing wine tasting in Clare Valley - not really outback, just a good way to start breaking the ice. Getting alcohol was a major motive in the trip also afterwards - with an Aussie guide, 5 English, 5 Irish and other beer-drinking people, it was always fun in the bus. In the first day we drove 500 km to the Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges. That night I built my first tent in my life, and surprisingly it still stood up in the morning!
Thursday morning started with a hike to Mount Ohlssen Bagge to have great views over Wilpena pound, that is something like a small round valley between the mountains. After lunch we got to the bus again, and drove through a town called Blimann to our next night stop - Angorichina. Blimann was my first outback town. You wonder how people live here. It’s tiny and dusty and there’s nothing to do. Well, there was a good ice cream there. And there are 2 hotels
Wilpena Pound
From the top of Mt Ohlssen bagge- Blimann and Blimann North… (50 meters away from each other…)
Friday started before sunrise, to see my first Australian desert sunrise (one of many that came afterwards). Another short drive and suddenly the mountains end, and here it starts - the outback. It’s breathtaking. It’s lots and lots and lots of nothing! In this case, size matters. Nothing is beautiful around you, but the vast flat land is impressive. Apparently the outback Aussies are bored because we passed several funny attractions that only bored people could make. Talc Alf is an eccentric guy that invented a language that explains names of people and countries. Israel means “there is sun there” because Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun (and the Is and El add something but I don’t remember what). That’s why Australia has RA inside too, because it’s sunny as well :-). Another funny attraction was the outback museum with sculptures made of planes, an old van, etc.
After lunch in another outback town called Marree, we went on the Oodnadatta track. It’s a short (only 400 km) dirt road (we only followed half of it), following the old Ghan train path. The train does not go
there anymore and towns like this Marree used to be of somewhat importance, and now they are nothing.
That night we camped in a place called William Creek. It’s the heart of a huge cattle station. Their neighbour, Anna’s Creek, is bigger - the cattle station is the size of Belgium! There’s nothing at William’s Creek apart from the camping, and a pub. So we had a night out at the pub. And then we went to sleep - my first night in swag. The picture will explain what it is better than me.
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You are really becoming Anat "lara" croft :) - olivier