Dirt road

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calling

The outback

This country is hard to grasp. The immensity strikes me.
It is almost scary
so much space and nothing to contain us.

With the vastness of the horizon,
we must expand, grow into it,
take as much space as we can,
integrate this immensity within us,
let it feed us; otherwise we will get swallowed, crushed, fearful and unable to accept the opportunity to be nourished by the elements.

Time too is larger.
Or slower.
The pace is different in the Outback; you look around and everything seems still, like the clock has stopped.
And yet, the sun setting reminds us that today is passing.

Or perhaps it is the energy that is still.
It is not the effervescent sea shore, with the continuous tidal movement.
Here, it’s still.
Quiet.
Or loud
of the heat, the birds, the gusty wind, the harshness of the land, dry and dusty.

Some people say that there is nothing out here.
Too harsh, too isolated. Hard country it is.

To see and feel the outback, you have to open yourself, leave your known world behind, open your senses to its appealing and fascinating beauty.





I had written this while on our trip across Australia, almost two years ago…
For some reasons, the desert is calling.
This is where I’d like to be right now.





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Getting ready

The thing is, when you travel in Australia, you have to prepare your trip. It’s not like throwing a few bags in the back of the car and driving for an hour or two. Two CDs and a snack. You prepare.

And we are. Preparing our trip. Thinking about it. From every corner. Thinking. Checking. Thinking. And checking again. Creating things for the trip, for the car, for the fishing rods, for the roof rack, for the fridge. Good idea! Have you thought of this? What about that? Water. Fuel. Safety. Endless. This is very stimulating and exciting.

Our journey will take us through two states and one territory. We will leave behind the Pacific Ocean on the East coast of Australia, and traverse some plains and hills to reach the Simpson Desert and pretty rough roads. We will cross the border from Queensland to the Northern Territory, which will lead us to Alice Springs and Uluru. Then we will take the Tanami Road, through the desert of the same name. Dirt and endless corrugated road that will take us to Western Australia and to Broome. And the Indian Ocean. We will head to Cape Levesque. And then through the Kimberley. Back into the Northern Territory and Katherine. And final stretch to Darwin. Timor Sea.

Here is our itinerary..

Stimulating, exciting and a little bit scary!!

Big leap.