Man versus wild: episode one

I had organised a second relocation car from Alice Springs to Adelaide: bigger than the first one. This time we also had a toilet, shower, microwave, kitchen, hot water, automatic gears & cruise control. We had to wait 3h for it because some kids had smashed the windows, but at lunch it was fixed and we were ready to go!  The next 1500km on the road were really boring with an empty landscape and straight road for hours and hours and hours…

 

But at the same time it makes you experience the magnitude of Australia. We kept driving till dark and stopped at a rest area. After dinner when the sun was sleeping and the moon was up I got outside to do a small business and got caught by a pure silence that I had never experienced before in nature. Although we were in the middle of nowhere, there was not even single sjirp of a lost cricket or an early bird, not even a car or a silent voice. I looked up and witnessed the most clear stars in the sky I had ever seen. 360° of black sky revealed all the stars existing. A bright shooting one fell out of the sky and when I kept looking and my eyes adapted to the darkness they all seemed to come closer. Magic!








Bon, let’s hit the road to Cooper Pedy now: mecca of opal mining. We visited the Old timers mine and the Umoona opal mine& museum there. Not a highlight in Australia, but a nice relief on the long long road.

 

Back on track for the last 700k to Adelaide we spotted some giant eagles near the road.  We stopped and tried to go closer, but without success.  We got back in the car and after 500m we saw them again sitting in a tree.   Another 100k later I suddenly saw 2 or 3 eagles eating a kangaroo cadaver. I just saw them in half a second, but I ‘m still amazed about how big they were and it looked like they were wearing cowboy boots made out of feathers. WOW, these animals are amazing!

1500k of driving & driving

pink lake

All the time we spent in the magnificent nature with small villages, sometimes only up to 30 people I wondered how it is possible that they don’t move to the bigger and better city.  How could these people live such a lonely and poor existence I thought? And it was not until we reached Adelaide itself that I found the answer. When we arrived a weird feeling came over us. Still covered in a beard, some dirty clothes and feeling one with nature the big crowded city didn’t felt natural anymore.  I felt like an elephant in an antique shop, an animal in a zoo; I felt I didn’t belong here anymore. After al this beautifull nature we had seen, the artificial city looked like a prison for zombies and antz.  But no worries, after a shower and a reunion with my socks and shoes I was back. Adelaide is a great city where you can find anything you need.  Just like in Alice springs we booked in in Annie’s place: free wifi you see…