Days 10, 11 and 12 - Go West

Leaving Airlie was hard. I liked the town, the vibe, the feel. It had a swimmable ocean. Plus, we had a great time at the Great Barrier Reef and seeing what it had to offer. I felt complete. I felt content. And it is hard to leave something that brought so many good feelings. But still, we did. At 7 am we were on the road again. Inland – “Go West” as the Pet Shop Boys would say. We had 2,718 km to drive to get home by Sunday, according to GoogleMaps. Between 9-11 hours straight driving per day. Our first stop would be Cloncurry, about two hours from the Northern Territory border. This time we will have to miss the amazing Mount Isa.

The inland country was as beautiful as before hitting Airlie. Greens, blues, browns. The sort of homogeneous landscape that gave you serenity. The clouds were puffs of white against a blue blue. We went through kangaroo and koala country. No sight of them though. The side roads we took led to beautiful hills, tall eucalyptus trees, sugar cane fields and little sleepy towns where time stops. We stopped very briefly in Charter Towers to get Maccas. Yup, McDonalds. We needed to “hit the road, Jack”, and hit it badly. Ten minutes later we were on the road again.  

Alyson, Queen of Banka Banka. Photo: Alyson's phone

So many times I have been told I am lucky. And everyone who has told me that I have told them I am not. You are lucky when you hit the jackpot and win some money. Or when you play Bingo and the card you got and the haphazard balls gave you a win. Or when you found a 10 dollar bill on the pavement. Luck – for me – is when you have had no saying whatsoever in what comes to you. The biggest decision was to buy the lottery ticket, the bingo card, to take that road to go back  home. Mindless decisions. I am not lucky to have come on this trip and see some parts of Australia I never dreamed of. I made a conscious decision to take a step forward and despite few handicaps, I went for it. And I am glad.

Upon returning from The Great Barrier Reef, I spoke to my dear friend Karina and I just could not restrain my emotions. My happiness. I had just gone diving and had a wonderful time. Yet again, I have met wonderful people and my heart was content. She said I was lucky. I told her I was not. I had said yes to an opportunity, and that is not luck. That is a decision. And decisions don’t come easy. I would have been lucky if there was a draw and I got this opportunities like that.

After 11.5 hours of straight driving, and again, by chance, we met Darren and Birringan in Cloncurry. Two youth workers on their way to their work sites in the NT. They set their tents next to us and apparently I gave them ‘the look’. After our lovely dinner which involved the unheard spaghetti bolognaise, they invited us to play cards and we had a great time. They taught me how to play ‘spoons’ or rather ‘knives’ as we had no spoons nearby. I taught them to play ‘31’. All to the sound of good RnB and Australian country music; the latter much to Alyson’s despise. 

We left Cloncurry at 7 and by 10 we entered the Northern Territory. Before and after the welcome sign to the NT I had a glimpse of what the Red Centre might look like. That vast area in the heart of Australia that is home to red-rich country, rugged mountains and some of Aboriginal Australia's more sacred sites. Alice Springs (famous for being the end destination in Australia's top road trip movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") is over 500 km South; and we were going North. Still, the iron rich soil is red. The vegetation expands in fields of green. The sky is blue. The blue that you just cannot stop looking at. And the clouds are fairy floss white. There has been quite a bit of rain lately so the final mix is very appealing to the eye. This to the sound of Crowded House and good memories from South Africa came back...

In each of the very-far-and-few-between towns in the Australian Outback stops we made we would find Darren and Birrigan. In Threeways we played some pool and decided to set camp together in the next top. We were all going North, so we might as well stick together. Katherine – three hours South of Darwin – will be the farewell point.

The rockhole. Photo: Alyson's

We stopped at the Banka Banka Station, about one hour north of Threeways. The owner offered us an already-set tent each for the same price of us pitching the four tents. We took that opportunity and had a beer while getting ready to go to a rockhole 2.5 km away. The rockhole was beautiful. Reddish rocks in the background and greenery elsewhere. The water was probably body temperature with streaks of cold that came out of nowhere. Still refreshing though. And that perennial blue sky filled with fluffly clouds. I learnt about Australia's Stolen Generation, abour youth work, about life in country. Both Darren and Birrigan were proud of their jobs and enjoyed them as well. I know I am a small person, petite - as some would way. But in comparison to both guys I felt tiny. It is interesting to refresh one's perspective in life. 

Darren (left), me and Birrigan (right). Photo: Alyson

Back in the campsite we played cards again. I taught them half of the rules of ‘40’ – an Ecuadorian card game that it is different within different parts of the country. Didn't last long and after dinner we went back to playing ‘31’. The music was good and I hummed some sections along while the others sang along. We had a splendid twerking demonstration by Birrigan which left us all with a grin in our faces.

The morning broke even earlier today (Sunday). The mosquitos were vicious and we were on the road again before 7 am. We all stopped for coffee and pie for breakfast and shortly afterward, and without realising we said bye to Birrigan and Darren as we did different stops after that. 

There were long stretches of road surrounded by reds and greens, and whites and blues. The odd sign reminded us that 130 km/hr is the maximum speed along the NT with the presence of cattle and kangaroos as well. We had the morning sun on our right giving an amazing light to a storm in front of us. And around the storm and before the blue sky, two rainbows. It was just a perfect way to finish a wonderful trip.

The last bit of my road trip was happening. I was bound to get home in about three hours. And I will be back in reality. Grown up stuff. But still quite happy with my current grown up status. There are few shit sandwiches but it’s ok, I enjoy them. Laura and Kyle arrived with an ice cream in hand and I went in to say hello to Sombra. She was very happy to see me but still choose to lay on top of Kyle’s feet. That showed that she was loved.

I fell asleep by 9 pm with Sombra lying in the floor next to me. Didn’t do any driving, but navigation is hard stuff. Especially when I have no idea how to do it and keep getting lost. My only job and I messed up sometimes. Sometime I will do it properly, but then sometimes I also prefer to see where life takes you…