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I was in Melbourne and feeling rather deflated. I was living aimlessly and feeling frustrated with my lack of goals and daily ambition. I had gone from being so active and accomplishing so much every day I was cycle touring to being a lazy potato couch who got excited to watch The Dr.'s and Dr. Phil on daytime television.
Something had to be done.
I was looking on Gumtree (the local equivalent to Kijiji or Craig's List) and stumbled upon a section titled "Travel and travel partners". This, I thought, was well worth a peruse.
Before heading to Asia I wanted to do two things: see Uluru and Western Australia. Apparently, I am not the only one as others were looking for people like myself to join them on similar road trips.
One in particular caught my eye. The advertisement flashed a handsome photo of a 1984 burgundy van with a curly haired English chap sitting happily in the driver seat. The van looked as though it might not make it to the supermarket let alone the advertised 16 day journey from Melbourne to Perth (and everywhere in between) in plus 40 degree weather. My only reservation was the lack of air conditioning; but the sense of adventure far outweighed the convenience of wiping sweat from my brow every 30 seconds. I was in, and I was excited about it.
Of course I was seriously sad to leave the friends I had made in Melbourne, but adventure called and I needed to move onward and forward.
On February 10, 2012 myself, an English chap named Geoff (who placed the ad), and a Frenchman named Nicolas set off on an epic adventure and one that ended up totaling more than 5200 kms across Australia. Here is a synopsis of our daily journals:
Feb 10: Arrived late at our first destination - The Grampians. To our surprise there was an annual Jazz Fest where about ten thousand elderly gathered to tap their canes and nod their heads to the sound of 1930s style jazz tunes (also played by seniors). Honestly, I was impressed. When I am 80 years old, I would like to return. We didn't stay long, it was dark and we needed to find a place to set up camp. We continued up a long and winding road where I saw my first wild kangaroo hopping across the misty road, illuminated majestically only by the front lights of the van. Surreal.
Feb 11: Very active day. We hiked to an impressive lookout through what they call the "Grand Canyon" for its remarkable similarities. After a picnic at the Jazz Fest we did a second hike to Hollow Mountain named, I think, for the caves found there. Finally, as a grand finale we walked to a waterfall where I went for a refreshing swim before climbing up hundreds of stairs returning to the van.
Feb 12: Coorong was our next stop. On the way we saw some fenced off salt lakes. Geoff was eager to hop the fence and when he did, sank through the salt and got a bit stuck in the thick black mud below. That night we stayed at a Caravan Park on Lake Albert - just stunning. We watched pelicans over head and made Turkey Balls for dinner. This was the most complicated meal Nick had ever made - new mission: made a chef out of Nick.
Feb 13: We crossed the Murray River on one of the worlds shortest ferry rides, ate a picturesque lunch just meters from the ocean at Victor Harbour, visited a winery for some testers and bought a bottle, walked into a cheese shop (trying to con the Frenchman into liking it) and learned of Whitney Houston's death (where were you?), tried an Aussie fru-choc and an English Lion Bar, and finally arrived in Adelaide. We met up with Nick's Korean friends and had an enjoyable and hilarious BBQ on the beach. The sunset was beyond words.
Feb 14: This was a big day for both nick and I. It was the first time Nick drove in 7 years and I learned that Dog on a Tuckerbox had been found (story on this to come)! We drove all the way to Finders Ranges this night and on the way we saw the most beautiful pink sunset - just in time for Valentines Day. We ate Pad Thai and camped with gargantuan insects and a multitude of ants. Have I mentioned I hate bugs?
Feb 15: This was one of the hottest days I can recall. We were in Flinders Range. For most of you that probably means very little, so to help clarify, I'll just call it the outback. Yes, the outback! This is where spiders are the biggest and poisonous; where lizards are abundant; ravens flock; insects are 50 times their regular size; kookaburras trick you into thinking monkeys are in the trees; kangaroos are your neighbors; and you're constantly in more than 40 degree heat. We decided to hike a mountain. What were we thinking?! Hiking in that heat. Phew. I thought my legs were going to combust into flames. Afterwards, we packed up camp and drove the geologic trail on our way to our new campground. But first, I learned to drive a manual! That's right, Geoff gave me a lesson and for my first time ever I drove a standard. Pretty happy about that! We then set up camp. We were the only people for many miles. Just us and the friendly yellow footed rock wallabies who joined us for dinner. We watched one of the most amazing setting suns casting its colors on a neighboring mountain face. The mozzies came out with a vengeance and we ran into our tents (and Geoff to his van) for refuge and to say good night.
Feb16: Got an early start today. Hiked a little of the Heysen Trail and drove all the way to Port Kenny (with a stop to see the giant Gallah, of course). In port Kenny we stopped to ask some locals drinking beer in the pub if they knew where best to pitch a tent. They responded with a warm offer to use the old backpacker behind the pub - free of charge. We ate at a real table, got showers, had beds, and felt like royalty. Little did we know, however, that would be our last shower for many days.
Feb 17: On our way to Ceduna we stopped to see the haystack rocks, saw some sea lions and swam in Streaky Bay. Upon arriving we stopped at the visitors centre where I made friends with the most stereotypical Ozzie man you could possibly find. I loved him! He had wild eyebrows that curled upward and perched on his forehead, his accent was thick and strong, his build was tall and blocky, and his tan was that if a man who spent many hours enduring the heat of the Australian outback. We camped on the beach that night and ate homemade fajitas.
Feb 18: The heat this day as we drove across the vast and expansive desert was enough to test your character. When it came time for lunch, it was almost to hot to eat. We found a patch of shade and quickly made some sandwiches. Back in the car we sprayed ourselves with water to try and cool us down. We camped just before the Western Australia border on the side of the road. Our only friend was a hatch door spider. Literally, there was a spider in the ground that had made a door/lid for its little underground hideout.
Feb 19: Got a flat tire. Thank god Geoff was there to fix it. We also played some road side Nullabor golf (not that it's important, but just in case you're wondering, I won), and saw Head of the Bight - cliffs at the edge of Australia that plummet into the sea.
Feb 20: Geoff's friend he met in Melbourne, Volker, was doing a similar trip. He and his travel partner, Britta, met up with us in Esperence. We camped at gorgeous Logey Bay with kangaroos hopping all around us.
Feb 21: Gorgeous day and walk to Thistle Cove - the beach rocks reminded me of St. Anthony. I built a "snowman" out of sand. I've never seen a beach so white. On the way back I climbed up to see a huge rock shaped like a polar bear. We headed, with the van, to our local beach and had some beers. That night Britta taught us power UNO and we chilled out by our fake fire for the night.
Feb 22: This was an overall non eventful day. Consisted of much driving, Geoff backing the van into a pole at the petrol station, and meeting Britta and Volker by days end. So much driving!
Feb 23: Champaign breakfast! It was Britta's birthday and she celebrated by sharing champaign with us. We then went to Walpole for a treetop walk through the canopy, to Pemberton to climb the Gloucester Tree (I was too chicken) which is a 80 meter tall tree with pegs up the length of it allowing you to climb to the top. I hate heights. But probably one of the best parts of the day was when a group of 6 or 7 young German guys showed up at our campsite around supper and when one passed by he said in a very excited tone c*** time!!!" We, of course, broke into hysterics and he corrected his mistake with "cooking time". So funny.
Feb 24: We picked up a hitch hiker this day. We started with some caving, went to an olive grove, a cellar/brewery similar to a mini Disney land for its extravagance, watched some crazy surf and freedom camped outside of Bunbury after getting lost for a little bit.
Feb 25: Wasted a morning and some money trying to watch some dolphins in Bunbury. And ARRIVED IN PERTH!!!
Perth proved to be a fairly interesting and very stressful time. All the hostels were full so we stayed at a friend of Volker's. He ended up being a very generous Aussie guy with...ummm... a lot of character (to put it politely). More bluntly, he was a bit of a racist redneck. And something felt very wrong that he and all of his friends had Filipino girlfriends. Questionable? Yes. I could honestly write and entire chapter just describing our experiences there.
A hostel opened up in a few days time and Nick and I moved there. Geoff met up with his girlfriend and they continued traveling. We met some awesome Irish peeps and hung out with them for a few nights.
I really liked Perth, but everything seemed to go wrong while I was there. I had an issue with one of my immunizations, I had a serious tooth problem (getting a root canal when I get home!), issues with my bank cards, insurance, my iPad, my phone was malfunctioning and wouldn't let me call home, some mail I ordered never arrived, I lost my travel adapter, and I broke my sunglasses. I couldn't wait to be free from all the mishaps and enjoying myself in Malaysia!
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