After leaving an amazing time spent with family in Byfield, it has been a looong journey towards the red centre. You will never know the extent of the hike until you are on the road experiencing it for yourself… Many free camps along the way have blessed us with ease and gratitude, our sole expenses being food and fuel-believe me, the tanks are chewed faster then the landscape changes. Life on the road is great. This is what it is all about for me. Living simply in nature.Travels in New Zealand a few years ago led us into the back of a station wagon with a gas cooker, cruising along at our own speed. It didn’t take us long to realise car hire was cheaper than dorm rooms and came with the bonus of FREEDOM! It was here that we got a taste for life on the road, cruising along, lapping up the beautiful scenery, saving money for all-important adventures, making coffee, tea and food along the way.

This is very reminiscent of those times, yet somehow more familiar. No planes were boarded, just many hours of driving. Audio books have saved us from getting sick of the eclectic collection of music we have gathered. We begun with Russel Brand’s ‘Revolution’, a fantastic book based on his view of the reality we face in today’s world, as well as simple steps to continue our own evolution towards personal power and freedom. Naturally we were listening intently, he is an intellect with a passion to change the world – it quickly rubs off on you. Download it here : https://thepiratebay.org/search/russell%20brand/0/99/0

Later as we pulled up for the night at a rest stop just North of Winton. I thought of the notion that Russel kept returning to earlier- that we are all one as the human race – atoms in space. The road was wet from afternoon rain when our neighbour arrived; he was driving a road train that was fifty-three metres long. I was astounded and amused as I counted the five, ten metre long carriages and the total of forty-four wheels. It was a HUGE machine that felt so imposing (usually I would be squirming as we overtake these monsters along the straights). Then I became curious and impressed, wondering about the character at the wheel of this beast… and feeling completely connected, at one with each other as we ate dinner side by side in our temporary homes. Appreciation for the little things, this night that brought me closer to the unknown.Long days stretched on as we moved towards the middle of this enormous country. A stop over in Mount Isa proved delightful, and after utilising the facilities of a city-like town and renewing our rego, we found an oasis in nature. A camp for the night! Moondarra Lake felt heaven-sent in the dry desert outback of Western Queensland. We were lone campers and had the time and space to graciously soak up the surroundings. The wetlands stretched far and wide, bursting with bird life and (supposedly) barramundi. You could feel the significance of the place to the custodians of this land; it was easy to imagine Aboriginal people living from the abundance of this little oasis. The pure, fresh water and greenery contrasting starkly with the hot arid lands that stretched for kilometres in every direction.We crossed the border into the Northern Territory and then drove for about 3 hours with a very flat landscape either side of the road, and a mirage at the end of the bitumen. Stopping for a coffee, salad wrap and amazing sunset, we continued on towards Three Ways and Tennant Creek as we headed for Alice. Just outside Tennant Creek, we stopped over night at The Pebbles and re wrote our version of ‘The Dock Of The Bay’ as we sung and played guitar to the moon. After the Devil’s Marbles, I began to understand the sheer number of wonderful rock formations in Australia. The sand was beginning to warm in colour, yet the shrubbery remained thick and healthy. Luckily we had overcast days for this massive mission, which kept ourselves and Nessy Bell cool and happy with the long stints of driving. It took us a total of six days to get to Alice, and we were high-tailing it most of the way. Well worth it though, I must say! I am so grateful to live in this country, and to be enjoying more of its magnificent wide brown land. It is incredibly humbling to know the indigenous people lived so closely with the land, from the time before time began.