Monday

I drop my backpack at the Bus Station before heading out to explore. I find is a great cafe near the station, all sorts of interesting things going on here, a community garden, sustainability classes, bike repair classes and lots more. The Joinery.

From here I head to the Art Gallery of SA AGSA I really want to see Tarnanthi which is on until the end of Jan. At the gallery I meet up with my family who have come in too town on the train, it’s wonderful to see the art though the eyes of the children especially as they already had favourite pieces of art they remember from previous visit. The art is stunning not just Tarnanthi the whole collection. After we go to the kids art workshop and wander the gallery in the gift shop we spotted two pieces of wood design by my cousin Lex, the children proudly telling the ladies at the counter ‘My Daddy made these’ it was a a really touching moment.

About Lex Stobie

We say farewell and I return to the exhibition. I was going to go to the museum but this is just too good here. I stay till it’s time to head for the bus!

As I walk back to the bus station I find this church in Flinders Street, they even have a Pilgrim Choir.

About Pilgrim Uniting Church

My fellow travellers gather around our Greyhound bus ready to load and get on the road. I can hear a mixture of French and German from a coupe of small groups. There are locals too, some with pillows and quilts, many with bags of snacks for the long ride ahead.

As we head out of the station I hear a very loud French lady and she is waving the driver to stop, her and her friend have nearly missed the bus, so we have 2 French ladies panting and talking with great animation until they calm themselves down and we are off!

It’s 6PM, our first stop will be Port Augusta our dinner stop at 10PM. The city quickly falls behind us and we are surrounded by market gardens and large hot houses. The land is flat and dry the most dominant feature is the wind farms. A few paddocks have sheep there are gums and some low scrub. We pass lakes as the sun sets behind us. The light is pink and there is a soft haze for as far as you can see. There are only trucks on the road so far and they are enormous with 3 trailers these are Road Trains and sound like thunder when we pass them. The houses are getting further and further apart. We are following the train line and I wonder if we will see the Ghan.

The light has almost gone. The bus is very quiet. Most people have headphones in or are already asleep. The further we go the darker it gets. Our break at Port Augusta is quick a salad and a chat with a fellow traveler and we are off. Two Aboriginal travellers have joined us and are speaking back and forth to each other in their on language it sounds like a love song. At midnight it’s pitch black the sky amass of stars. We have traveled 431KM North of Adelaide we have 1075KM till Alice Springs. Our headlights light the side of the road, every now and then I spot a kangaroo or maybe it’s just a bush. I’m wide awake.

Distance Traveled 431KM

Distance Walked 9KM

Podcasts Listened to 3

Tuesday

We are 849KM from Adelaide in Coober Pedy it’s 5:40AM we have a 30MIN stop. The night has been ok. I listened to some more podcasts and slept off and on. We have dropped off some of the backpackers and picked up some new ones, all German and also some big blokes who look like they literally just walked out of the Opal Mines.

As we head north the dawn is chasing us. The sky is pink behind and dark in front. The horizon is forever away. Slowly the land is revealing itself to us. It’s red but with bits of green and tufts of grass and a few low shrubs. Surprisingly there are a few small dams with water. We see cattle on the road and grazing on the scrub. There is nothing no houses no power lines. There is only white lines on the road and us. Even the bitumen is red.

Breakfast is at Marla, coffee is $6:00 it’s good but that’s the most I have ever paid for a coffee. I talk with the bus driver while we have our break he’s an ex trucker. The sun is up now, I feel like I’m in an Albert Namatjira painting.

Once we are in the Northern Territory we see the first 130 Per Hour speed sign. We have to put our watches back an hour and a half.

Finally after 16 1/2 hours we arrive in Alice. On the way in we see Pine Gap and the Prison and the Air Port, Ron is arriving by plane at about the same time as me.

We meet at the bus station and drive a backpacker I met on the bus to her hostel. It’s about 35 degrees but feels like 50 to me. We head straight to our hotel. I am exhausted and can’t wait to have a shower!

Looking forward to seeing the Red Centre with Ron and a little bit of comfort!

Distance Traveled 1533KM

Distance Walked 3KM 😱

Kangaroo Spotting’s: 1 (They have stopped mating because of the drought apparently)