Thursday

The bus driver I had from Alice was the same driver who bought me most of the way from Adelaide to Alice. The sun was almost up when I woke up this morning. Not that you really sleep on the bus it’s more like dozing off and on. Suddenly the world is green and there are beautiful gums with the whitest of trunks. There are also ant nests along the highway these form the most amazing shapes. You can let your imagination run away making up what you think they are, Buddha, gnomes, Virgin Mary & Child, the Three Sisters. Some scallywags have put clothes on them so in my half waking state they look like children standing along the side of the road.

I was going to read my book but I have been too busy watching for cattle, kangaroo, flocks of black cockatoo, changes in plants and geography. reading the Road Signs oh and now spotting Bushfires (OMG what next!)

One place we stopped is called Mataranka Historic Homestead, it was like an oasis the town of Mataranka is know as the Never Never Town. They even have a festival to celebrate the Never Never.

We stop at various roadhouses along the way all with a very frontier feel. One has a sign pointing the way to the Sh#*thouse another has huge poster from the seventies Im guessing a woman in not much but here red lipstick and that was in the dining room. You start to get a feel for the resent history of the the top end there are WW2 memorials historical monument and railways. The plants are becoming more tropical with palms and the odd flowering plant. After Katherine there are massive rock and then the land flattened out and there is agricultural, mango farms I think.

As we head into Darwin everything feels new. The houses the shops the high rise it all feels like it arrived yesterday.

I walk to the hotel (not quite as close to the CBD as advertised) after that ride I feel I need to stretch my legs. ( Yup I am crazy it’s hot and muggy) by the time I get to the hotel I am glowing an iridescent red and I have hair that looks recently permed.

I have the best shower I’ve ever had in a cheap motel. I order takeout to be delivered it’s Thai and it’s the hottest Pad Thai I have ever had. I lay on the bed with the aircon and feel very exhausted and very grateful!

I wake up at 3 the TV and all the lights are on I turn everything off and sleep again for a couple of hours. I think perhaps long distance bus travel for me needs to be broken up with a days rest somewhere.

I’m literally in luxury I have a washing machine in my hotel room. I’ve washed some clothes and basically had a mornings rest. I feel human again!

Distance Traveled 980KM

Distance Walked 5KM

Hours on Bus 22Hours

Total Distance on the bus 1496KM