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Drama at the Watering Hole

Imechapishwa: 03.10.2019

Okay, the headlines are slowly reaching BILD newspaper level, but rightfully so. But one thing at a time.

First, let's talk about yesterday's cliffhanger in Alice Springs.

When I arrived at the hotel, it wasn't immediately clear where to park, so I initially parked opposite on a public parking lot. When I asked at the check-in desk if I could leave the car in the parking lot, they told me 'No', it's 'Dangerous'. Unfortunately, this is related to the large number of Aboriginal people living here... For many years, Australia has been trying to achieve some kind of reconciliation with the indigenous people, including through financial support. Somewhere beforehand, I had read that a large portion of the Aborigines prefer to spend the money on alcohol. And I can say that this seems to be confirmed in Alice Springs. Aboriginal people sit under many trees, drinking alcohol. I witnessed two police interventions at stores that only sell alcohol, and in both cases, it involved Aboriginal people causing a disturbance. That's why I was advised to park the car in a fenced area at the hotel and the receptionist recommended that I not be out late at night...

And speaking of alcohol... Alcohol in Australia, like in other countries, is only sold in special stores. I wanted to go into one of these specialty shops and I saw a policeman standing in front. Just like in front of the other stores I had seen. I had barely stepped foot inside the store when the policeman approached me and said, 'Passport'. I gave him my passport, and he immediately handed it to the salesperson, and before I could even say anything like, 'I'm just having a look around...', my information was already being recorded. I thought, well, it doesn't matter, and I grabbed a six-pack of cider beer...

This morning, I continued towards Glen Helen. According to the itinerary, it's about 130 kilometers with some beautiful scenic stops. I didn't know beforehand that I would only be seeing different 'watering holes'. But the fact that something different happened at each watering hole made it interesting again.

The first stop was Simpsons Gap. Quite beautiful in the morning sun, and I was the only one there. Or so I thought...


Someone was sitting on the rock next to the watering hole, observing me. A wallaby. Basically a small kangaroo...


This is how the day can continue, I thought. The next destination was Ormiston Gorge, what a surprise, another watering hole. However, swimming is even allowed here. But due to the persistent dry season, the watering holes have already shrunk considerably and were actually much larger.


I took dozens of pictures, in the sand, in the foliage, on the rocks... basically from everywhere. I was just about to reach the car again when I got a shock. My glasses were missing... Theoretically, I could have lost them almost anywhere. In my mind, I had already imagined having to drive for the next four weeks with blurry vision of the car in front of me. Not a pleasant thought... And of course, I didn't have a spare pair of glasses... I tried my best to retrace my steps from memory, exactly like I did the first time. The first search round was unsuccessful. Searching for a pair of glasses without glasses is one of the most illogical things ever... Thankfully, I found them on the second round of searching... Can anyone spot them...?


After the day was saved, the remaining two watering holes weren't nearly as exciting. To reach one of them, you had to climb over thousands of small rocks in 37°C heat, and in every picture of the other watering hole, there was a woman in a yellow t-shirt. She just wouldn't leave...

My destination for today, Glen Helen, looks like a trailer park. There is not much more than a few 'shacks' and a large campground here. Then there's a communal area with a bar, where you can buy the necessities, and outside, there's a gas station. The lady at the reception came outside with me when I wanted to refuel, she removed the padlock from the fuel pump, I fueled up, and she wrote down the amount shown on the pump. After that, the fuel pump was locked again... I still don't completely understand the naming convention... My accommodation is called Glen Helen Lodge, but there's also the 'Glen Helen Resort'. When I saw the accommodations and thought of 'real' resorts, I couldn't help but smile a little... But there are no other accommodations for miles around, so it works for one night...

Tomorrow, I will continue along the so-called Mereenie Loop, a 160 km red dirt road... I'm really looking forward to it.


 

Jibu (1)

Maik
Hallo Rüdiger, super Einträge, witzig geschrieben 👍 freue mich jeden Tag auf neue Beiträge...super spannend!