Adventure Outback

The Outback is calling. Since the time I first thought of Australia, the red center of Australia has been one of the places that has fascinated me the most and that I have eagerly wished to fulfill this dream. Just in time, we had to realize that in the morning our company did not have any coolant or motor oil, so we had to prepare our baby again for the long trip. After a last shopping trip, we finally set off on the infamous Stuart Highway, which runs right through Australia. The further we left the coast behind us, the more barren the landscape became until we were only driving through steppes, where the highway stretched in a straight line to the horizon, which seemed to merge with the sky in a mirage. In the Outback, there was only one thing for me: the journey is the destination. Sitting by the window, feeling the wind, listening to music, and watching the landscape pass by like a movie screen - what could be more beautiful. Between the long stretches where no curve, no car, and nothing and no one appeared, there were still a few moments that made the long and monotonous drive absolutely worth it. When we suddenly saw a small red cloud in the sky, shortly after we could see a small whirlwind in the distance, which was created by the swirling red sand. The gusts of wind in the Outback should not to be underestimated and push the car a meter further in a split second. Especially with the long road trains, the strong wind in the Outback was noticeable, which were caught under the gusts and staggered on the road.
To prevent us from running out of gasoline because of our thirsty car, we stopped at every gas station that came our way (which were often 200 to 300 km away) and frustratingly we found that the gas prices were actually rising and rising and rising. The climax ended up being $2.02 per liter. Hallelujah!
At least the gas stations were usually a reason for me to pack the camera and photograph the fuel pumps in front of their cute roadhouses somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The bills often hurt only half as much.

Both a curse and a blessing were two incredibly beautiful road trains at the gas station, in each of their 3 trailers countless camels were transported. At first glance, we had a sight for gods, until the camels in the trailers began to move, which was almost impossible for the giant animals. The animals nervously stepped on each other and pushed against the steel walls of the truck, which immediately made us take a few steps back.
The longer we raced along the highway, the more we got used to the gruesome sight of the countless dead kangaroos on the side of the road, on whose carcasses a horde of black crows often sat. Once, however, instead of crows, 2 huge hawks swung their wings dangerously close to our windshield. Two more times we were able to see 2 of the famous Outback hawks up close. Wilderness at its purest!
A last highlight of this first road day was a section of the highway that was officially marked as an emergency runway for airplanes. Thank goodness no plane ran us over and we reached our campsite or rather a small area with nothing and no one around, about an hour before Coober Pedy. By nothing, I mean really nothing, except for a small bush, which we named the pee bush because it was just the only bush for miles around. Yes, privacy is very important to us!
If there was one thing in abundance, it was flies! Not only the fact that there is an abnormal abundance of flies in the Outback, but also their shitty character drove us all crazy. Unlike German (decent) flies, Australian (disrespectful, provocative, sneaky, ungrateful) flies constantly land on your eyes, nose, ears, and lips. What initially just annoys you, drives you to the brink of madness after an hour, when you wave in front of your face like crazy and the flies keep coming. Hard to believe? Initially, we also laughed at the many people with face nets, and later we envied them, no matter how idiotic it looked.
Forget about spiders and snakes, flies are the true danger of Australia - for blood pressure and psyche. Thank goodness the beasts always disappeared after sunset, and so we laid on the ground that evening and watched the indescribable starry sky.

In the following days, ants also proved to be very fierce after flies, occupying the third place. In addition to the Australian XXL ants, one of which gave me a painful and swollen toe for 3 days, the ground at some rest areas resembled an ant invasion that did not stop for anything or anyone.
Life is hard in Australia!
The next morning, we had the famous city (or rather town) Coober Pedy, known for its opals, on our itinerary, where 85% of all opals in the world come from. Kilometers before the city, we drove through huge mounds of earth, reminiscent of exaggerated molehills, which made the surrounding area appear like a lunar landscape. Coober Pedy seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust, almost abandoned, which wouldn't have surprised anyone given the isolation that this village of 2,500 souls is subject to. However, between the container houses, the rusty vintage cars, and the many work machines, there seemed to be something like life. After first admiring a huge "thing" that must have been lost on the Star Wars film set, we first admired some priceless opals in a small museum. The two employees, who seemed happy with every new face that crossed the threshold, sent us further to one of the underground apartments, where 60% (!) of the residents live due to temperatures up to 55°.
Arriving there, we were greeted by an old woman, who moves into the apartment, which is open to visitors, with her husband during the season and offers tours. Through the front door, a few flights of stairs led to the kitchen and finally to a bedroom, dressing room, a huge room with a pool, and so on. The special thing about it? 3 women carved the entire apartment out of stone with their hands, which of course had no windows. There is only one ventilation shaft that leads to the surface, which appear as normal posts sticking out of the ground and marking the underground houses. Crazy!! Nowadays, the apartments are created mechanically, but they are still the predominant way of living. After the tour, a friend of the dear old lady picked us up and showed us a real mine. He explained the working methods, took us through the many tunnels, and finally showed us a real layer of opals in the wall, which could only be discovered under blacklight. Passing by a huge redback spider, we finally came back to the surface after being 15 meters below ground.
My personal highlight in Coober Pedy was the Eagles Nest, which once served as a filming location for Mad Max. After a short drive on a dirt road, we arrived at the mine, which was decorated with vintage cars and decorations of all kinds, making our visit a real discovery tour. 2 employees, older gentlemen who were just busy getting an old engine running again, immediately started a conversation, which once again gave me a unique insight into the lives of other people. The old man told me about his hard job in the mine and his beginnings in Coober Pedy ("To be honest, I almost got suicidal") after a career as a chef. We talked for a long time, and once again I could take a lot from the conversation. Finally, he invited me to a BBQ together when we pass Coober Pedy again. What a pity that our path continues north and I will probably never be able to accept this invitation.

Then we unfortunately had to leave Coober Pedy behind us. In the town of Marla, which consisted of just one roadhouse, we met Aborigines for the first time, who, to be honest, didn't radiate much sympathy. I still remember an elderly couple who did their shopping in the roadhouse, even though the selection was limited to 3 refrigerators filled with fruit, vegetables, meat, and milk. The woman only reached up to my chest, seemed incredibly tired, and hardly a word, let alone a smile, came from their lips, even when we stood at the cash register. Without having informed myself about them beforehand, my initial impression of the Aborigines was unfortunately somewhat strange, which would later be confirmed in Alice Springs.
On our journey, Nina made herself comfortable on our bed in the van, and as fate would have it, a policeman waved us aside shortly afterwards. Are you kidding me! While Nina sat quietly in the back of the car, we rolled down the window and grinned at the cop with pounding hearts. He would have had every reason to overload us with fines. We had taken fruit and vegetables across the border, dismantled our rearview mirror, and had a trembling Nina in the trunk. However, after being asked about illegal substances (steroids maybe?), our police officer asked about our origin, and so we were able to switch the uncomfortable conversation with a lot of feigned interest and lots of hahaha, and we drove on with laughter and even bigger relief shortly afterwards continuing.
In the company of ACDC, we managed to get about 150 km before Ayers Rock, where we set up our camp and in the evening, I was able to send a shooting star home with the beautiful Milky Way could.
The next morning, I felt like running, so the highway had to do it, where in the entire time only one car came by. After breakfast, we finally set off for Australia's landmark: Uluru. After initially mistaking Mt. Connor from a distance for Uluru, we finally found it and secured a spot at the campground at Ayers Rock Resort. When we finally stood in front of the gigantic red rock, which changed its shape and patterns from every angle, we decided to complete the 10.6 km long Base Walk around Uluru.

Being the genius that I am, I decided to wear my Roman sandals and after 5 minutes, I catapulted my toe against a stone hidden in the sand, causing blood to squirt out from underneath my nail. At first, I was sure that I had broken it, but once in a lifetime at Uluru, I didn't want to miss out on the hike, so I hobbled behind the others for the last 10 km until I almost collapsed on the last 2 km. It's hard to believe how such a measly toe, now garnished with blood, sand, and little rocks, can knock someone out (who absolutely can't stand blood).
After washing the wound, which made my circulation seem to pack its bags and say goodbye once again, we went back to Uluru for the sunset. The rock shone in its most beautiful shade of red in the light of the setting sun. Unfortunately, we had to leave the sunset early once again, as driving in the dark is not covered by insurance due to the many wildlife accidents. After a few hours, however, we were back at Uluru when the sun crept over the horizon and made Ayers Rock shine again. A natural spectacle at its best. That was definitely worth the long drive.
The second highlight in the national park was called Kata Tjuta, a formation of 36 rock domes. After 2 great hikes in the Walpa Gorge and a lookout in the Valley of the Winds, we enjoyed the pool and showers of our former campground for a while and then headed back towards the Stuart Highway. The next morning held the absolutely most beautiful hike for us, that I ever had the pleasure of undertaking: the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. After a small but fine ascent, the path led along the canyon, which is the deepest gorge in Australia. The views were priceless, and with a touch of recklessness, I took a few pictures that I hopefully can proudly show to my grandchildren.
To celebrate the day, a dingo, a wild dog, ran across the road on our way to Alice Springs. As often, we spent the evening playing cards and drinking a box of goon. The further north we came, the warmer the nights became, and we could sit outside in t-shirts in the evening (while our loved ones at home had to freeze at 8 degrees).
The next morning, we passed the famous Alice Springs city entrance sign, went shopping there, stocked up on Maccas ice cream, and strolled through the pedestrian zone.
As announced, the gap between the Aborigines and the other residents and tourists in Alice became clearly noticeable. The whole city seemed divided both in terms of culture and standard of living. People were sitting in the streets and parks, many small children unattended and alone. The locals didn't seem particularly delighted with us as tourists either. Basically, I don't like to judge people wrongly without having gotten to know them. But my gut feeling made me keep my distance, oh well. Nevertheless, Alice was definitely worth a visit, and it was interesting to experience Aborigines up close, especially since Australians themselves hardly talk about or have a favorable attitude towards the indigenous people.
After a detour to the McDonnell Ranges to Simpsons Gap, I made myself comfortable in bed and continued reading my book "Lion" during the drive, about a little boy who got lost in India and was eventually raised by adoptive parents in Hobart (Tasmania) and found his family again through Google Maps. True stories, inspiration, and a little connection to Australia - top.
At our rest stop for the night, my sporadic shower consisted of pouring a bottle of water over me. What can you do?
Our showers were 80% kitten showers or rather bottle water showers. You only realize how much you lower your standards when you stand under a public shower and simply enjoy the fact of having running water!! Water became one of our top priorities in the Outback. After my skin dried out worse than in winter, I finally realized that we were in the Outback and that I was drinking way too little water. At every water tank and every gas station, we refilled all bottles to fight the heat.
Thanks to our fridge, we could take more food with us, but every meal with some meat or fresh vegetables was a feast.
Just typical backpacker life. But honestly? I wouldn't want to trade it for anything else!
One thing that made my trip through the Outback even more authentic was the fact that I hadn't had any network since we left Adelaide. For 10 days, my phone was only good as a diary and music player. 2 times I was able to use the WiFi in some roadhouses to write to my parents and my best friend that I was doing fine. That's it. In the end, it really only mattered to me, and Instagram or Facebook became relatively uninteresting. My little phone detox made room for other, more important things, and even though it wasn't a long time, I was able to enjoy the drive through the Outback much more. The long car rides, the endless roads, and no pressure to report everything back home gave me time to think, write, and enjoy. Even though I would love to send a 30-minute voice message home every day, nothing can beat the evenings at home with family, with beer and chicken wings, when I can finally show my photos and tell my stories. Mommy, Daddy, Mona, I can hardly wait!