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 Australia

Sarah, 8 May 2008
 Australia Kununurra

Heading West

Well, I made it to Uluru, the Kings Canyon and the Olgas. Took lots of photos of various sunsets, and lots of photos of other tourists taking photos of sunsets, just to show that I have sense of irony, even if it isn't that well developed.

Then I headed North, at this point still with Emma. I was beggining to love rocking up at roadhouses in the middle of nowhere and asking their advice about a new rattle that had developed, and hearing the reassuring answer 'It'll be right. It's a Toyota.' Other people had told us that good old Landcruisers like this one often went for well over a million kilometres.

Unfortunately, while the car was great, my travelling companions were beginning to annoy me a little. Whether it was the sexist, racist, homophobic throwaway comments of the German guy, or whether it was the habit for both of them to stay in the tent until gone 10 in the morning before moaning that it was too hot to do anything (obviously failing a very simple learning exercise that as it was hot the day before, the day before that, and we were in the dry season of a desert it would probably be hot for a while yet, so being hot shouldn't really come as too much surprise). Maybe it was the playing of the Pianoman 30 times in 4 days. Or maybe it was the coupling up and talking to each other in octave higher voices. Anyway, regardless, it was time to head off in my own direction.

So I went to Ngkurr, the aboriginal community just inside the Arnhem Lands, a place you can only visit if you get an invite from someone who lives there, so, in short, a very special experience for a backpacker. I visited the school, went to Kriol lessons, chatted to the elders about skin names, sacred sites, dreaming and lots of other things I had no idea about before. I even went croc spotting, seeing 6 sets of red eyes glinting in the headlights of the car in half an hour. Probably not a good spot for a refreshing swim.

It was great, a perfect break from 2 weeks of other people, three days by myself.

Then I entered flaky backpacker land. Not sure whether to go up to Darwin, because, well, it's really bloody hot up here. Seriously hot, the kind of hot that knocks you out between 12 and 3 leaving you in a dazed state of confusion (even greater then my usual dazed state of confusion, which is quite some achievement I can tell you). Did I really want to go up to Darwin, just to come all the way back down. Nope, I headed West.

I'm in Broome now. It's really bloody hot. Probably about the same as darwin. But it does have one special advantage, and that's the sunset. When I was deciding where to stay in my new $40 tent I looked at the Lonely Planet which reccommended staying at the Roebuck Bay Caravan Park which has one of the most beautiful sunsets. I had a look at the map. It faces East. Now, unless something strange had happened over here, the sun sets in the West, so how the hell you were supposed to watch the sun set over the water in an East facing caravan park I have no idea.

I chose another one near Cable Beach instead. The people here are crazily friendly. Even the bus drivers. It's great. So last night I head over the sand dunes to see my first WA sunset. People have told me how great the sunset is. It's better. It's better than any sunset I have ever seen, totally spectacular. West is definitely best.

Now I just need to see if I can get a rideshare further south. Preferably with people who don't make test my patience quite so much.

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