Travelling the Stuart Highway part 1

Hi there!

Just arrived in Alice Springs and enjoyed my first shower in three days a lot!
After travelling in the Outback for about a week in can say that it is quite different from anything I have ever done. First of all, what you have got plenty of, is time. When you are woken by first daylight around 6.30, a day lasts ages! Secondly, what you've got more than plenty of, is kilometres. We have now travelled from Darwin to Alice Springs, which is about 1500km. And we still have quite a bit to go before we are halfway to Melbourne.

But your life becomes pretty simple and yet absolutely amazing when you are travelling in a vast and desolate place like the Outback. In the morning we get up early, have breakfast, start driving and visit some places along the way just depending on whats there. Around 4pm we go to a campsite and just relax until dinnertime, and after dinner we sit, talk, drink 2 or 3 beers, look at the stars, play a game of cards and listen some music. Life becomes simple. And because it's so simple, you got loads of time and brains left to think about what you want with the rest of your life. But don't worry folks, I'm still planning to come home in november.

But let's go into less heavy thoughts for a moment. I'll put some gravy into the story. Let's go back to saturday a week ago when we were planning to pick up our car. In the morning we wanted to use internet, because for the next week we wouldnt be able to. We could pick up the car after 10am, so at 8.30 we stood in front of the travel agency where we had free internet. A sign said it was closed until 10am. Perfect. We walked over to the videostore, because there would be a dvd player on board of the car and we needed some dvd's. That store didnt open before 9:00, so we waited for 15 minutes. After that we went to buy a chess board, and new sunglasses for Anko. I also had to arrange something at the Westpac bank, for our new Zealand bus ticket, but the bank wouldnt open at all on saturday. At 10:15 we went inside the internetcafe, finally. 2 hours later we were both done, and after a small stop for an icecream, we took a taxi cab to the car rental. It wasnt our lucky day so far yet, but it turned out our taxi driver didnt really know the address. He had to use a map of Darwin to find it, took 25 minutes to get there, and meanwhile the meter just kept running. At 5 minutes past 1 we arrived at the the right place. Turned out the car rental closes early on saturday, at 1 o clock! Anyway, the gate was closed, and when we called the number on our voucher, the guy from the head office of KEA motors said it wasnt possible to send someone to get us our car. They were happy to help us the next morning from 8 in the morning.

We had to pay another 25 dollars for a cab back to the hostel, and another night in the hostel. Plus we had to explain at least a dozen times to everyone we had just said goodbye to in the hostel why we were still there. You can imagine I was cranky. Although not quite as cranky as the next day, when we actually went to pick up the car. Turned out that Anko received a phonecall around 12 from a number he didnt know, and he didnt feel like calling back. Also turned out the lady who closed the gate at one o clock, didnt leave the building until 2, but apparently had not seen us standing outside. Somehow I managed to hold in my frustration, cause I figured a big fight wasnt the best start to 3 weeks of just one anothers company.

Its gonna be too much to describe everything on our way down, so I'll just flip through it. I bought a small diary to write down my experiences, so if you want to know every detail, come by when I'm back home.
Litchfield park was like Kakadu Park but less spectacular. Also there are more tourists because it is less remote. Still, we did some really good hiking and swimming in truly beautiful spots there. (Anko said to me at one of those spots: 'The only thing missing right now is a nice girl. Damn Jelle, why are you not a girl??' I replied: 'right back at ya!')
We visited the Douglas Hot springs, where a hot water stream and a cold creek come together. If you swim from one side of the creek to the other just after the point where they mix, you will feel the water temperature change. Very weird!
When you are driving you have to keep an eye out for crossing wildlife. Three times already I only just managed to dodge a crossing kangaroo. They seem quite suicidal. `
We made a Canoe trip through the Katherine Gorge. Beautiful rock formations, very peaceful as well. At the end of the gorge you could go for a crocodile-safe swim and jump down from some rocks.
We bought some fishing equipment in Katherine (birthplace of Cadel Evans, last years tour de france winner) in an attempt to eat fish for dinner. So far it has still just been pasta or rice..
At some campsites you can collect your own firewood and cook your meal on your own campfire. really cool!
We visited some more Waterfalls in Litchfield park and near Katherine. They are always beautiful, but i guess we had both seen enough for a while, cause it didnt feel special anymore.
The days are still very hot, but the nights are getting cooler as we are travelling south and heading from the tropics to the desert.
We see a lot of Aboriginals around here, and to be honest, im not impressed. I hope it is different among the Aboriginals who live in their own communities, but the ones who live near the city, are nearly all addicts. Also practically every single one of them you see here looks like there is a loose screw in their heads. We talked to a Dutch guy, who told us that even pregnant women just keep drinking heavily. That may have something to do with it..
We camped near a river where during nightfall thousands of bats were flying around. Really impressive sight!
We visited the Cutta Cutta caves, a dripstone cave just south Katherine. Interesting, although not a lot to tell here.
Near a town called Mataranka, we visited one of my favorite spots so far. There was a hot spring there with a gentle current, so you could just float on the water for a couple 100 meters while going through rainforest. The Bitter Hot Springs. If you ever go this way, don't miss it!
What you also shouldnt miss, is the Daly Waters Pub in Daly Waters. Exists since 1930, and travellers have left things there ever since. So all walls are covered with t-shirts, caps, photo's, notes, bra's, money. Anko and I left a photo of ourselves against the bar.
We took some pictures near the Devils Marbles, big boulders in the middle of the desert.
Paid a visit to Wycleff Well. Interesting place, because here there are multiple UFO sightings reported yearly. We thought probably the people there just drink a little too much. But after looking at the sky for a few minutes, we saw one as well! (See pictures! I knew it, aliens are living on our planet!) In the roadhouse of Wycleff Well there were many articles about alien sightings and abductions put on the walls.

After Alice Springs, where we will stay for 2 days, we are going to visit the big red rock in the center, Uluru! And after that we go further down south, via Adelaide to Melbourne. In Adelaide I will probably post another story!

Hope all is well in the Netherlands!
And mom and dad, I wish you a really good holiday in New York!!

Cheers, Jelle

P.s: O, about the UFO on the picture: that was just a piece of dirt on the lens.