To Kangaroo Island first to begin a two week trip into the outback. We went for the silence and the wildlife, saw koalas and a very friendly kangaroo, some 'remarkable' (they were so called) rocks, seals and sea lions and some remote bays and beaches.We waited patiently to see a platypus but only saw the tell-tale bubbles they make on the surface, hence the only photo record is a sculpture of one!
But for me the most interesting thing was seeing the regeneration of the west end of the island, some 1000sq. miles that had been destroyed by a bush fire 3 years ago, caused by dry lightening setting fire to the grass.
As you can see by the 2 photos here, new growth is from the bottom and has reached around 10 feet with only charred bits visible above that. It was eerie too because the animals and birds that had left during the fire had not all returned.
Adelaide was disappointing, apart from the museum, especially the new bio-diversity floor and the art gallery with a good many exhibits done by Australian women artists who have captured both the spirit and reality of the country better than anyone. And we did attend a talk at the Aboriginal centre, Tandanya, given by a didgeridoo expert. Otherwise, the mixture of modern and Victorian buildings haphazardly placed was not appealing. However we did make a pilgrimage to the Adelaide Oval to see the Bradman statue, another icon, like the platypus, we could only see a model of!
Then to the real outback, Australia is vast! We travelled some 2000 km and only just touched it. 500 of those kms were through a swarm/plague of locusts; windscreen and radiator had to be cleared regularly, on one occasion by some helpful, and hungry, apostle birds or lousy jacks as the locals called them.
Wilpena Pound, 6 hours drive north of Adelaide was next. A vast 'crater' surrounded by craggy mountains, once supporting 40,000 sheep and then arable. Both ventures failing through inacessibility and drought, though not through any lack of persistence and struggle by the Hill's family who gave it their best shot! Nearby were 2 sites with Aboriginal cave drawings.
Then to Broken Hill, actual Mad Max country, indeed the next film is being made around there at Silverton where the car is and the hotel which has featured in other films and adverts, XXX beer and Priscilla Queen of the Desert for example.
Also the lonely gum, a tree which was the subject of an award winning photo by Cazneaux.
Then to Broken Hill, actual Mad Max country, indeed the next film is being made around there at Silverton where the car is and the hotel which has featured in other films and adverts, XXX beer and Priscilla Queen of the Desert for example.
The town was the centre of Australian silver mining. Slag heaps surround and the miners' memorial is built on one. A hotel has a 'Botticelli" on the ceiling, the local brass band erected a memorial to the band that continued playing as the Titanic sank and the Trade Union movement formed in Broken Hill to fight for better conditions for the miners
Then we came across a sculpture park in the middle of nowhere where we spent sunset. 'Gilly,Gilly hair on fire'Then to Kinchega National Park and Lake Menindee, another wonderful sunset, accommodation in the old shearers' quarters, a billabong and the first sight of the Darling river which, along with the Murray are the longest rivers in the country,around 1800klms., and crucial in the irrigation system. The woolshed is well preserved, the last shearing was only in 1967, the processes and bits of machinery clearly visible and the smells still there.
Billabong
The next stop was to the fabulous Mungo National Park, more shearers' sheds, a bit more luxurious this time as the area is a world heritage site. Lake Mungo actually hasn't been a lake for 18000 years but it has thrown up Mungo man, Lady Mungo and recently the remains of a child ,all some thousands of years old. Even more astonishing are the Great Walls of China, named after Chinese workers of the area, which are a bank of sand dunes built up over time as the wind has swept the sand off the empty lake. These dunes are constantly on the move and month by month uncover the hearths of the original inhabitants of some 40 to 50000 years ago. We saw otoliths (fish ears), emu eggs, flint tools etc in situ which is where the Aboriginal Elders want to keep them.
Wentworth is where the confluence of the 2 great rivers, Murray/Darling, is, and where we found a memorial to the Ferguson tractor that had helped to save the town during a flood.
In Mildura we took a steamboat ride and got a feel for how both goods and people used to travel as well as good info about all the locks and weirs it took to keep the waterway open.
And finally some other birds/animals. A well balanced pelican, a black swan hoping for a nibble, a blue tongued lizard having just avoided being run over, an echidna hiding, a golden orb spider, see the strand of gold web, the desert pea and the snaked neck duck
This is my favourite photo which I feel sums up Australia; white sand, green bush and a blue sky.
We've had a wonderful time seeing some amazing places and fantastic sights and sites. But we've also met some great people who have made our trip that much better with their hospitality and friendship for which we are most grateful. A special mention though for Anne and Ulric who gave us open house in Galston, introduced us to some good friends there and threw some good parties! And Coll and Mike in Paddington with whom we shared the outback trip and were unstinting with their generosity when we stayed in Sydney including lending their car and fixing me up with some tennis!