Outback Road Trip

Today was my first road trip that took me off the main highway and onto the dirt roads of the outback in a four-wheel drive vehicle. There were three of us and a Toyota Land Cruiser, diesel. For the first bit of the drive we were thundering along the double lane sealed road (asphalt) and then we were on single lane asphalt. We passed a few road trains, and they OWN the road, particularly when it is single lane. You pull the hell over and get out of the way for them to thunder by. We saw a few 3 link road trains, and one 4 link road trains, and they all left us in a cloud of dust. Then we were onto the unpaved dirt roads. Yes, you do need a 4x4 for these as it was quite a bone-rattling drive, and the fact that we were on dirt did not slow our driver down much! It was a bouncy ride, but also rather thrilling to be bouncing along, hitting bumps, cracks, gaps, ruts, and other uneven surfaces. The road changes hourly, depending on the traffic, the dryness or wetness of the dirt, and whether or not the road grader has been through.

As for wildlife, I managed to see two kangaroos go bouncing by, one across the road, and one off into the fields. I did not have my camera out in time to catch either on film, but they were pretty amazing to see just the same. We also spotted one in the dark on the return drive home, just two bouncing lights in the dark as the spotter light caught their eyes. I saw about a dozen wild horses, one with a young colt, which was also pretty cool. Those I did get to photograph. There were also a ton of termite mounds, but we didn’t stop for photos of those, I’ll do that another time.

The visits to the two Aboriginal communities were very interesting. Our first visit to someone’s home involved squatting down on the red earth beneath a tree in their yard, and having a chat with one of the elders, and whomever else felt it was their business to sit in. Apparently this is how things are done, and it seemed to work rather well. So there we sat, in the shade of the tree, surrounded by about a half-dozen family members, taking turns having our say. The mood was pleasant, and engaging, with us all sharing the same concerns for the youth in the community. Most home visits take place like this, either squatting on the ground, or standing by the gate or front porch. We did several today, and visited a few public buildings like the school and clinic. It was interesting to see in the medical clinic, separate windows for “Woman Only” and “Man Only”. Within the Aboriginal community women and men conduct their business separately as is their custom. There was another sign up in the clinic that separated folks further by camps, as the families are pretty divided between two camps in that community and cannot share the same space. There was a bit of a riot the day before, and trouble again just a few hours before we had arrived, enough that the school locked its gate to keep the children out of it. Families are feuding, and it gets violent at times, so people try to keep the children out of the way when this happens, and from joining the trouble outside the fence that surrounded the school.

My first look at an Aboriginal community was an eye-opener. Conditions are rough, trash is everywhere, and community standards are basic survival. Many people have set up beds outside their homes during the dry season, with beds, clothing, and blankets scattered everywhere. Many people were sitting in the shade under trees and porches. For the most part, people were rather cheerful when we came around, despite the violence earlier in the day. Many were barefoot, regardless of age, and local languages were spoken most of the time, except when conversing with us. Then it was mostly pigeon English, which is quite common in this country from what I have read, and experienced. It was all rather interesting to see how people relate to us, and to one another.

People were packed up and waiting at the community health centre for the “bush bus” which is a bus that runs regularly to the remote camps to bring people into Alice Springs. Their luggage typically consisted of a bag of clothing, and bags or loose bundles of bedding to use while “in town”. Most stay at the town camps that lie on the outskirts of Alice Springs, where you must bring your own bedding and sleep on an empty cot, the floor, or the open ground. I haven’t been to a town camp yet, but reckon it won’t be long.

The drive back was a beautiful drive as the sun set over the distant mountain range behind us, and the moon rose like a huge glowing ball over the horizon that lay in front of us. The stars began to appear, one after another, and at one point, we saw a brilliant shooting star fly downward in the sky.

Tomorrow I head to another community, this time with a police officer on my team. I wonder if the roads will be as rough as they were today…adventure awaits.