What's Up Down Under

     Now that I’ve finally moved into my own place here and have begun to put my own stamp on it, I finally feel like I’m at home. The furniture has been delivered, and I’ve unpacked everything I have with me. My shipment of items from Canada has arrived in Australia, and once the shipment clears AQIS (Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service) and Customs, they will FINALLY be able to send my items by road train to Alice Springs. Sydney is about 2800kms from here, so shouldn’t take the road train any more than 3-4 days to drive here, depending on the weather, and road conditions. Most road trains are about 3-5 cars long. If you’re wondering what a road train is, it is a big truck that hauls 3-5 links that could be tanks or containers, such as the one pictured here. They OWN the road. Sometimes they will let you pass them too, so will signal for you to go around them, as driving behind them can be scary as the links sway back and forth along the road, kicking up dust and rocks as they go. It could be worse – my shipment could be coming by camel…

     Speaking of camels, I am looking to do an afternoon camel excursion, such as the ones listed here: http://www.cameltracks.com/ and have a friend who would also like to do it with me. We’re thinking it would be much better to do the camel tour in winter (which is now) as it won’t be as hot up there on the camel and they hopefully won’t stink as much. I’ve heard they are not all that comfortable to ride, but who cares? It’s a camel ride and I want to try it at least once!

     I’ve been walking to and from work with my friend F. who moved in just two streets away. Walking to work with someone is a delight! The walk flies by quickly, and the weather is so gorgeous, it’s just a pleasant time of day before and after work. The beauty of it is that we can stop off at a pub on the way home for a couple of “schooners” of beer (glass) without worrying about driving home. The walk takes us across the Todd River, which is dry most of the time, particularly in the dry season. Summer (Dec-Feb) is the wet season, and it will rain some then, occasionally enough for the river to run. The rest of the year it is a dry river bed where Aboriginals camp overnight, often for days, weeks, or months at a time. We pass by their campfires in the morning, as they squat around them, and sometimes they’re not up, still curled up into their blankets in the sand, often under a tree. The dry river bed is often where some of them live most of the year.

     We also pass through the down-town area of Alice Springs where town workers are always hard at work, washing down the streets, clearing up the trash and liquor rubbish. With no rain in months to wash them off, the streets can get very dirty, particularly when they are used as public washrooms at night. I have to say, for the amount of rubbish I’ve seen in Alice, it is always cleared up promptly, and the town actually looks quite good most of the time. There are trees everywhere, many that bloom beautiful big blossoms, and flowers planted in any available space. Alice is certainly greener than I was expecting for a desert town.

     This weekend brings more lawn sales aka yard sales, along with picking up several bags of soil and some hardy plants to finish up my garden. The garden has been neglected for many years it seems, so it little more than a caked dirt bed. I’ll load it up with lots of fresh soil, plant some local greenery, and then fill around the plants with pine bark chips to discourage weeds. I get the feeling weeds are not as much of a nuisance here as they are in damper climates, which works for me!

     On Sunday I am heading to Trephina Gorge with my bushwalking buddy to explore a few of the trails there, taking a picnic lunch along with us. The scenery is to be amazing, and the plant life very diverse. It is also a 4-WD track, my first in the Rav 4 so sure to be an adventure! Photos to follow upon our return.

     So there you have it, the latest down under.