The last leg of the tour.
Folks,
Last but not least we made our way through South Australia to The Northern Territory before heading home.
If you missed Part 1 – QLD, Part 2 – NSW or Part 3 - VIC you can catch up here.
(Picture - Amba enjoying a rare double rainbow)
After leaving Victoria, we followed the road along the South Australian Coast and stumbled upon some magical small towns seated beside the bluest water.
We completely mistimed the Melbourne cup, leaving Victoria that day so ended up watching the race in a small historical town of South Australia named Beachport.
After checking out the coast, (a highlight being the beautiful town of Robe) we made a bee line for the Barossa Valley to meet up with friends that were flying in from Sydney for the weekend.
The days enjoyed here turned out to be some of the greatest on the trip!
Amazing sunsets, wine tasting, delicious food and campfires (and what's a campfire without marshmallows, stories and delicious local produce).
What a treat sharing our set up with good mates.
After smashing out the remaining schools in Adelaide we started making our way north.
(Picture - James on the road to Uluru)
Port Augusta was our first overnight stop on the way to the rock. We then ploughed on to Marlo, eventually reaching Yulara.
I have to say there isn’t a lot between towns. Picture this, the dashboard, a long tar road as far as you can see and red open plains that makes you get excited about a tree they're so rare.
The funniest part about reaching Yulara was us thinking Mount Michael was Uluru. We even considered getting out the drone we were so convinced.
We soon realised the random giant mound in the middle of nowhere wasn’t what we thought it was. How had we never been told this? There's a lookalike Uluru on the way to Uluru! I think this should be something others know so as not to be fooled like we were.
In Uluru we did all the things you do when visiting the red centre - walked around the rock, swatted flies continually and visited the field of lights (which was definitely a trip highlight and a must if you’re heading that way!)
(Picture - Books officially launched at Uluru)
Uluru was our final port of call for launching the book series.
From here on in it was mostly chillaxing and making our way home to Sydney before the year-end to pack and prepare for New York City.
The trip home included exploring the Northern Territory, Kings Canyon, Ormiston Gorge, swimming in beautiful water holes and enjoying incredible walks in extremely hot weather.
(Picture - James climbing an old water tower)
In Alice Springs, we enjoyed the local art and purchased a piece by a recognised Aboriginal painter to remember the trip by.
The drive from the Northern Territory into New South Whales included many more long stretched red open roads with little in between except over night stops at interesting in land towns, such as Coober Pedy, where they literally live underground to avoid the heat – you seriously wouldn't believe this place unless you’d seen it.
(Picture - James along the Oodnadatta Track)
The Oodnadatta Track which follows the Old Ghan Railway Line took us into New South Whales.
Now if we thought we were in remote territory before, we had another thing coming. This dirt track stretches for hundreds of kilometres and hosts some of the most interesting sites you'll see around Australia.
There are ruins and old pubs with locals that come together to play darts on a Friday night. The dis-connectivity from cellular towers meant real life connectivity - absolute bliss.
In Marree, we were fascinated by the racial integration between the indigenous community, the aboriginals and the Afghanistan’s (who helped to lay the railway track back in the day) and the rest of the town. How refreshing to see that a peaceful integration is possible. Studies by anthropologists have long examined the integrated community here. We felt extremely grateful to also be welcomed in and have the opportunity to experience a few days here.
(Picture - Marree Hotel)
We soon made our way back onto tar roads and into the familiarity of New South Whales. Passing through Nyngan, Dubbo, Capertee and Berry before we eventually arrived back to Sydney.
It sure has been a ride finding our path around Australia.
Thanks for coming along with us - it's been an absolute blast!
(Picture - Outback clothesline full of shoes, no idea why)
Sadly it's now time to hang up the shoes. There’s no place for me as a camper trailer in New York City so this is where we part – but I’m sure there's a new adventure there to be shared by someone more appropriate.
Although, I have heard Amba & James whispering about travelling around Western Australia once they return – so perhaps our paths will cross again in the not too distant future...
Until then,
- Pat
xox
(Picture - Pat & Disco in full glory)