the outback/alice springs.

the scenery has been changing daily.. ground gradually being replaced with red sand. we camped out at this one place with a sign reading - 'population: 22,000 sheep, 40,000,000 flies, 30 people'. another sign for a destination that is 500km away, the next available stop on the almost straight highway..

coober pedy was a simple little town, riding the coat-tails of old opal mines for tourism.. (oh, and they had the spaceship from the movie "pitch black" with vin diesel.. [obviously the real reason we went there..]) we stayed the night 34 steps underground in a cave-like hostel. drove out to the 'dingo fence' stretching 5300 km, and also to the 'moon plain' [which looks like you're on the moon, basically.. or maybe mars]. red dirt and broken rock spread along the surface with the 'breakaways' jutting in the distance. it was pretty phenomenal, although a difficult ride for our poor station wagon weighed down by 5 people, backpacks and camping gear..

we saw a herd of wild horses galloping through the dessert, emus, and mutant-sized birds (eagles the size of men).. hoping to climb ayers rock, we drove out to urluru; unfortunately it was expensive to enter the park, and we didn't have a clear sky so our hopes of catching sunset and watching the rock change colors were shattered.. instead we checked it out from a distance and continued on to king's canyon, taking in a small walk that evening, and a beautiful 6km hike around the rim this morning.. "the roadies" - an old couple with an assortment of instruments (and costumes) played a free show at the bar by our campsite last night and we each found ourselves on stage at some point in the night, embarrassing ourselves (and each other).. i've never felt so hick, and i'm from foxwarren..

presently in alice springs in need of some groceries and a camp site for the evening.

mount gambier/adelaide.

we left melbourne with the wind at our backs.. nothing but the open road and endless possibilities. taking the scenic route along the 'great ocean road' we passed through a series of changing landscapes.. waves crashing against the cliffs.. flat prairies, rolling hillsides, rain forests, extinct volcanoes.. we drove through one stretch with charcoal remnants on the right, and luscious green on the left; an aftermath of the treacherous bush fires australia has been subjected to in the past months. while out walking, we saw a wombat, some kangaroos, and a koala bear.

our first campsite had quite a unique view; the backyard of a roadside gas station.. [it was raining and we were losing light so it was crucial we got the tent up while we could]. we woke cold, damp, yet undeterred. the second night we set up our tent in a secluded hillside campground. it was too wet to make a fire, but we cooked dinner over our little gas stove and cozied up into our sleeping bags for some much needed sleep. this is what followed:

'crunch.. crunch..'
me: 'did you hear that?!'
[stacy gets the flashlight to go check it out].
chris: (screaming like a 13 year-old girl) 'something ran across my face!'

two beady little eyes staring back at us.
a mouse. lesson number 1: never leave the tent open.

as we pack up camp and head into mount gambier to spend a few days with stacy's friends, i notice that my cereal bag has a hole in it. so does stacy's. kind of looks tattered.. another mouse! in our car this time. this is getting personal. bad karma? are they following us from 238 faraday st? i am hoping that we've seen our last of small rodents. although, we are heading into the outback tomorrow..

mount gambier was a very relaxing few days.. we saw a 'footie' game - australia's spin on a mix of soccer, football, basketball.. and who knows what else. got a huge bag of apples straight out of an orchard, and a few more groceries to prep for our next stint of camping.

we are currently in adelaide, couchsurfing with a man named steven. tomorrow morning we pick up melissa and sean at the airport and continue north, coober-pedy-bound.

on the road again.

wednesday morning marks a new chapter in our travels. waking early, throwing our few possessions into the back of a stationwagon along with a few tents, stove, some chairs, a table.. and we're off. saying goodbye to our mouse ridden, dilapidated brick building that i'm sure would not hold up against inspection; to little genevieve's cafe which has fed me and put some cash in my pocket; the state library, the coffee shops, clare and heidi, our incompetent landlord ernie.. and the thousands of nameless strangers we've inadvertantly interacted with in the last almost four months..

we will drive west along the great ocean road, camping in freezing temperatures [figuratively.. it doesn't get below zero here] to mount gambia where we'll shack up with jess and luke for a few days.. to adelaide where we will pick up melissa and her boyfriend sean, to conquer the outback together in all it's glory. our tentative route heads north, on the only road available to us (ensuring we will not get lost), and gradually veering northeast until we reach water, then heading south along the coast all the way to sydney.

i'm not sure how available internet connections will be; but you will be kept informed as much as possible..