The bus is at 5:40am.
As planned, Luke is the driver, and Byron is already in the bus.
There are many people, and in the end we are a group of 18 !
(19 with Luke)
It's a big group, and it's a bit tight in the bus, but it will be a pretty good group, and the number will not be a problem.
Our first stop is at the virtual line of the Tropic Of Capricorn.
We then stop at Ti-Tree for a toilet, coffee and fuel stop.
Once back in the bus, we have quite a long drive before the next stop, so Luke asks us to introduce ourselves one after the other (it's another tour, with another group ...).
Everybody goes for a short time in front of the bus to say something about himself, it's a good thing to somehow break the ice.
In short, the group is :
- Amy from Manchester.
- Ramona from the North of Italy.
- Tatiana from Antwerp !
- Steven and his girlfriend (forgot the name) from Halle ! (again !!! We are 4 Belgians in the bus ! Incredible ...)
- Sarah from Dublin (around 50).
- Julie and Linda from Brisbane (around 50).
- A guy from Canada (around 50).
- Chantal and Michael from Bonn.
- Asha and Astrid from Eindhoven.
- Jeong Ah from South Korea.
- Byron from Southport/Liverpool.
- me.
(and Luke from Alice Springs of course)
The next stop is at Barrow Creek, a "village" in the middle of nowhere.
It's a petrol station, a old abandonned telegraph station, a shop, and of course, a pub.
In the pub, there's this crazy guy that collects things from all around the world.
He asks every one he sees where he's coming from, and then starts running everywhere showing things he has about the country on the walls or anywhere (like notes, coins, maps, and objects, ranging from a flag to a driver's license !).
It's really special and funny ... Crazy Ozzies.
The next stop is at Wycliffe Well, another crazy spot.
Here, they claim some UFOs landed some time ago, and it's thus apparently the best knowned place in Oz for extra-terrestrial activity.
The place is a big joke, it's once again a petrol station+shop+pub+camping resort, where everything is oriented around UFOs, in a funny way (and ridiculous).
It's funny though to walk around and see how far they went.
After that, we hit the road to Wauchoppe, where we stop for lunch.
We're having burgers.
Our first stop in the afternoon is at the Devil's Marbles, strange ball-shaped rock formations.
It's beautiful and spectacular. It's really special.
We stay there for a while, taking pictures (some normals, some less "serious"), and climbing as much as we can (trying to get on top of the highest ones).
After that, we stop at Tennant Creek, for a fuel & toilet stop (and bottle shop stop for those who want to).
There's nothing to see there, it's more it's history that is fun.
A while ago, some people discovered gold, and many people came here to get rich. But in the end, the area wasn't that prosperous ...
One day, a guy thought it would be a good idea to bring some alcohol to the diggers, and came from Alice Springs with a truck full of alcohol.
He almost made it to the gold mines, but had to stop 10km before reaching it.
And instead of moving the truck to the gold mines, the people came to the truck.
Today, Tennant Creek is where the truck was ... 10km away from it's original location.
(once again, crazy Ozzies ...)
Tennant Creek is the 4th biggest city in the Northern Territory state.
The next stop is at Attack Creek (great name ...).
John McDowall Stuart was "attacked" by aboriginies here while he was trying to cross Australia from South to North, and stopped to rest in what was like an oasis.
(see Google for more details please ... it's long to write)
Our last stop of the day is at the campsite of Banka Banka.
Tonight, we're having Schnitzel with fried potatoes and salad for dinner (there's a lot !).
While eating and afterwards, many people change seats, and we get to more or less all talk to each other.
In one of the toilet, there's a frog (which of course makes the girl scream ...).
Luke goes to the rescue and picks it up (he loves reptiles and "ugly" animals ;-) ).
With Byron, Ramona and Tatiana we are the last to stay awaken.
We then go to sleep around 9:30pm (tomorrow we have to wake up really early - again).
I share a tent with Byron.
It's really cold outside.
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