We are back on the road and driving through the Northwestern part of Australia. Lately we had visited Karijini Nationalpark and now we are heading straight towards Broom, our next destination were I am planning to spend a couple of relaxing days.
But we were far from getting there as in Australia, a trip can sometimes stretch out quite a bit, and depending on the destination, take days, if not weeks. According to your mood and desire, and your portmonaise and the planned means of transportation. During this trip, I was always looking for carpooling opportunities and on my way I had the great opportunity to travel together with a wide variety of nice people. And along the journey we always had enough time to get to know and learn a little bit about each other, and in that way understand the world a little better.
Even though we humans are all different and we all have different goals and desires, we still have so much in common and often our dreams are not so different but incredibly similar. Especially on a trip through the outback or a conversation around the campfire you realize this over and over again quickly, and even if not all relationships survive the next week, you usually take something with you that will shape you forever. Even if you may not realize it right away, since sometimes we need a little longer to understand that we can get something important for life from almost every encounter we have.
Of course, we might not be eager to reveal ourselves to people every single day, and often it is even healing and relaxing to keep our mouths shut and pull back. The wild and pristine beauty of Australia's landscape quickly seduces you into dreaming and musing, and during those long drives it's quite natural to get caught up in your own thoughts.
I still have enough imagination left, so that even longer and less exciting journeys do not become so long for me. The landscape may look similiar and you feel the outside is just copying itself, but these deserted areas sometimes have something hypnotic about them that I can still feel today when looking at the pictures I took back then. Photos can never perfectly reproduce the atmosphere that prevailed in those moments, but together with my memories they still put me in a very special mood today. In a mixture of joy and melancholy, with a touch of nostalgia and longing, which shows me that I probably did the right thing in those days. Actually I feel that this journey has actually never stopped, and brought me to where I am today. And where I will be next tomorrow.
The journey is the destination and along the way so many images and impressions have burned themselves into my memory. Not everything was perfect in the past, but it doesn't have to be. Everyone feels different when looking at the same images and eventually we won't all look back at those times and experience in the same way. Happy are those who were able to preserve the bright side for themselves, and fortunately I was able to do that many times.
And that's why I still like to look at the many pictures I brought back from my travels and share them with you. The photos today were taken between some of the stops on my trip, and are so typical of that special journey. Probably many people have seen similar scenes before and after me, and that's exactly why I want to share this little series of pictures with you today.
On we go on the road, and let's take a close look to the right and to the left....
Up here in the northwest, Australia is not exactly blessed with rich vegetation, but still the landscape here is exceedingly charming. Grassy plains alternate with mountain ranges that often fit quite gently and somehow quite smoothly into the background. Those images often stretch as far as the eye can see, but I never get bored looking at this sight.
As mentioned earlier, red is the dominant color in much of the country and dominates the landscape everywhere in Australia. But this rough charm has something very appealing, similiar to the scenery in some parts of the western United States, where you also might have learned to love it. Australia was and still is often filled with a pioneering spirit, and especially out here you can quickly feel it as soon as you surrender and entrust yourself to the great endless plains.
Of course these distances have to be crossed - sometimes you are lucky enough to be able to take a plane, other times there might even be a train. But most of the time, people here have to rely on cars and trucks to reach and to deliver to the distant villages and settlements. And when it comes to deliveries, people in Australia sometimes really make a show as they can't just drop by every day. The best example are the huge road trains, trucks with several trailers, which earn themselves a lot of respect on the road, and which are such a typical image for Australia.
Let's have another look to the left, where countless small and large boulders pile up at the very back. The landscape often still seems untouched, and mankind will not change this sight here so quickly.
And on the other side you find the same picture, and you often feel so small when driving through this part of the country, in comparison to the landscape that has been looking like this since thousands of years ago.
The landscape in front of and also behind us usually couldn't be more inviting, and often looks like something out of a travel catalog. This infinity in time and space probably creates this very special romance that has always captivated me. Here, our planet seems almost untouched, although of course people have passed through here ages ago, and probably also shaped this land in their own way. But the result is much more charming than the many industrial and cultural landscapes we find in other parts of the world.
Sure we stopped again and again to walk a little bit into the open countryside. We were never in a hurry, it was more important to experience and feel the country with all our senses, although of course the sheer size of Australia means that you only ever get to see a fraction of the continent.
But of course there is not only sand and rocks in Australia, from time to time there is also water. Like here in the Geiki Gorge, an 8 kilometer long gorge traversed by the Fitzroy River, which in the course of time has formed walls up to 30 meters high. Be careful if you want to swim here, because you could easily make acquaintance with a typical representative of this water environment, the freshwater crocodile.
Not all parts of the gorge are continuously covered with water, as you can see from the steppe-like areas that look like abandoned fields waiting to be worked again.
A very crucial part that adds so much to this outback romance is camping and sleeping in a tent. You really feel like you're in the middle of nature, and often you are. I've stayed at campgrounds where we were the only ones, and sometimes we slept right next to the road. The longer you are there, the less comfort you need and the more fun you have. And I usually slept wonderfully and had great dreams.
And of course this picture should not be missing, as the setting sun is a classic in the outback and an image that fires the longing like no other. In the light of the day you can once again reflect on what you have experienced, even if at this moment you might not be able to appreciate yet how valuable this day has been. This conclusion can only be reached much later, as I am realizing again right now while writing these lines.
My longing and wanderlust is far from extinguished, and I very much hope that one day I will have the opportunity to chase my dreams once again. Right now I'm enjoying refreshing my memories while looking at these pictures, so much seems like it was just yesterday.
But with the setting sun we are calling it a day. I will be back soon and we will continue our journey, always following our noses. Have a wonderful day everyone....
See you soon!
[//]:# (!pinmapple -19.801275 lat 120.845988 long The road is the real destination d3scr)