It's almost too perfect

An update from the centre of Oz. At the moment I'm in Alice Springs. So much has happened. I've lost track of days, I've lost track of time, and only the Australian way of life and the redness of the countryside and the remoteness of this route reminds me constantly of where I am. Other than that, everything is just flowing from day to night.. The sun rises and the day starts, the sun sets and the day is over. That's all we need right now. No watches, no calendars, no deadlines..just us and great open road.

I reckon it's a Tuesday morning and I've been roadtripping with Jason for 6 or 7 days now. It seems like far longer, but it's flying at the same time. My trip started on Wednesday evening. The flight from Brisbane to Adelaide. Jason came to pick me up from the airport. It was so surreal and the first meeting was like something out of movie.. It was the best. Even the security guards could see how happy we both were. I had convinced myself that I might not even recognize him, as it had been so long. But of course I did.. Nothing has changed, and as we chatted started the driving straight away, it was like we had only seen each other yesterday.

We're traveling in a little white van. It's like a working van, but it's got everything we need. It's small, but we have the great outdoors, which gives us all the space in the world. We've called the van "Myvan", as in it is "my van", but is pronounced as Ivan would be pronounced. Myvan is the best, so far he's been reliable, he's been warm, he's been our home. (the weather by the way hasn't been great, it's cloudy, it's chilly, it's even raining now and then..but our spirits are too high right now for the weather to have an effect on us..)

As we started the roadtrip on Wednesday night, we headed up from Adelaide to Port Augusta (which is a 3 hour drive). We stopped in a truckstop for the night. From there we decided to head to Ayers Rock first, instead of heading towards Cairns. To me it didn't matter what route we took, just being on the road was all I wanted. So the next day, we made our way to Coober Pedy, the town that lives underground, out in the desert. Red dirt was all we seen. We camped in the most random spot that night. It probably was the freakiest place to park. On the side of the highway, just as it turned dark. For miles and miles there was nothing. Not a sound, not a light, not a soul. Only possibly the mad bushmen, who can go a little loopy from time to time and find themselves some good fortune whenever they come across a white van, with 2 people in it, that they could use for whatever purpose they wish. Nothing happened, but I was paranoid and freaked by the isolation of where we were parked. But when I look at it from a different perspective, then being in a city with thousands of people should probably be classed as far more dangerous than being out in the desert, with not a soul in sight. The chances of something happening in a city are far more likely, than in the Australian bush.. Hummm.. With that in mind, I had eased my fear..

The next morning we were well on our way to getting closer to the Rock. We didn't push the driving too much. We camped in a safer spot, where there were other tourists too. Safety in numbers seems to be the best thing for me.. Jason on the other hand would rather it be as isolated as possible. Proper bushman I suppose. That day we seen so many beautiful sights. What were they exactly? Nothing much really, because there's nothing to see. For miles and miles it was flat and red. There was vegetation, but not alot. It took my breath away on several occasions. A lot of people say that it's so boring, because there's nothing to see. But that's just it.. The fact that there's nothing there and that places like this exist, so relatively close to cities and populated parts of the country, I find so amazing..

I think it was Saturday when we made it to Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it's also called. Well, I don't think I'll ever be able to put into words just how amazing that was. O my god. I've never ever seen such a sight that moved me the way that beautiful red rock, in the heart of Oz, moved me. I wanted to actually cry, as we drove closer and closer and saw the rock in the distance. "She" got closer and closer. I was speechless, I was inspired, I was overwhelmed and I felt like the luckiest person on the planet to be there, seeing that freak of nature. I felt privileged to be there and experience what the rock had to offer, really I did. Especially being there with a true blue Ozzie friend and with Myvan. This feeling lasted for 3 days. It really was amazing. We stayed on a campsite for 2 nights. During the days we did a few 10 kilometer walks, and soaked up every ounce of culture and inspiration we could whilst we were there. We didn't want to miss a beat. Mostly, when the weather is good, you can climb the Rock. But it was closed, for safety reasons, which was a little bit of a bummer, but not to worry, just seeing it was awe inspiring.

I never ever expected Uluru, or Ayers Rock to have such an impact on me. I had heard how beautiful it was, but never in a million years would I have known just how much. It's has only opened my eyes even more, as to how lucky I am to be here in Australia. What a beautiful country, what beautiful people and what an amazing culture. Yesterday we left, and we didn't really want to. But time was pushing on. It was the hardest day so far, because the excitement of the days before had worn us out. But we managed to get to Alice Springs, which is still in Central Australia, just 500 kilometers north east of the Rock.

From here we will continue to head north. We aren't going to Darwin anymore, but will be heading for Cairns instead. We've both already been to Darwin, so we'd rather see more of northern Queensland. The journey ahead is still a long long way. We don't always have music, but we keep each other busy. I see it was my "job" to keep Jason from getting tired or fatigued from the driving. We'll be hoping to do around 500 kilometers a day, until the trip is finished (which is another 6000). For now though, this is all I want. Being on the road is the most amazing feeling in the world. It's the feeling I've missed the most. I savour every moment, be it day or night. I'm not wishing for the driving to end, I'm not hoping that the kilometers will tick away and that the end will get nearer. None of that. For now, this is all I have, and it's so so great.

We're both as free spirited as each other and have said on several occasions just how well this trip has worked out. It's almost too perfect, even with the cold.. There are more adventures to come, and I'm excited. So I'll be moving from behind this computer right now and heading into the unknown again. Bring it on..