After the
parties in Darwin and the adventures in Kakadu,
its time to move on - I head South for Alice Springs along the Stuart Highway on
a 1600km trip which is destined to take 3 days.
I'm joined by Justin - a student from New Jersey who has been travelling the
East Coast for a few months - he is a great companion for the journey and proves
to be a great cook on the campsites.
We stop for a night some 400km South of Darwin - in the small town of
Katherine, where the next afternoon we take out a Canoe and paddle up the
spectacular Katherine Gorge.
Heading
relentlessly South the next morning, we stop for lunch at the Daly Waters Pub -
a peculiar tin shed which features not only the most remote traffic sign in
Australia (why is another matter...) but also the obligatory memorabilia from
all over the world (bank notes, sewing machines, toilet seats etc). Its
chips and pastie for lunch - washed down with a tepid coke, then a fuel stop and
on the road again...
We've decided we want to camp at the Devils Marbles tonight and continue
along the tarmac road - it is clear that we will not make the 
Marbles
before dark, and the sun sets just as we reach the highways sole turn off - to
Queensland - at the unimaginatively named 3-ways. This is the first
intersection since Darwin - and still some 500km North of Alice.
After another pit stop for food and fuel at Tennent Creek, the second largest
town along the road (after Katherine), we continue towards the Devils Marbles in
the dark. This proves slow going as not only is the beast is overheating,
but there are wallabies on the road and the occasional oncoming traffic lights
up the road like a sequel of Close Encounters.
Nearing
the Marbles an hour and a half later, we are somewhat perturbed by the sight of
a raging bushfire less than 2km from the campsite. Smoke fills the air,
the sound of crackling wood and an intense orange glow assaults the
senses. Its very eerie.
We
reach the campsite which is now very quiet as most occupants are already asleep
- tonight we enjoy some quite delicious chicken fajitas cooked by candle and
torch light. Its one of those great meals which you never forget - bearing
in mind what went before and the fact that we're in the ultimate al fresco
eatery - the scene comprises an orange glow of the bushfire some distance off
and a blanket of stars above.
Next
morning, after watching the sun rise over the Devils Marbles, we begin our final
leg to Alice - 400km - which we take at a leisurely pace. There's not
much, no, nothing between the Marbles and Alice - just Barrow Creek where both
Justin and I feel a cold shiver down our spine as we pass the scene of the
recent suspected shooting of Peter Falconio.
Our arrival in Alice is unspectacular, the locals have not put out the
banners to greet us, and there's no ticker tape for Justin - just two guys who
are pleased to have survived 24 hours of driving in total on the longest damned
runway in the world.
