I've been waiting to get some photos from one of the people on tour with me before I posted this, but I think she is galavanting around New Zealand, and because the service isn't the greatest there, I will probably have to wait until she is done with her fun before I get the photos... I'm posting it anyways, so keep in mind some of the more fun photos are missing!
Feeling well rested after a day of no commitments in Alice Springs, we boarded the bus (a new bus – no one was a fan) for a long day of driving. Because we had a long ways to go, we didn’t stop for long anywhere so we could get to our hotel before too late, but we did make a few quick stops along the way.
Our first stop was at one of the old Overland Telegraph Line Stations. It is a rundown place now, but it used to be one of the stations where messages from down South would get passed through, and then people in this station would transfer that message through to the next section of the telegraph line. There would have only been a few men that lived and worked there, and I’m sure they would have gone a bit crazy as it is super isolated from any civilization. The fridge was the coolest part – it was just a huge hole in the ground with a door and roof on it. Having the food far enough under the surface would have apparently kept the food cold enough…perhaps this helps to explain why people didn’t live very long back then! At this stop, we were also told the story of a backpacker that went missing several years ago about 13 km from this station. Apparently the girlfriend who was with him says that there was a trucker (who apparently was known as he had been convicted of many crimes in the past) who stopped to ‘help them’, and he took the boyfriend and to get away, she ran into the woods and never ended up seeing what happened – this ‘likely’ story ended the trucker back in jail, and the girlfriend who apparently showed no remorse or sadness in court got off with no questioning.
Our first stop was at one of the old Overland Telegraph Line Stations. It is a rundown place now, but it used to be one of the stations where messages from down South would get passed through, and then people in this station would transfer that message through to the next section of the telegraph line. There would have only been a few men that lived and worked there, and I’m sure they would have gone a bit crazy as it is super isolated from any civilization. The fridge was the coolest part – it was just a huge hole in the ground with a door and roof on it. Having the food far enough under the surface would have apparently kept the food cold enough…perhaps this helps to explain why people didn’t live very long back then! At this stop, we were also told the story of a backpacker that went missing several years ago about 13 km from this station. Apparently the girlfriend who was with him says that there was a trucker (who apparently was known as he had been convicted of many crimes in the past) who stopped to ‘help them’, and he took the boyfriend and to get away, she ran into the woods and never ended up seeing what happened – this ‘likely’ story ended the trucker back in jail, and the girlfriend who apparently showed no remorse or sadness in court got off with no questioning.
After stories of backpackers going missing, our next stop was in Wycliffe Well, the ‘UFO Capital of Australia’. We got warned earlier in our trip not to question the people who live here, as they apparently really believe that UFOs land here all the time. Apparently, if you stay in Wycliffe Well and do NOT see a UFO during the night you stay there, it is very unusual and ‘unlucky’. The gas station we stopped at was decorated with hundreds of newspaper articles about UFO sightings and people going missing due to aliens – luckily we didn’t stay for long…we might not have ever made it out of there had we stayed any longer!
Our last stop before our final stop of the day was at more rocks, because we hadn’t seen quite enough on this trip yet! We went for a little walk amongst the Devil’s Marbles which got its name because it is seen as both ‘evil’ or cursed by the Aboriginal and ‘white men’ in history (one of the few times where the two agree on the overall ‘feeling’ of a place). After a little climbing and fun amongst the rocks (our fun pictures are missing), we were off to our final destination for the evening.
Ok – I lied. We did make one more quick stop before heading to our accommodation for the night. We stopped in Elliot to get some gas and it had to be one of the sketchiest towns I’ve ever been in. When Josh refueled the bus, we weren’t allowed to be in it so we had to get out. That’s when we were approached by some man who continued to yell at us to get out of his town amongst other things that he drunkenly mumbled as he waved his arms and slowly got closer and closer to us Josh saved us by letting us get on the bus. There were dogs walking around everywhere with no collars and no owners, and all of them looked like they were in desperate need of a vet – to drive away from them broke my heart, but I was happy to get out of this town!
Upon arriving in Daly Waters, we took a little tour of the town’s sights. The tour took a total of a minute and involved driving down the street to check out the local tennis/basketball court, the shutdown police station, and the gym that has one chair in it and no gym equipment. After making a U-turn, we arrived back at our restaurant/accommodation for the evening – The Daly Waters Pub. To say this place had character is a bit of an understatement. Everywhere you looked there were souvenirs from past visitors, including underwear (that I’m pretty sure had not been washed), bras, driver’s licenses, old hats, license plates, etc. – you name it, it was likely hanging on the wall. It also had the biggest hamburger buns I’ve ever seen – it took you about five bites before you reached any burger! One of my favourite parts of this eclectic pub had to be the misspellings everywhere you looked. I originally thought it likely started with one mistake and then became a bit of a joke, but after meeting some of the locals there, I’m pretty sure it was all fairly authentic!
Upon arriving in Daly Waters, we took a little tour of the town’s sights. The tour took a total of a minute and involved driving down the street to check out the local tennis/basketball court, the shutdown police station, and the gym that has one chair in it and no gym equipment. After making a U-turn, we arrived back at our restaurant/accommodation for the evening – The Daly Waters Pub. To say this place had character is a bit of an understatement. Everywhere you looked there were souvenirs from past visitors, including underwear (that I’m pretty sure had not been washed), bras, driver’s licenses, old hats, license plates, etc. – you name it, it was likely hanging on the wall. It also had the biggest hamburger buns I’ve ever seen – it took you about five bites before you reached any burger! One of my favourite parts of this eclectic pub had to be the misspellings everywhere you looked. I originally thought it likely started with one mistake and then became a bit of a joke, but after meeting some of the locals there, I’m pretty sure it was all fairly authentic!
Upon waking up, we would share what would be our last breakfast with Josh as our guide. After packing up, we headed down the street to check out John McDouall Stewart’s (the first explorer to cross Australia from south to north, and back) tree. Apparently he carved an ‘S’ in the tree on his third, and only successful attempt at making his journey North to Darwin…I guess you’ll do anything to draw people to your town, even if it means ‘finding’ a tree with an S carved in it (even if it is hard to see) and calling it a tourist destination! We were so excited about this stop, we never even got off the bus to check it out - pictures were taken from within the comfort of our seat!
From there, we went another 2 minutes to Australia's first International Airport, which was a World War II runway that was used for planes to take-off and land at during World War II. It was used for commercial planes for awhile after, becoming a new hub for the international air route from Australia to England. It now is just a rundown reminder of the war and early flight history within Australia.
We continued to make the long drive up North to Darwin, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn line while doing so, meaning our next stop at Katherine Gorge would be a very hot and sweaty one. It was a perfect introduction to how hot we would be in the coming days up North, with there being nothing you could do to cool yourself down or dry yourself off. A short walk up Katherine Gorge, a picnic lunch, and then on the air-conditioned bus up to Darwin to end the long two days of driving.
Upon arriving in Darwin, we all showered, packed a smaller bag to take with us for the next two days, and headed out with Josh to celebrate making it up North and to say goodbye to our guide who in the past 12 days had become a great friend. We all went with the intention of calling it an early night, but the pub held a few games where we kept winning free pitchers of beer and cider for our table (a few games included picking up a piece of paper with your mouth but only your feet could touch the ground; a paper airplane throwing contest, and a contest for who could pick up the most afterwards; and a 'knights, horse, and cavaliers' game with a twist), and what started off as an innocent evening, ended up being one of the most interesting ones of our whole journey. It was definitely a memorable way to send Josh off, and made for a not so fun early morning to start our final three days of our tour.