On to the Outback

  Adelaide, Australia
Saturday, March 29, 2008

We stopped off after a few hundred kilometers of driving in the city that Australia forgot about, Adelaide.  Seriously, this place is dull.  A million people live here, and when we asked about the grocery store, she said it was closed.  It was 5 PM.  Her response.. it was Saturday.  I see.  Well, we found a glorified convienience store, and got our supplies for the outback, and a steak for the evenings meal.  After a movie in the crowded common room we were off to bed, to wake early and get out to wine country.

And we did.  The Barossa Valley is just outside Adelaide in South Australia, and produces some of the country's best Shiraz, and indeed some of its oldest.  We took the short drive out, and pitched the tent before setting out for a tour of the regions best.  Our first was named Penfolds Winery, and is one of the oldest, most famous and largest.  Producing some good quality for price, all the way up to the very sought after Penfolds Hermitage, fetching very high prices.  We headed down Seppeltsfield Road to the Two Hands Winery, where things were done superbly.  Some really delicous wines, and a great tasting with a woman who is studying wine business at university in Adelaide.  We also visited Langmeil or "the long mile" which has some of the oldest vines in the valley, over 150years, producing two wines fetching  $100 a bottle, both of which destroyed any notion I ever had about Shiraz being little more than grape juice with a kick.  These wines were so velvety smooth, rich, and complex.  I wanted to hunker down in front of a fire on a cold winter night, wrapped in blankets, with a bottle, and two glasses. 
After our extensive tasting, we went and bought a six pack, and a box of wine for the outback, and went back to our tent to boil some noodles for dinner.  Talk about class.

The next day we hit the road, and as you pull away from civilization, you are sort of driving through what seems like suburbs, and all of the sudden you come to a road to turn down, and you know it is the only road.  It leads over 3000kms to Darwin with little variance.  It is a long, long, way.  With a lot of red dirt. 
As you start down the road you start seeing what is known in Australia as the road train.  Quite possibly the most dangerous thing on the road, in the world.  A truck, which in the U.S. would pull one trailer, is pulling 4, more often than not, containing petrol.  And even though you can see for miles, when you pull into the other lane to fly past these behemoths, the notion of another car popping up ontop of the crest you are pulling up to is constantly in your mind, mixing with, "What if this guy were to swerve, even a little?"  Scary...
We came across after a few hours, the giant ancient lakes, which have now turned into giant salt beds.  Driving past them I couldn't help but dream back to a time less dry when the surrounding landscape was not dominated by desert and salt beds, but forests and lakes.  What was is like then, were there more people out here?  But now, dust dominates all.

Salt Flats

 The other thing we came across was the modular home being transported that was literally the size of the road, and could not be passed.  Annoying, yes, but novel for the  20 or so minutes we had to be behind it.

Oversize?

We pulled into Coober Pedy, the underground town, late in the afternoon.  As we approached, we started noticing many different piles of earth all over the landscape, and I was wondering if this was some sort of natural effect, but knowing that it could not be.  Come to find out that this place is based around opal mining, and for the past 75 years or so they have just been digging giant holes in the ground, all over the place to find these shiny little stones.  Many of the towns buildings have been put into the old mines to keep them cool.  Even the classy hotel in town has done so, and you can take a tour inside.  Built right into the rock. 
Our camp smelled of feces, we still are not sure why, and we got our first taste of the outback flies.  There is only one word for them really, incessant.  They will not stop, and you cannot kill them.  They are quick, and I cannot tell you how many times I smacked myself in the face in a futile attempt.  Or possible just out of sheer helplessness.  For sunset, we headed out to the minefields and watched the the desert turn its very classic deep red-orange.  Shadows grew long, the temperature drop, and to our relief, the flies went to bed.

Mine Truck

Aboriginal Painting

We were up and off early again, to... The Rock.