... between bourke 'n' elizabeth ...

... seeing red ...

Where to begin to explain the impact that my Red Centre trip had on me. It was emotional in ways I would never had thought. It was physical in ways that I had dreaded. There were two especially emotional moments: arriving at the very centre of my country; and, seeing Uluru for the first time. My chest was constricted and I had to keep reminding myself that this was real - it was not on television; it was there in front of me. There were two difficult physical times: when I realised that I would be sleeping in a swag on the ground every night; and, the pain in my chest as I trudged around Kata Juta.

As I predicted, I was by far the oldest person on the trip. It was a full house; 10 paying passengers plus the driver. There were 6 females and 4 males. There were 3 French nationals, one Swiss, one Nederlander, 2 German nationals, one Canadian and one American living in London, England. The only Australians were me and the driver. Not many Australians make this trip. Which is very sad.  I am nearly 60, then followed 37, 32, 3X28, 25, 2x24, 23 and 21. Every person on the trip was a university graduate including the driver. Two people had Masters and two had doctorates. One of the German girls had a doctorate in Geology which was immensely useful.

I have over 700 images to sift through. There are 10 days of experiences that I wish to record - mainly for my own benefit.The trip itself cost about $1700 including entry fees. Getting to and from cost another $600. And I guess I spent another $1200 on "stuff". So, all up about $3,500 for just over 10 days. Not cheap. But worth every penny.

... bulli pass hail storm ...

Travelling back from Nowra this afternoon, Irene and I were inundated by severe weather.

As we reached the top of Bulli Pass - which is an escarpment above Wollongong - we entered the traditonal fog patch that inhabits that part of the stat. Not content with that, Thor was having his way with the elements and down tumbled torrential rain. But the sky was telling us that more was to come.

I have no memory of driving through the hail, but it suddenly appeared on the road in front of us. The freeway was covered with drifts of hail for maybe 10kms. By the time we were negotiating the treacherous surface, it was back to torrential rain. All vehicles reduced speed and increased the distance to the car in front.

As we left Nowra Irene had asked if I wanted to drive but, remembering my uncomfortable experience driving Christine's car back from Bermagui, I declined. Poor Irene had to drive through this entire mess.

Thank you, my friend.