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October 15, 2001
Overland Australia - Update 66
October 15
Day 84
Pine Creek.
Well, here we are in ‘tropical’ Pine Creek. The mangoes on the table from a nearby tree, the quick thunderstorm that passed last night, and the constant humidity tell me that we are now ‘up-north’! We’ve got four days left till the big ‘D’ (Darwin) and my mind is mixed with thoughts of logistics when we arrive, as well as living in the moment out here where we are still very much on the trip. The last twenty-five kilometres on the bitumen of the Stuart Highway yesterday were a shock into the speedy world we know of pavement and people.
The road trains, rent-a-cars and flow of traffic overwhelmed us all as a group. Upon arriving at Pine Creek we made camp at the Lazy Lizard tourist park. After a shower and a quick wash of my bike socks, we had a logistics meeting in the open-air bar. As I sipped on my rarely-had glass of ice water we discussed the given; four days till we need to reach Darwin to meet members’ arranged flight dates.
An all unsealed (dirt) roads journey to Darwin would be the ideal. We know there is the Stuart Highway (bitumen) all the way to Darwin from where we are now. Also, we know that we would like to go to Lichfield National Park because of its rumoured beauty. Then there is the old Stuart Hwy, which winds through the landscape and also supposedly has some awesome scenery. As a group our decision-making skills have developed greatly and when all the facts were looked at, the decision was simple to make. It would take too long to go up through Lichfield, but we could take the old Stuart Highway and avoid the bitumen till literally twenty-five kilometres before Darwin.
We all agreed and the only discussions were about why the plan was a good one! As I leaned back in my chair and stood back from the group, I was able to witness how cohesive we’ve grown to be. It was pretty neat to see that. Each person’s best attributes seem to be being used as a resource to help us all out. We decided to take the morning off here in Pine Creek and just relax. The rain is gone this morning, but the clouds above make for a relatively cool breeze and I can’t wait to get back on the road at 3:00p.m. with all the people I’ve grown to respect and admire! -
Crister
*Aboriginal place-names for the day:
GUNDAGAI: To Cut the Back of the Knee with a Tomahawk
WILPENAPOUND: Bent Fingers
MILLAMURRA: Many eyes
MOOGENALLIN: A Peculiar Smell
TAENGARRAHWARRAWARILDI: The Place of the Yellow-jacket Trees
MEEE: Stars
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Posted on October 15, 2001 4:04 PM