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A PERFECT DAY IN THE BUSH
My friends have asked me a number of times what I did out
in the desert or in the forests. Well a typical day looked
like this:
The flies woke me up at around six or seven in the
morning. I got up and boiled the billy, either on the gas
stove or on the fire that I started again. For breakfast
I often had tea and toast with cheese.
If I was staying for a couple of days, I proceeded
directly to the daily vehicle check. Otherwise I cleaned
up the camp. In either case, I extinguished the fire with
both water and by putting sand over it.
Then I either walked in the surroundings or
drove somewhere for a morning walk. If I was heading somewhere
else I made sure I knew where I was going and that I had
not forgotten anything.
If I was staying in the same place, I returned
around mid day from the morning walk, sought as much shade
as I could and slept or read. Otherwise I was sitting sweating
in the car, cursing over rough roads, bumping around and
drinking water mixed with cordial.
In the afternoon around 4, I either arrived
to a new place and set up camp or I started gathering firewood.
Dig a hole, start the fire, burn it down to coals. Prepare
food, cook food in the camp oven, eat food and drink cold
beer.
Then at six o'clock it is dark zabang. Very
magnificent every day. The rest of the evening I spent burning
the fire and looking at the stars. If I camped with other
people we sat around the fire and talked, made tea or coffee
and sometimes damper.
Then put up the stretcher and slept under the
stars.
Not a bad little life, was it? :-)
THE DARK SIDE OF OUTBACK TRAVEL
Well, those were the good days. The bad days I drove, drove
and drove for hundred of kilometers on badly maintained
bitumen roads. Refueled at remote and uncharming places.
Had disgusting food at the roadhouses and eventually ended
up in some grotty little place with rough people and drunk
aborigines where I slept in a dust pestered caravan park
run by Agony Aunt and her husband.
But these days, I do not remember. I rather
remember when I dived into the Python Pool out in the West
Australian desert and the sky was as blue as anyone could
imagine.
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