A LONG AND LONELY ROAD
The next two days were a blur of scenery and marathon driving.Greenery gave way to flat gibber plains, long straight sections of featureless road and then I came into Coober Pedy, the legendery opal mining town, where people have developed underground homes in the spaces created by their mining endeavours.All around the town, both on the way in and out, were conical mounds of mine tailings-it reminded me of the limestone outcrops in the Turkish valley of Goreme in which people live and ancient Christian murals survive.Signs by the roadside gave ominous warnings of dire consequences for thos unwise enough to drive uninvited into these mine sites.In these parts they shoot first and ask questions after.
I found a very modern campsite and after a warm, reviving shower, headed to the pub for a hearty meal and to watch yet another rugby game in the company of some very partisan Kiwis, Aussies and another Englishman.
The next day took me past Woomera and back through the dramatic red rock scenery of South Australia's near outback,down into Port Augusta, from which I had started my desert odyssey way back in February.A long heavily loaded freight train snaked across the landscape below on the run to the north with all manner of Australian manufactured goodies destined for our Asian neighbours and the shops of Darwin.
LAST OF THE OUTBACK
From there I headed down the Clare valley and what a feast for the eye were the fat green slopes with white sheep, pretty stone villages and eventually vineyards sporting many of Australia's iconic brands.What a contrast with the barren country I had traversed earlier that day.
CHURCH AND VINEYARD IN THE CLARE VALLEY
It was not unlike a quiet Sunday evening drive through England's Cotswolds and it was becoming very cold, with the scent of woodsmoke from numerous home fireplaces making me hanker for a warm haven for the night.
Passing through Clare, I spotted a sign by the driveway leading up to a hill-top guest house, which offered home made steak and kidney pie as that night's dinner special.That was it and both the dinner, wine and warm soft bed were bliss, as mist and frost enveloped the lush valley below.
THE LAST LEG HOME-16 JUNE
The final day involved a tedious drive along the busy Adelaide to Melbourne highway, relieved only by my habitual stop at an excellent bakery, on the Victorian side of the border, which does super home baked pies.Traffic was heavy in both directions and in the final stretch, into and past Ballarat, the number of trucks heading west was truly amazing. Their seemingly endless headlights hurt my tired eyes and I was beginning to remember what it took to stay safe on busier roads than I had experienced for months.Then, there it was-marvellous Melbourne. One minute I was racing along in four lanes of dense traffic on a Monday night at 10PM!! and then I came down from The Bolte bridge, passing the brightly lit towers of Docklands and the city and into the Burnley tunnel-gateway to Richmond and home.The Songlines Road had run out and my magical dream run had come to its end.
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