Finally my diary is ready and I hope you could share my latest travel experiences through the following 5,000 words and 18 photos. The super panorama library has also been revised and now we have 84 horizontal and 32 vertical images. Kelly and I will depart for Alice Springs for a two-month journey on 14/8/07. If you would like to sort out anything with us before our departure, please contact me ASAP.

I have driven almost 8,000 kms in a 34-day solo journey and also taken 2,200 digital images and 5 rolls of film. It was probably the most difficult journey so far due to the lonely experience and massive distance covered. I was back home on 29/7/07 on schedule. This trip is quite productive photographically and I have estimated that 300 digital images can be kept. The rest of images would be either deleted or archived. Hopefully there are a few more images to be kept when the film is processed.

It is obvious that there isn't any words written for my diary yet but it will come before my next trip to NT and WA on 14/8/7 - less than two weeks to go. In the meantime, there are two dozens of tasks to be done and I am working hard on them. For those people who have "submitted" their print orders, I will come back to you shortly to help you out. In the meantime, I have three images for you to enjoy and think about. Please stay tuned.

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Flinders Ranges NP, South Australia

Ormiston Gorge, Northern Territory

I was home at 6:30pm on schedule. I was relieved. The journey really made me appreciate much more the comfort at home. What is next? There were two dozens of office tasks to be done but my mood was at the climax. If I have to eat a cow, I will find my way. Of course, it has to be one bite at a time.

As per the recommendation from my wife's colleague at work, I went to Trephina Gorge for a quick visit. I have to admit that it is another treasure in the Outback. Although it isn't a large place, it offers a lot and has exceeded my expectation. Perhaps I should have spent more time there but my "beauty sensor" has slowed down after numerous bombardment by many picturesque scenery every day. I knew it was time to go home.

Trephina Gorge, West MacDonnell Range NP

My friend Barry Allwright in Alice Springs has organised me a carpark at a local camera club member (John)'s home. Without this offer, my car would have to be left at the airport and exposed to all sort of risks. Thank you Barry and John for your kind offer.

To capture the best moment of Glen Helen and the nearby gorges, it would be much more realxing to stay there overnight to see the scenery at extreme hours. It is a lovely place and I won't hesitate to recommend it to anybody. The staff at the Glen Helen Resort were very friendly even I have triggered the fire alarm by accident when making a toast in my room!

It is very picturesque place and I wasn't the only one admiring the beautiful scenery there. I bumped into a painter at least half a dozen time and his work was amazing. If you are interested in painting, Ted's website (www.tedlewis.com.au) won't disappoint you.

Rock Pool Reflection, Ormiston Gorge

Now It was almost a month since I left home. I decided to depart earlier to take a rest in Alice Springs and also took the opportunity to visit a few friends there. It was a long drive and I still managed to have dinner with a couple of friends. Apparently Alice Springs hasn't changed much since my last visit two years ago. I didn't feel any tension due to the recent cultural conflict.

On the map Kings Canyon is a neighbour of Uluru-Kata Tjuta NP but it will take you 5 hours by car to travel between two points. Everytime when I am driving on a sealed road my appreciation to road workers (makers) grows. What a great job done. It is hot and dusty out there and the workers build road inch by inch.

Kings Canyon is a very expensive resort. A room would cost you from A$350 to A$420 a night. The petrol pump can easily shrink your wallet with their A$1.76 per litre gold liquid. I was once again forced to camp at one of their four tent power sites and they are all next to the toilet. That's okay and I could manage it.

Kings Canyon

At 10:00pm on my first night there, the whole camp was deadly silent as usual. A car arrived and parked next to mine. A group of three people (two males and one female) tried to settle down on the lawn next to my tent. The whole drama started with the guys singing in the bathroom - I couldn't understand a single word as they were most likely Japanese or Korean. After a while, they started to pull their stuff out from their car piece by piece. They slammed the car door once everytime when they got one thing out. In the end, they had slammed the damn doors at least a hundred times. At 12:30am, they started to boil some water for preparing instant noodle. The whole thing happened within a metre from me. At 1:00am, they turned on their music player... After waiting for three hours, I jumped out from my tent and said...

"Excuse me guys. Are you all done? It is now 1:00am and you have already slammed the car doors more than a hundred times. Can you settle down now? Yes NOW". I knew my tune wasn't friendly but they deserved it. Ok, they settled in ten minutes later and they had never returned since that night.

If you search "Uluru" via Google, there would be 2,250,000 pages waiting there for your examination. Potentially there are already thousands and thousands of Uluru photos on the web so why I bother to take a few more myself! There were simply two reasons: (1) Uluru is an national icon and I need to have one in my portfolio (2) I thought I could have taken a better shot than others. Unfortunately my result has made no difference to others.

A cloudy sky at Uluru in winter is unusual. Without any clouds at dawn/dusk, the light is predictable and unattractively plain. I have waited three days to see my first sight of clouds. On the last day at sunset time I was offered a spectacular sky with amazing clouds to photograph without Uluru in it. It was a destiny and the clouds were just at the opposite (wrong) side. But at least I tried.

Wild light, Uluru-Kata Tjuta NP

Apart from photography, I bumped into an interesting group of people who were on their way to Canning Stock Route, one of the wildest 4WD tracks in Australia. They were all supposed to meet in Yulara and head off together to WA. They camped next to me and we had a wonderful chat time in a starry night.

"Ken, you guys have very good equipment and probably cost you a fortune" I said.

"Pele, if you are up to my age you would understand I have to find a way to use those money I got" Ken replied.

I agreed. We all got to do something before going to heaven. I guess the ideal way is to spend the last cent and depart for heaven without any pain overnight. Life is short and there are so many things to do with limited time. I wish I had understood this idea decades earlier. I suppose it is never too late.

Nobody could remember when Erldunda Desert Oak Resort was built but establishing such a travel stop at the highway junction to Uluru was definitely a smart idea. It manages to attract many tours and travellers stopping there before visiting Uluru because the nearest station is at least seventy kilometres away. In simple terms, it controls the gateway to Uluru.

Due to its popularity, I failed to book a normal room and was offered a hostel bed instead. Luckily nobody needed to share my room. It was a very basic room with two twin beds, two pull-down benches and a chair. It was "clean" although a piece of used tissue was still on the bench. Of course I couldn't tell who left it there but it probably had been there for a week or even a month. The U-shaped mattress could bend any human backbone overnight and I was one of the testers. At some point, I thought I was sleeping in an abandoned shed.

Poor accommodation definitely affects the mood of many travellers except me. Am I an iron man? Of course not. But I know there will be even more harder and tougher barriers ahead so I must control my mind to overcome any unpleasant physical conditions. A strong mind defeats all disadvantages and the one who remains at last will be the winner.

I am now trained as an unbeatable man with mission impossible in mind: walking 10km with 20kg weight, eating canned food if needed, sleeping below freezing point and ignoring and surviving in unpleasant physical environment. There is only one thing in mind: achieving that damn goal. All other things are entirely irrelevant. Perhaps there is one exception: my wife :-)

Can you still sell tourism if a town is already "broken"? Yes this can be done and Cooper Pedy is such an example. Cooper Pedy has a long history of opal mining and underground living and these features are very uncommon in Australia. With some tricks in advertising it was transformed into a spot with its own way of attractions.

The neighbouring natural wonder, Breakaway, completes the scope of the local tourism. Although I had noticed the sign of Breakaway on the highway seven years ago, this was my first time visiting this unique place in South Australia. My first impression was that the real thing looked quite different from the scene I had seen on photos before. It was rough, extensive and awesome. When quality light arrived, the place was transformed from a hostile wasteland into a golden natural wonder. I witnessed its beauty at both dawn and dusk and it was gorgeous. The $2.20 daily permit was my best spend among all places required entrance fee.

Breakaway, Cooper Pedy

From Akaroola, there are two routes to Cooper Pedy: (1) via Oodnadatta Track, a shorter but rather rough track and (2) the V-shaped highway via Port Augusta. I took the advice from the locals and did another V-shaped route.

The ride lasted forever but it was smooth although over taking a 150-metre long roadtrain was a frightening experience sometimes. To over taking such a long vehicle, you need a long and ideally straight road with clear vision to start with. The over taking action has to be quick, everything must be done within 10 seconds at the most and it is all subject to the length of road you can safely use ahead. The quicker the safer if you could manage the speed. When a roadtrain is already at 100km/hr on a 110km/hr road, you do need a very high speed to accomplish the whole stunt sequence on time. The thing would be even more complicated if there is another vehicle behind you. It might follow you for the stunt action and this companionship will force you to have a one-way ticket without any chance to fall back.

Island Lagoon on Stuart Highway

I don't usually enjoy long distance driving so I decided to stop over Woomera for a night. Pimba is a small settlement before Woomera and it first appeared on the big movie screen, Mad Max, and subseqently a few more times somewhere else. The whole region is a bit remote but the residents survive by selling various supplies and other tourist attractions.

After consulting the locals in Flinders Ranges, it appeared that the route via Leigh Creek to Akaroola was the safest one among others. To be even more safer, I didn't take the shortcut and took a V-shaped route to Hawker in the south and then followed the highway to Leigh Creek in the north. This V route took me almost two hours (200 kms).

Hawker is such a small town that only a few shops sell food, raw and cooked. The information centre is located at the Mobil petrol station. A huge aerial photo (3x6 metres) of Wilpena Pound hung behind the counter impressed me most when I first entered. The shop intended to sell all basic needs and the petrol price was quite reasonable ($1.39) with the consideration of its remote location. It was claimed to be the hub of Flinders Ranges region and I couldn't agree to it anymore - at least my mobile phone was connected to the outside world again.

Leigh Creek is also a very small town established by the coal mining company. Its fortune will be unknown if Australia decides to stop using coal as the main fuel resource to generate power. In the meantime, it services the region happily as there isn't any competitor. The gravel road to Akaroola was quite smooth and rock solid as it hadn't rained in the last few months. The scenery was all very rocky and you could drive at 100km/hr on the plain without any problem although the dust generated would probably slow other cars down a lot.

Akaroola is actually a small resort established by a geologist at least 50 years ago and now his son and daughter run the business. This jewel of Akaroola is the rich fossil history but the selling point to tourists is their unique Ridgetop 4WD tour. The tour takes you through a roller coaster 4WD track to a remote ridge top (Sillers Lookout) and the whole 42-km return journey needs four hours. The experience of crawling the slippery slope had actually scared a few passengers in the same vehicle I was in. Sometimes the vehicle slipped downhill without traction. When driving uphill or downhill in extreme angle, we squeezed each other like hamburger meat.

The Sillers Lookout, Akaroola

They had just setup a wireless Internet access for the visitors with notebook computer when I was there. I was invited to be the first user and tester. Imagine the wonderful experience of communicating to the civilisation even we were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by miles of rough mountains. Even without any instructions, I managed to be the tutor of a few staff and showed them how to login and maintain the charge meter.

There is no doubt that Uluru is the second largest monolith in Australia (the largest one is in WA) and Wilpena Pound has to be its cousin in the South. The major difference is that Wilpena Pound looks like a bowl in shape while Uluru is just the opposite. I am not sure whether Wilpena Pound is big enough to engulf Uluru but they are both in the similar scale to me - HUGE. If Flinders Ranges is a crown of Australian natural treasure, Wilpena Pound has to be the largest pearl on the crown.

Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges NP

In fact, there are other interesting but less known scenery in Flinders Ranges but Wilpena Pound is just too attractive and drags most of the attention from many visitors. The Parachilna Gorge track has claimed to be a book of natural history but I couldn't complete it due to a dip with an unknown depth of water. I also attempted to drive to Bunyeroo Valley but had to turn back due to muddy track condition after rain. Is that all? No. A rocky turn also stopped me to get closer to the Great Wall of China, featured a number of flat-top mesa, and I had to shoot from a distance. I suppose a 4WD would have solved all my problems but I just had to deal with what I got - an AWD.

Rainbow and sheeps at dawn, Flinders Ranges NP

Have I done anything constructive? Of course. I have taken numerous shots of Wilpena Pound (except from the air), Stoke Hill Lookout and various spots that my vehicle could access safely even at extreme hours. I was given two unusual freezing and cloudy days to start with (love it) and two clear sunny days afterwards to make some difference. Knowing a place well enough to capture the best shots isn't a task that can be done in a week. Therefore I am quite happy with the shots I captured.

Overall Flinders Ranges has impressed me like Kangaroo Island and I look forward to going back in the future.

Mountain Glory at Dawn, Flinders Ranges NP

I don't feel surprised if you have never heard of a town called Melrose in South Australia. It is a nice middle point between Adelaide and Flinders Ranges and would be an ideal place to stop for a night if you don't like to take a long drive in a day to Flinders Ranges. The inner route via Clare Valley is particularly scenic and was also my choice instead of taking the A1 highway.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't at my side when I arrived at Melrose. Water was abundant and it would have been great to pipe the surplus to Melbourne. Although the caravan park manager had directed me to a few attractions I didn't bother to take any shots. There was at least one good thing I enjoyed very much - a clean ensuite room at a bargained price. In the end, I went to bed at 10:00pm.

After driving more than two hours from Cape Jervis, Kangaroo Island was already miles behind me and I stopped my car in front of a stylish house at the top of a hill in Salisbury, Adelaide. I wasn't quite sure whether it was the right house which I would spend a night there so I made a call to the owners.

"Do you own a house in creamy colour with a steep driveway? If so, would you mind popping out to confirm while I am waiting outside"

In less than ten seconds, a couple came out and they gave me the warmest hugs since I left home more than a week ago. We first met in 2002 when I first joined Australian Photographic Society but the real bond was made during the trip what we called the Ben Hur to Central Australia in 2005. They are all retired and married for more than fifty years. I was told they had just celebrated their gold anniversary during our six hour chat on that day. A fifty year relationship appears to be hard to imagine in our current society in which divorce and multiple marriages have already been accepted and treated as a norm. Although I have also met my wife for more than twenty-seven years (married for seventeen years), a fifty-year journey is still a mind-boggling concept to me. I would be extremely delighted if I can make the same everlasting journey in twenty-three years.

Honey chicken was on our dinner menu that night and the bread was baked by themselves at home. I couldn't remember exactly what the dessert was but I enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the food. Anne and Gordon, thank you once again for your hospitality and made me feel like home.

Kangaroo Island is a very special place and I first set my foot on it in 1994. After more than a decade, the scenery hasn't changed but human infrastructure was setup at a few spots to protect the important treasures. In other words, visitors have to pay to enter Seal Bay, Kelly Hill Caves and Flinders Chase National Park. It doesn't worry me much and I hope the conservation works well according to the plan. There is one good thing though - we are still allowed to take photos freely in our national parks there owned by us - the people, not the government.

Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island

As expected, the winter weather in Kangaroo Island was unpredictable. A sunny day could turn into a stormy one within half an hour so rainbow appeared frequently when I was there. I think it is quite appropriate if I give it a nickname, Rainbow Island. My accommodation on the island would have been even more comfortable if I could work out how to turn on that heater earlier. Unfortunately I only discovered the instructions when I were packing up on my last day. Don't call me a fool. All buttons were labelled with a sign, not words and the meaning was hard to guess. Never mind, I survived.

Rainbow at the Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island

The room was actually a little modern wooden hut with a double bed, cooking faclities and a bench. I wish there was a sofa but I got a high bench chair without back support. Luckily the more equipped common kitchen and amenities block were only 30 metres away. Overall I have to say it was a nice one and definitely better than a tent - don't forget the rain.

As it was still in low season, the owner had decided to take her whole family to Port Lincoin for holiday so I had never got a chance to meet her in person and the only communication was the note she left for me before her departure. Their neighbour, a young couple, was invited to run the business during the period. In the first two days, I was the only visitor in their farm and the accommodation workload was almost next to nothing. However, they kept themselves busy by doing all sort of maintenance work including moving stones by hand. What a hardworking couple. On the third day, they got more to do because the whole region was out of electric power. In order to keep water running, they had to find out how to ignite and start the backup power generator. I was glad that they got it up and running as I was waiting for a hot shower that day.

Where is my favourite spot on the island? Remarkable Rocks. I visited it at least 8 times during my four days in the Flinders Chase NP. It is an amazing place with lot of photographic opportunities but getting and returning from there at dawn and dusk was really a serious problem. One night when I was on my way back to the farm a few wallabies were chatting in the middle of the road just behind a bend. Although I was travelling 30km below the recommended speed, I still felt something underneath even after a hard brake. Luckily I discovered no trace at that corner in the following day. I wished the wildlife well. From that day onwards, I drove at 30km/hour at dawn and dusk. Guess what? A big kangaroo jumped out just a few metres in front of my car two days later. Thank you for the lesson I learned earlier. The hit at that slow speed was more like a minor push to the big animal and both parties moved on without any injury. I knew I was lucky.

Slow motion, Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island

On my last night, I stayed at a hostel in Penneshaw where the ferry pier is. When I was communicating with a motel on mobile, a big rusty truck arrived and parked just in front of me. It carried a lot of unusual stuff including an old car and tons of disposed metal. The driver was very friendly and entertaining and he told me how he bought this metal disposal business forty years ago. Now Kangaroo Island is almost his second home as he comes over from Adelaide three times a week. Of course he stays at the same hostel every time and this also explains why the hostel manager has given him a special car park for his huge truck.

A storm was approachng Kangaroo Island that night and we were told the ferry company might postpone all scheduled services. Luckily it only ended up with a rough 45-minute voyage.

As usual, I had an early start and was the first visitor entering the Naracootre Reserve Centre. One of the two rangers on duty welcomed me and indicated that they would need more than one visitors for conducting a cave tour. They had their rules but I had my emotional winning card too. I mentioned that I had driven almost a thousand kilometres to see their cave and would be very disappointed if I couldn't make it. She promised me that they would do their best. I paid the entrance fee and was then sent down to the cave entrance. After an hour or so, the ranger arrived by herself. I said to myself "Oh no...". Apparently she was eager to jump out from her car and danced towards me as if she had won the lucky draw.

"That was fine, Mr. Leung. We have a few more people coming".

"Oh great. I thought we couldn't made it. Thank you". Well, this cave got to be good for keeping me waiting for that long.

Honestly you will be disappointed if you are after spectacular underground limestone formations because there isn't much. The fossil feature is their drawing card. Unfortunately we are not that lucky as Sir David Attenborough (the narrator of the BBC documentory series) as he was allowed to lie next to the fossil bed to have his photos taken). Normal visitors like us can only see the scene from a distance. It is better than nothing and at least I can write something about it.

I rested myself that night in Victor Harbour, not the world heritage cave.

Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte

When I first planned the travel routes of my Grand 2007 journey I intended to cover as many World Heritage sites as possible. As Naracoorte is the only such world class heritage site in South Australia, it was on my list from day one. The special attraction in Naracootre is the Victoria Fossil Cave which contains some critical trace of life back to many million years ago. It was also filmed by BBC and recorded in one of their life on Earth documentary series.

Before getting to Naracootre, I drove passed Nelson (a small town near to the border between Victoria and South Australia) and visited the Princess Margaret Rose Cave. Why does this cave carry a Royal Family name? The person who discovered the cave had actually written a letter to UK and asked for this privilege. I guess it doesn't surprise anyone nowadays that hooking up with the Royal Family would drag additional attention even back to the old days. After even a century, the original reply letter from UK is still framed and hung near the entrance.

It was late afternoon and the light in Nelson wasn't exciting to keep me there so I decided to drive further to Naracootre.

Portland may not ring a bell to most Victorian as its position is far away from the Western Highway, the major route between Melbourne and Adelaide. However, it does hold a historical record - the first settlement in Victoria. That's right - Melbourne wasn't the first. To tourists, Portland's major attractions are the seals and Petrified Forest in its neighbourhood, Cape Bridgewater.

Due to my tight schedule, I could only choose one. As I have seen enough seals somewhere else, Pertrified Forest appeared to be more exciting to me. The experience was amzing and it was like going back through a time tunnel to visit a forest in the ancient past. Broken petrified tree trunks are everywhere at the site. It is spectacular but capturing an impressive shot is another story. Remember, light is everything (almost) and I didn't have such luck that day.

Petrified Forest, Cape Bridgewater

It is freezing outside but I am extremely comfortable inside our house. Sometimes I am reluctant to leave my toasted bed in the morning. Am I on holiday? Not quite. In fact, I actually don't have any fixed office hour but 12-hour per day is basically an absolute minimum. No shooting but office work. Before my departure for the 4th leg of my adventure, I have a few things to announce and they are a few small but important milestones of my everlasting photographic journey.

- I am pleased to announce that Pele Leung Photography is now officially established. We are open for suggestions and your support is vital.

- To match our opening, we are pleased to announce our first wave of products and services. Please check out our offer on this website. We look forward to hearing your comments and feedback.

- The New Releases section has been refreshed with a lot of unpublished photos. Please enjoy.

- As you might know, I have been contributing my words to the monthly newsletter for the Electronic Digital Image Division (EDID), Australian Photographic Society (APS) for almost two years. If you are interested in knowing what I had written, the past issues of the monthly newsletter, Monitor, will keep you busy for a while.

- After enjoying more than 3 weeks of home-sweet-home, I will depart for South Australia and Central Australia on Tuesday 26/6/07 and won't return until 29/7/07. The key focuses of this leg are Kangaroo Island, Flinders Ranges and Uluru/Kings Canyon and I will be spending at least half of my time on these places.

Please visit this website regularly as it may be updated without email notification. Write to me if you have time as loneliness is equally painful as poor accommodation. Receiving a warm message from thousand miles away would be as enjoyable as drinking a glass of icy water in arid desert. Gossip is welcome :-)

Finally wish me good luck as I really need it.