Thank you if you have followed my whole journey via this space. I hope you have found my travel diary engaging. If your expectation is location details, I am afraid I have to disappoint you as I did not have any intention to write another Lonely Planet Guide book for Australia. Instead my goal was to invoke feelings by portraying what I saw, whom I met and the lessons I learned during my journey. I hope my mumbling had not bored you.

Finally I hope you also enjoy my pictures as well as my words. In case you have forgotten, I am a photographer, not a writer.

Imagine you have travelled thousands of kilometres from home and just hoped to see a unique scenery in the middle of nowhere. If you are lucky you might be able to see a spectacular sunset in the right place where trees seem to be planted upside down, with vast snaking branches that plunge into the colourful heavens.

Imagine a place where the most deafening noise is the wind which blows restlessly 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Imagine a place where water seems to be so abundant that water restriction is no longer an issue in your daily life.

With some imagination and enthusiasm, I have just completed such a journey with Kelly and would like to share our fascinating travel experience with you. It would take me some time to prepare and complete my travel diary. Meanwhile please enjoy the following photos and my next update is on its way.

Remember, don't forget our promotional print offer which will expire by October.

Devils Marbles, NT

Circular Pool, Karijini NP, WA

Cascade, Pemberton, WA

Sand Dunes, Eucla NP, WA

It was cool and it was huge. It was a cafe being modified from a historical country shed. It was right in the CBD of Bordertown, South Australia - just 18km from the SA/VIC border. The coffee was average but the relics exhibited paid off our visit. Just to name a few interesting stuff: 2.5 kg Ceylon tea box, hot coal irons in different styles, Griffin manual sewing machine, old style dial telephone sets, all sorts of ancient farming tools and a small abandoned shed right in the middle of the cafe. Our wonder did not stop just there. The public toilet outside was modified from a prison cell with only one iron-bar window. Bordertown may not be famous but at least it has 'produced' a prime minister - Bob Hawke.

We filled up the whole living room with our travel gear and we were surprised how much my CRV could carry. Amazing! Even more, we made it - the 170 day / 45,000 km+ Australia Wide adventure.

My travel gear

All we wanted was going home as soon as possible. We were tired and driving was no longer enjoyable. Even my vehicle was getting inefficient and needed maintenance service urgently. If we wanted to save a day, I had to drive 772km to Adelaide instead of 465km to Port Augusta. 772km in a day was not unachievable but would have to be a painful exercise.

Sometimes when your mind is tough and you are desperate to achieve a goal, you might find yourself coming out of the ordeal with less trouble than what you thought. My leg was sore but we managed to arrive at Adelaide on schedule.

Sand dunes next to the ocean? I heard about it and have seen a few pictures before but it was the first time I set my foot on such a scene like Eucla National Park. The wind was still blowing hard like our first visit yesterday. However, we would not have a second chance as we had to leave soon (we had to get to Ceduna tonight). I could not remember how many shots I had taken until the card was full. It was practically impossible to change card/lense due to the strong wind and fine sand. It was an amazing place and every corner was a picture.

Eucla Sand Dunes

We were late to Ceduna. Kelly was on the phone with the motel owner to get the direction. Shortly afterwards, we were welcomed by a friendly couple at the reception.

"Would you like to have dinner at our restaurant? Our food is excellent and tonight special is fish" the guy was trying very hard.

Kelly seemed to hesitate. I had a glance at the menu as well as the price tags. Not cheap! But I would take whatever they offered tonight regardless of the price. Only tonight because today was my birthday. I really did not want to run around for food at 7:00pm in a town we did not have much idea of "where was what". The food was great and the dialogue with the owners was entertaining. The bed was not soft and the linen was clean. What could we ask for more.

As soon as we departed from Balladonia, where we stayed last night, a big sign was erected on our left - "90 MILE STRAIGHT, AUSTRALIA'S LONGEST STRAIGHT ROAD, 146.6km". Now our real adventure was ahead. Petrol? Checked. Water? Checked. Satellite phone ready? Yes we still had reception. I thought we were ready.

It was not a short drive to our destination tonight. 522kms. Was it exciting? No, it was ridiculously boring but it was an achievement.

90 Mile Straight, Eyre Highway, Nullarbor Plain

If we did not see the modern tin camel sculptures at the town centre, I thought we might have come to the wrong place. I expected a better Norseman than where we were standing. Apart from the visitor centre, every building appeared to be running down. Were we really at the starting point of Nullarbor Plain?

"I had been sick for a few years and I am glad that I am still alive" an old lady finally launched her conversation after "staring" at us for a while.

"I understand we only live once..." I really didn't know how to answer her.

"Don't you believe I am already 87 years old" she continued.

"Wow you look younger than your age," I was telling her my sincere observation. "do you come here (a cafe) everyday?" now I knew where to continue my conversation.

"Yes, almost every day, if I can wake up and walk. Who knows how many days of life left for me!" she sighed.

I thought I had done a good job today - entertained and also made someone happy. Sometimes this is even better than getting a great shot.

After visiting so many beautiful places in the last eight months, I was getting tired of carrying my tripod everywhere. Hence I did not use my tripod for at least a few days since my departure from Stirling Range. The Cape Le Grand beach stimulated my excitement again so I decided to give it a down-to-the-earth photographic investigation. Needless to say, it was the tripod time but it was not there! Within a single second, I lost my interest and momentum immediately. I could not believe I had lost my companion. It provided me 'support' for at least three years and we went together to America as well as almost the whole Australia. Kelly and I had gone through an indepth analysis of all potential spots where we might have lost my companion.

"It has to be in Stirling Range. As far as I remember, the last time I used it was at a place with a sign 'Inxxxbourne' (we later found out that it was Inglebourne, a small settlement in Stirling Range)" I told Kelly.

"Stirling Range is now 400kms from here (Esperance). You know it right?" Kelly replied.

"Perhaps we should call Stirling Range Retreat (where we stayed) and see what they would advise." I thought this was the only way.

"Tony Sands, Stirling Range Retreat. What can I do for you?" it appeared that the owner had picked up the call.

"My name is Pele Leung and we stayed at your place a few days ago........"

I was surprised that Tony had agreed to drive 10 kms to Inglebourne to verify my guess, Astonishingly he called me back in an hour and told me the tripod was now in his hand. Believe me, the feeling of getting back something you lost (especially if you think it probably will not be found) is wonderful. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tony and the people in Inglebourne once again for their kind assistance and honesty.

Although 1770 was a great year for remembering Captain James Cook for his discovery of the Great South Land, the colony status was not officially established until 1788. Since then Britain had appointed a number of governors to look after their remote treasure. Just to name a few, Macquarie, Darling, Bourke and Stirling. Their names were all used to name some places and infrastructures in Australia.

When we were at the top of a hill and surrounded by respectful mountain ranges, I thought about James Stirling because we were standing right next to the mountains named after him - Stirling Range. Presumably he was once standing somewhere in the same region and watching the same beautiful scenery like us but it was almost 180 years ago. He was long gone but the mountains stay forever, at least in human's calendar.

Apart from the impressive mountains, there were other things worth mentioning - the food at the Lily (a local restaurant) and the services provided by Stirling Range Retreat (accommodation). In my humble opinion, they are the two that I encountered in the region deserving my respect - the enthusiasm with their work and the care to provide the best services and products to their customers. I might have missed others as we only stayed there for two nights. We would be back. Surprisingly it really came true later but it was another story.

Canola Field, Stirling Range

The late afternoon light shone through the top branches of the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree at 68m high. A young tourist passed us quickly. She stopped in front of the tallest climbing tree in the whole region for no more than 15 seconds and then intended to take her next brave move.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"I think so but perhaps only up to the middle tree-house cage. The top one appears to be out of my reach." she replied confidently with only a thin line of hesitation.

"There isn't much to see in the middle. I suggest you go to the top or don't take the risk at all." I could not help myself to influence a stranger for no reason.

"Let's see." she seemed to understand my "advice".

"Show me your pictures when you come down." I offered my last encouragement.

The southern forest is an amazing place and full of tall and magnificant trees. We stayed at Pemberton, a little town surrounded by karri forest. It is a place with abundant water and numerous places of interest. The local council has put a lot of effort to promote the tourism. I have to admit that I love this place, not just the scenery but also the cool temperature too - not to be surprised if you have gone through the same toasting journey in the north. This is really a place where nobody could imagine why we have water shortage crisis elsewhere.

Beedelup Falls, Beedelup National Park

There were at least sixty people in the room and all audiences were waiting for my sixth presentation of landscape photography - how I felt about the places and also my ways of capturing the best possible images of natural wonders. Apparently the clock was not ticking in the last two hours and I was completely immersed in this presentation. It was wonderful to hear "Oh I finally understand how this works...", "Beautiful picture, I am inspired and will try again...", "I could feel your energy and passion and you brought my interest back. Thank you.". Thank you Phil for organising this...

If photos cannot be exhibited and shared, there is really no point to take them.

We were driving on a sandy track which was all sign-posted with little stones on both sides outlining the restricted path. This reminded me of the theme park ride in Disneyland but the difference was that all artificial objects were now replaced by what we called The Pinnacles, a natural wonder in the Nambung National Park, Western Australia. Why the 30,000 year old limestone pillars did not stirke my chord? Look at those cars wandering in the natural beauty. I was not quite sure and did not remember why I came here. Chasing for a spectacular wilderness photo in the middle of nowhere? I did not have that feeling right there. Just a thought.

The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

I was very cautious as one-step-wrong could easily drop myself off the rocky cliff to the bottom of the dry river bed. Even if I were unhurt, it would not be an easy task to climb back to where I was standing. This country is rough - rocky mountains, frightening cliffs, winding dry rivers and vast open space like Grand Canyon. Here we were - Kalbarri National Park, a place where even the most experienced walkers will salute.

Nature Window, a large sedimentary rock with a hole in the middle, is one of the landmarks in the Kalbarri region. It is a popular spot for most tours but tourists would hardly go further pass Nature Window which is located only 10 minutes from the car park. A walking track nearby would take you further along the rim of a dry snaky river (the Loop) for miles.

While I was waiting for the 'light' at the Z-Bend, another great wonder in Kalbarri, a guy came forwards and took a few snapshots.

"Are you waiting for the ideal light?" he suddenly threw a question to me.

"Yes, the light isn't ideal. Perhaps it would improve when that cloud moves out of its current position" I thought I had given him a proper answer.

"No, it would take forever. Don't you think a fast computer nowadays would give you whatever light you desire?" He did not even blink his eyes when he said that. The words from his mouth appeared to be so natural and obvious as if Issac Newton were explaining his Newton Law to me.

"It was different... I suppose." I couldn't defence my own agrument as he could be right. Perhaps sometimes...

Straight photography or Photoshop creation? I will never get a solid answer for myself. Hopefully time will tell.

The Z-Bend, Kalbarri National Park

A spider was resting at the corner. All we could see were two single beds, a half broken cabinet which we were scared to open and a dusty window through which we were marginally able to see the ocean. A backpacker room at the Nanga Bay Resort, Shark Bay really made us uncomfortable. Five minutes later, we were standing in the middle of a luxury resort room with an en-suite, a queen size bed, two stylish Mediterranean chairs and a fridge with all tea/coffee facility. Which option will you choose? Pay three times more or save your money for big breakfasts?

We ended up staying in the palace and holding our hands tight at the most romantic moment of a day. It sounded like a honeymoon. The clock stopped ticking when the last golden sun ray hit the cloud. It was a beautiful day.

Denham, Shark Bay

The sun was still shining but the surrounding atmosphere seemed to be cooler. We expected the temperature would gradually drop as the sign of Tropic of Capricorn was now behind us. We were finally back to the temperate zone and Carnarvon was the first established town welcomed us.

I could not give you more description of Carnarvon than "Its main attraction is a lack of attractions". The quote was not from me and it was stated in the latest copy of Lonely Planet's guide book. However, this is actually a good news to those visitors who just want to have a peaceful vacation - do nothing and enjoy the fine weather and local food. There are not many people understand what vacation really means - myself included. Sometimes too much to see could be a burden. A calm life with an occasional excitment would be the best combination if you understand what I mean.

"Good morning." As the coming owner of the Pardoo Roadhouse, the couple next door welcomed us to their future playground (they have just bought the business). We started to chat about the weather (as usual) and other gossips. We were told that the Sandfire Roadhouse had been burnt down to the ground due to an accident. This did not surprise me as I noticed that the guys there enjoyed smoking even if they were only a few metres away from the fuel pumps. The disaster happened but it would happen again if they do not respect fire precaution.

We continued to follow the Great Northern Highway and finally reached Auski Roadhouse, the gateway to Karijini National Park, a place full of rock wonders. The roadhouse only sold basic fast food and general supplies but the business appeared to be excellent. Local people queued up as if it was the only place selling food. We were told later that two Aboriginal Elders (senior people) passed away recently hence most local people took the opportunity coming to 'town' to farewell.

In terms of geology, Australia is an old country and continent. After many millions of years, ocean became land and Karijini National Park is one of the many examples. To reach those remote gorges such as Hancock Gorge, visitors need to climb on the gorge wall slowly if they do not want to be a number in the 'stat'. At some stage, we were stuck at a point that we could not go forwards and backwards. Luckily a tourist guide noticed us from a distance and gave us direction remotely. We were lucky. Some gorges are a hundred metres high and you will not have a second chance if you fall down. It really is a place that extra cautions must be taken.

Do I like it? Absolutely. Unfortunately I was held off by water - I can swim but my gear cannot. To explore all the major spots, a water-proof backpack is a must.

Hancock Gorge, Karijini National Park

There was a roadhouse! We were excited as if we had found an oasis in a desert. After cruising for almost 300 kms in the morning, we desperately hoped for a cold drink and a decent lunch. Surprisingly apart from a little basic hut and a couple of fuel pumps, there seemed to be 'nothing' around. Looking into the surrounding further, we noticed a large construction base nearby and it appeared to be a historical ruin we saw in the 'Indiana Jones' movies.

"Do you have any sandwiches and cold drink?" I asked and hoped for a miracle.

"Sorry sir, we only have pies." the man popped his head out from a window and confirmed my worst case scenario.

"Alright.... let's settle the fuel first." I pulled out my wallet and ready to pay.

"Mary (not the real name), can you find out how much it is."

"Can't you pick this up from the meter?" I asked as if I had never heard of this primitive fuel system before.

"No, we don't have fuel meter in the office. Which direction are you heading off to ?"

"South." I said.

"I have to take my wife to the airport in the north later. Should be back tonight."

"Airport? I didn't see any airport nearby. Do you mean the Broome Airport?" his travel plan puzzled me.

"Yes, Broome Airport." he replied naturally as if he had no concern with the vast distance to Broome.

"It would be a 600km trip! Coming back tonight? Are you kidding?" I asked.

This is the remote region of Western Australia - a place where distance is measured in unit of 100km and time is recorded in the rock. Fuel and water are the essential needs and Internet is a luxury technology.

Why did the established Sandfire Roadhouse end up almost like a ruin? The question was answered by the owner in the next Roadhouse.

We thought about skipping Broome and driving further towards our next destination, Karijini National Park. However, the image of camel ride on Cable Beach was still in my mind. After travelling thousands of kilometres to this corner, there was no reason to skip such a scene.

I was running and chasing the camel league on the beach like a mad man. Yes, I got a few fine images and it was certainly worth the effort.

Camel Ride, Cable Beach

Our small tour to King Leopold Ranges consisted of six people: Chris - the driver/guide/chef, two Swiss guys, Kim - the girl next door, Kelly and myself. Everybody joined the group with different reasons - Chris was more business oriented and the Swiss guys just wanted to have fun. Kim, a student from Perth was working on her university project of improving the tourism in Derby. Needless to say, Kelly and I were focusing on photography.

For the first day, we joined another day trip group to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Frankly Windjana Gorge did not impress me much. Perhaps the timing was not right and I just took a few grip shots for record. On the contrary, Tunnel Creek was impressive especially the fallen part in the middle of the tunnel. Highly recommended.

Tunnel Creek

Chris picked us up in the late afternoon and we were back to a small group. After driving more than two hours, we finally arrived at our campground in the middle of nowhere. According to the map, it was called Silent Grove.

Every group/person was given one/two swag(s) and a tent with mosquito net only. Comparing to Chris' two-hour cooking programme, setting up our tent was not hard at all. Around 9:30pm, the supper was ready. Although we had already eaten some snacks, the main course Mango Chicken, had been consumed quickly. Shortly afterwards, we had the opportunity to try the climate control shower facility. It was not too bad and we managed the cool shower although we had asked Kim to be the guinea pig first. As soon as I lied down and started to count the twinkle stars in the deep black heaven, I could not help myself to count more than a few dozens and fell asleep shortly.

I was probably the first one regaining the consciousness. The surrounding was still fairly dark and silence was the deafening noise I could hear. I crawled out of my tent while Kelly was still making her sweet dream. Ten minutes later, I was standing on a rocky platform nearby and waiting for the first light.

Camping at Silent Grove, King Leopold Range

If you think visiting two gorges in a day should leave a lot of spare time at the end of the day. Think twice. The walk to Galvins Gorge was nothing but the two hour return walk to Manning Gorge was not for anyone. If you carry 10kg loading to crawl through the hilly and rocky terrain in no less than 35 degree C with the Sun directly over your head, the whole story has to be rewritten completely. At some stage, you would also need to take off your shoes to cross a creek barefoot. The punishment does not stop there. The most common insect in Kimberley would like to make friend with you. This was why flies were never my friends during the whole journey even though some scientists think this annoying insect species contributes to our environment by decomposing the unwanted materials.

Finally we came to the Bell Gorge on the third day. When I was taking a panoramic shot down the gorge, a couple of people insisted on standing on the gorge rim to express their friendliness by waving their hands. Do I know them? Probably not. Would I bump into someone I know by chance in Western Australia which is almost half of the size of Europe. Surprisingly they were our tour mates in Purnululu National Park (if you still remember the bee-hive domes I mentioned earlier). This was the second time we bumped into each other without making any appointment.

Bell Gorge

What brought us to Derby? Bell Gorge (King Leopold Ranges) was the reason. We were told that 4WD tours might be available to the Bell Gorge (via Gibb River Road) from Derby so we got there. The temperature at day time was almost unbearable so the girl staying next door visited the pool at least twice a day. But our solution, air conditioning, is more environmental unfriendly.

After confirming a tour to King Leopold Ranges, we decided to take a short trip to Broome while we were waiting. Broome is a typical tourist town - modern, moderate expensive and serves almost no purposes except tourism. It is also very flat without any high vantage point for photography according to the locals. The campground we stayed was so hard that I would never be able to nail the tent pegs in without using a water drill first. At some stage, I almost wanted to give up but our new neighbour had calmed me down by showing me how to use the water drill correctly. Sometimes you just cannot learn everything from school.

Sunset at Cable Beach

Resolving personal natural call is basically a daily requirement. I have tried all sort of facilities on the road or even in the bush but I would have never expected a computerised one in the remote Kimberley. The box was erected next to the Visitor Centre in Halls Creek. The 'Star Trek' sliding door was a delight and the red (occupied) / green (vacant) signal system was a laugh. Music was playing during the whole operation and the 'pool' was flushed as soon as the whole thing was 'done'. Finally I had to press the exit button to resume my connection to the outside world. Although I was not quite sure why there was such a 'modern' facility in a small remote town but I was impressed, perhaps I should have said 'being entertained'.

It was a short day on the road - driven 449 kms only. We camped next to a young couple in a caravan park.

"How long have you been on the road?" I asked the girl, our neighbour.

"It has been almost a year now and we should be home (600 kms away) in a day or two if we want to. It is sad. Isn't it?" she replied with a proud but slightly disappointed facial expression.

I like travelling but taking a long shot like this (a year non-stop) really is not my favourite. Even if I could do anything I like, I will prefer going home once in a while.

Geikie Gorge

We camped at the Turkey Creek Roadhouse overnight and were expected to be picked up by a tour to Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungle) at 5:30am in the following morning. Purnululu is another World Heritage in Australia and the road access could easily strand any vehicles including well equipped 4WD. Obviously taking a tour was our only practical option.

At around 5:20am, a young lady wearing tour uniform turned up. Shortly afterwards, a dozen of people came over from all directions and it was obvious that we were not alone. The journey to Purnululu appeared to be longer than expected as it took us almost three hours to travel a hundred kilometres even the first half of the journey was on sealed road. In other words, the unsealed part of the journey took us more than two hours. We were basically crawling over gravel road and creek crossings.

Our local guide was a young fellow with healthy sun tanned skin. He was basically isolated from the civilisation as the park was his 'home'. We were told later that he would depart for Victoria permanently after conducting our tour. During our two-day stay, he expressed regretting emotion regularly and we all knew that he had hooked up with this Bungle Land. I supposed he had left a lot of footprints there in the past four years. He probably knew every hidden track and corner in this world heritage wonder and it would have to be a hard decision for him. I personally know this so well that his sad feeling could easily 'touch' me as if we were on the same boat. Good luck to the Bungle Man. Perhaps we would bump into each other again somewhere in Melbourne.

How about the scenery? What can I say for a world heritage site? It was a unique experience as there is only one place in Australia with this kind of bee-hive domes. If I could come back again, taking a helicopter flight is a must. In addition, I will bring my own vehicle such that photography at extreme hours can be taken. Just a couple of little wishes...

Purnululu National Park

Katherine was now 193 kms behind us and a roadhouse suddenly appeared on our left. It was not a McDonald but I supposed a quick breakfast would not slow us down much.

Two local visitors walked in as we were having our breakfast. They walked directly to the ATM unit and attempted to operate it. Three minutes gone and the girls at the counter still paid no attention to the presence of their potential customers. What sort of service did they provide? This is normal. If you have a chance to visit this country, you will be told not to initiate your first move to any Aboriginal people. To be serious, do not even look into their eyes. This is their culture and you should wait until they approach you. Perhaps this is too strange to be true but you would soon get used to it.

Katherine was now 285 kms behind us and we finally arrived at a town. As a guest to this remote region, you might be surprised why there were so many people gathered at the petrol station. It was not a market and most people were just hanging around with no apparent activities except conversation. If you worry about your personal safety, please drop the idea immediately although taking some precaution might not be a bad idea. This situation is absolutely normal. Get your petrol and move on when you are ready.

Katherine was now 613 kms behind us and we just passed the caravan park entrance with a huge 2,000 year old boab tree standing next to it. Surprised? You will get used to it quickly as every boab tree here could easily be a few hundred years old. Kimberley is just such a place - apparently time is almost untraceable because it was only recorded in the rocks.

Five Rivers Lookout, Wyndham

It is the largest national park in Australia but also has rich deposit of uranium. It is a place with deep local Aboriginal history and culture but is also a place of ecological importance in the international standard. All in all, it gained a badge of world heritage in both cultural and ecological importance. It is a very important place after Uluru, the heart of the nation. Its name is Kakadu National Park. If you have not heard of its name, do not worry because you do know now.

"Hi, you are our neighbour." a man said to me with confidence.

"Really? I live in Victoria. And you?" I replied with a big question mark in my mind.

"No, we are from New South Wales. I mean you camp next to our camp site." he clarified my confusion.

"I see."

This was a typical dialogue when we were on the road. Friendly and helpful people are everywhere. Many of us came from different places but all hoped to see the Kakadu treasure. We were at Ubirr, a popular spot in Kakadu for watching the wetland sunset.

Once upon a time, I was told every sunset is the same and there is no point to watch it over and over again. Agree? Still not. It is all dependent of how we interpret the thing. Life is all different and everybody has his/her own unique vision and interpretation. In the old days, while most gold rushers believed that digging the precious metal would bring them wealth. In the end, most of them were disappointed and those who sold water to the diggers in the tough Outback were the winners. You know what I mean.

We shortened our stay as the temperature and the mosquitoes were almost beyond our bearable limit. Our neighbour summarised the situation with a single word - ridiculous. However, if I have a chance to go back once again, I will take a helicopter flight in wet season during which thundering waterfalls would demonstrate the real features of Kakadu.

Sunset at Ubirr, Kakadu national Park

Imagine the weather is hot but the water is cool. Imagine most salty crocodiles have gone somewhere else for their living and it is perfectly safe to take a cool dip in the permitted water hole and waterfalls. Does such a place exist in the far north? If so, Litchfield National Park has to be one of such uncommon oasis. Perhaps the only drawback is the influx of tourists. In the middle of a hot day, it would be difficult to find a private spot in those easy access locations like Buley Rockhole.

If you manage to visit Litchfield National Park, you are lucky. To maximise your luck, look after your valuable stuff in your car. Perhaps do not bring any. Because I have witnessed a car burglary myself at Buley Rockhole. The thief was probably long gone but the car owner was still away. Imagine the terrible feeling if you lose everything during your holiday! Although this might be a rare unfortunate incident, it was good enough for us to take our own precaution - with one person staying behind for watching our vehicle. Believe me, it was not a pleasant experience.

How about our most discussed topic - accommodation? My short answer is 'EE' - Economical and Excellent but the trick is to avoid the accommodation in the national park as they are very expensive without a good reason.

Florence Falls, Litchfield National Park

In terms of population, Darwin is the 'smallest' state/territory capital city in Australia but its physical size is not that small as you would have guessed. Except in the CBD, the roads/highways in its suburbs are in the same standard as other capital cities. The living standard in Darwin is compariable to other rivals in the south. Apart from petrol and McDonald, nothing is particularly economical. We have sorted out all modern needs here including car services (only one Honda dealer in Darwin).

The weather in Darwin was uneasy to us - hot and quite humid when we were there. Staying indoor was obviously a solution to us. Presumably the most economical place was McDonald. We ordered a turkey roll with cranberry sauce but it took them 15 minutes to prepare it, the delivery was a mess and the packaging was shocking. In fact, I should have been aware of the disaster in advance as there was a quarrel among the staff in the kitchen when I was standing next to the counter. This is the real world so things like this could happen. However, I sincerely hope that they would not do it again to other people.

If you like nature (particularly bird) photography, Fogg Dam would be a handy place near Darwin. Hundreds or probably thousand of birds in various kinds fed themselves when we were there. It was quite an amazing scene to us, the people from large city.

Bird Landing, Fogg Dam

If you love civilisation, you would love Katherine. The Information Centre tells it all - modern and fully equipped. The caravan park we stayed at even provides wireless Internet access for their customers (not free though).

Katherine now relies heavily on tourism for supporting its people and the gorge nearby is its major drawing card. Although the town was seriously damaged by flood (two metres high on all buildings all over town) almost a decade ago, it appeared that it was fully recovered when we were there.

Katherine Gorge

After leaving Wauchope for an hour or so, we were back to civilisation - Tennant Creek. It wasn't a small town in the Outback standard. I still remembered the hotel where we stayed back in 2000. My memory was still filled with the power failure crisis we came across. The whole town was disabled without electricity for at least an hour. As the first-time-to-NT travellers, we were shocked and worried about the unexpected situation. Instead of staying overnight this time, we only stopped an hour or so for refreshing both ourselves and our vehicle.

The sun was approaching the horizon and we knew it was time to find a shelter for tonight. Driving at dawn/dusk in the Outback is a real danger and should be avoided if possible. Instead of turning off to Daly Waters, we stopped at the Hiway Inn Roadhouse. We were impressed by the colourful cabins at the back of the Roadhouse and they appeared to be a piece of modern art. Presumably they would be better than those accommodations at Daly Waters described by Bill Bryson in his travel story book 'Down Under'. According to Bryson's experiences, the toilet was shaking and the fridge sounded like a steam train head when it recharged itself every fifteen minutes or so.

Were we luckier than Bill Bryson? It was probably one of the basic rooms I came across so far - a double bed, a bunk bed which we did not need and a TV hanging on the wall. That's all we had. I supposed we were still a horse head better than the senior couples next door - 4 people with 4 single beds and a TV. Their room was so tight that they had to crawl on one bed to reach another. The toilet was only located at the end of the corridor but the door lock was broken. Ladies might like to have their husbands to guard the entrance when taking a shower. I was one of the men taking this responsibility.

To complete my informal evaluation, I had to admit that the roadhouse did have better luxury en-suite accommodation nearby but they were not justified for those average travellers who just want to stay overnight.

On Thursday morning, we departed our luxury en-suite cabin and started the last leg of our Grand 2007 journey. We really did not know what was waiting ahead of us but were interested to find out where we would be staying tonight, hopefully another ensuite cabin.

After driving more than four hours, the weather changed dramatically from a cloudless sunny day to bright overcast. According to my Outback experiences, though it was not impossible, it was unusual with a cloudy day in August. The sky gradually turned ugly but it was a welome sign to me. Extreme environment and weather imply the possibility of extreme light.

Wauchope is basically a very small settlement. To be exact, it is only a petrol station with some accommodation and eating facilities. Nobody paid any attention to our arrival and the owner was busy in teaching a lady to use the manual credit card facility.

"No, you got it wrong again..."

"No, the figure is wrong this time..."

Apparently the owner lost his patience and raised his voice to his trainee a bit. After waiting for almost ten minutes, he seemed to discover our presence.

"What can I do for you mate?" the owner asked me casually.

"My name is Pele and I have called earlier for a room booking for two nights"

"Yes yes yes, I remember. We have plenty of rooms here." he replied and appeared to be proud of the facilities he owned.

"Is it an ensuite? Do you have a microwave oven in the room?" I asked.

"This is a hotel and it is not much different from other hotels in town. You can order a decent dinner at our restaurant here." he started to sell.

"Okay, that's fine. Let's sort out the room first." I thought we had to take whatever we were offered.

It was not a bad room. As a gift from God in this remote country, we got an ensuite room. Needless to say, Kelly was delighted. There was not any 3-minute midnight walk to toilet at the freezing point, at least for two good comfortable nights.

Devil's Marbles is only 10km away from the hotel and this was the reason why we picked Wauchope as our base. The name of Devil's Marbles was not chosen by accident and it is really a place with many huge round marble-alike boulders crafted by natural weather erosion over thousand of years. Of course, they were there well before any human settlements including the local Aboriginal people.

Devil's Marbles, Northern Territory

In less than 136 years, Alice, what it is commonly called, has turned from a telegraph station in the middle of nowhere to a modern town. Alice Springs was named after the wife of a telegraph station superintendent, Charles Todd, in Adelaide. Similar to some remote towns in Australia, the main roads to Alice Springs were only completely sealed until a few decades ago. The last major highway to the south (Port Augusta in South Australia) was only sealed 'recently' in 1987.

I had been to Alice Springs four times, twice by plane and twice by car. Driving from Melbourne to Alice Springs is more a punlishment than pleasure. Even taking the full advantage of the maximum speed limit of 130km/hr (it was used to be unlimited) on most Northern Territory highways, it would still take you more than the travel time of a return flight to Hong Kong.

As usual, Kelly and I were welcomed by our friend, a local night photography expert, Barry Allright, at the Alice Springs Airport. He has not changed much and is still a few inches taller than me. Although he retired a long while ago, he has been keeping himself busy from day to day. I think it is important to keep everything 'going' even though retirement life is supposed to be 'relaxed'.

Alice Springs was an important stop for our immediate trip to the north and it was probably the last modern town for luxury supplies before reaching Darwin where was 1,489 kms in the north. Surprisingly Alice Springs, a reasonably remote town in the Outback, provides non-salty water to its people. Hence we stocked up 20 litres of water immediately before our departure. Believe it or not, drinking water is as important as liquid gold (fuel) in the Outback.