The Outback Loop

Andiamoooo!

Here we are, we’re on the road, we’re on our way, we’ve passed Epping, we’re heading towards Richmond – it’s 9.45 pm as I write – so we’ll be arriving a bit late, but Ken Taki Fay Chicken is open until 11, so we’re looking forward to a nice dinner at KFC. Yes, Luca, I’m doing a few things with theiPad and my headphones, and Giulia🐙 is helping me out as my moral co-pilot – VITTORIA, what’s VITTORIA up to? VITTORIA’s not doing anything, she’s just relaxing. The weather’s perfect and the traffic’s flowing smoothly for a Friday afternoon. We’ll send more updates later. Bye.

So here we are between Katoomba and Mount Victoria; night has fallen, you can’t see a thing, and everything’s fine. We’ve still got a four-hour drive ahead of us; we should arrive at 9.45, and everything’s fine. Greetings from the Road Trip

Finora tutto bene.✌️🥱😴

Sosta intermedia a Lithgow

Siamo arrivati a Dubbo dopo 4 ore di autostrada costellata di canguri morti (abbiamo visto un echidna che ci attraversava la strada): un’ultima sosta per oggi: il tanto atteso KFC

Questa sì che è una panetteria!

La nostra casetta allo zoo, davvero accogliente

Addio, Dubvegas

Mentre ci dirigiamo verso Cobar, che quel maledetto dio ci aiuti

Dubbo Zoo:

We were able to see the animals in a way that allowed them plenty of freedom and space, as we used bicycles to get around. It was quite tiring cycling around, though; in fact, towards the end, my knees started to ache because of the long climbs, but despite this, the visit was very enjoyable. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see some animals, such as tigers or lions, but the important thing is to know that they aren’t forced to put on a show by the zookeepers simply to please visitors.

I’m dictating this over the phone, so if there are any mistakes, it’s not my fault. So, we went to the zoo. We spent three hours at the zoo. We hired bikes. We cycled the whole circuit, which is about 5 km. I think the zoo is lovely. It’s lovely because it’s very spacious; there are no cages, all the enclosures are separated by moats, and the animals had plenty of space. However, we didn’t see many animals – for example, we couldn’t see the lion because, having so much space, it had decided not to show itself, quite rightly. The same went for the tiger; we didn’t; there’s only one type of monkey – the one with the long arms, which is quite funny – but there was only that one type. I really like monkeys, I would have liked to see more of them. There were no crocodiles; there were a few kangaroos, but not many. As for the Tasmanian Devil, if there was one, we didn’t see it; there was just one koala, which we could see from a long way off. There aren’t any birds or reptiles – just a few tortoises. There weren’t any snakes either; the iguanas were healthy, so, in my opinion, there isn’t much variety. There are few animals with plenty of space, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll see them because they have so much space. There were few visitors, perhaps because it’s not the school holidays, and I wonder how they manage to stay open, given that they have so much space and high running costs, and I don’t know how many people actually come all the way out here just to see a zoo. That’s it; the journey continues.

Giulia🐙 is driving; we’re an hour and a half away from our next destination, which is Cobar

Attraversando i campi di cotone nella Macquarie Valley. La coltivazione è iniziata nel 1966, quando una diga costruita nelle vicinanze ha iniziato a fornire acqua in abbondanza

Blah blah-blah Blah blah-blah hello hello, it’s dinner time in Cobar. We’ve ordered the goat curry and can’t wait to eat it. We’re in a stinking place that looks like a hospital with cold lights, but it’s supposed to be a place where the food’s good. Bye bye bye.

Un’altra splendida e rilassante mattinata qui a Cobar: ho fatto il pieno (250 dollari 😩), ho fatto colazione nell’unica panetteria della città e sono pronto a partire!

Punto panoramico di Fort Bourke

74 pneumatici!

Un assaggio di terra rossa

Il Palace Hotel a Broken Hill: un po’ kitsch, ma vabbè. Luca scopre per la prima volta un giradischi

Sulla strada per Silverton, il tempo è splendido come sempre; non vediamo l'ora di gustarci un buon pasto e una birra fresca al Silverton Hotel 😍

Lo stesso posto, a distanza di 34 anni 😮‍💨

Silverton (Luca che mette alla prova il water della prigione), il balcone fuori dalla nostra stanza, altre cose

Colazione a Broken Hill prima di dirigerci verso ovest, a Pimba; ci dispiace dover lasciare la nostra camera di lusso (anche se papà ha detto che spera di non aver preso l’AIDS lì dentro).

Il tempo è spettacolare, come sempre.

We’re on our way from Broken Hill to Pimba and we’re stopping halfway after three hours – there’s a theatre that’s been turned into a café. The place is called Peterborough or something like that; I’ve been there twice before and we’re hoping to find some good food.

Giulia🐙 is driving; in the back we’ve got the usual duo, Vicky and Luca, and the weather’s perfect – not a cloud in the sky and not much traffic. we’ve come across a few cyclists heading in the opposite direction, and everything’s going swimmingly. Tonight we’ll arrive in Pimba, near the Woomera missile base, where we’ve booked a room with two bedrooms. Tomorrow morning we’ll visit the space base museum, which opens at 6.30 in the morning, and then we’ve got a four-hour drive to Coober Pedy, where our underground accommodation awaits us. We’ve booked a three-bedroom house underground and can’t wait to get there. That’s all for now – logbook, day five. Bye, bye, bye.

Harry il Coccodrillo e le sue collezioni eccentriche 😵‍💫

Il nostro alloggio e il risultato di un po’ di pesca con le mani

We set off from K Uber PD; we’ve got a seven-hour drive ahead of us and we’ll arrive at King Canyon at five in the afternoon. The weather is brilliant – not a cloud in sight. You can see those mounds of earth dug up by the miners who left holes in the ground whilst digging their tunnels in search of opals, and Giulia🐙 Vittoria’s driving, Luca’s the navigator and he’s busy playing a game of FIFA, and I’ve got… I’ve got nothing to do. Girls, what do you think of Cooper PD? What did you like best? Last night we went looking for opal – there’san area where there are all these piles of earth left behind by the miners and brought to this spot, so you can go and look for opal. We had an ultraviolet light to help spot the little pieces, and we found a few – it was just good fun. The journey’s going well; the temperature’s rising as wehead north. Tonight we’ll be at King Canyon; we’re sleeping in two Jumping tents. Tomorrow we’ll get up early to walk the rim of King Canyon, and then we’ll set off for two days of off-roading and camping at Mox for two nights before heading to Springs, where we’ll drop Luca off atthe airport. That’s all from the logbook – bye!

Tende montate, cena pronta, in attesa di osservare le stelle

We arrived at Hill Clinton Big Howl or something like that – I can’t remember – and we pitched our tents. It’s three o’clock in the afternoon, but we’re tired so we’re not doing anything else. We’ll wait until five and have a barbecue. There are gas barbecues here – they were supposed to be at the previous campsite too, but therethere, so this time we’re using them. We’ve bought some burgers and sausages, and, well, kebabs too – they tell me kebabs as well – so tonight we’re having meat. Last night I made the ravioli, and this morning we got up at the other campsite and had hot chocolate and a freeze-dried cappuccino. Then we went to see the Red Red Crick Gotch or something like that. Giulia and Vittoria are shaking their heads, but anyway, whoever’s listening won’t understand a thing, so it’s fine. Then we went to see another creek, and then—how many did we count?—three creeks, three gorges, three ravines with water, and now we’re here at the campsite relaxing. There’s a shaded area, a table in the shade, and there’s a lovely breeze. Giulia🐙 is walking back and forth with her mobile; she was recording a message, then she listens to it, then you can tell she doesn’t like it; she’s doing it again; she’s been doing this for about 30 minutes and we’re just relaxing. We’ve got no signal – there’s no mobile coverage – so we can’t send or receive messages, but she’d sent this message to be sent tomorrow when we go to Ellis Springs, and we should have a good signal then. Last night, on our first night at the campsite, it was hot when we went to bed, but then it got cold halfway through the night, so we left everything open. Then someone came to close everything up and we used the blankets. Luca slept a lot, but the other three didn’t. Right then, see you next time.

We’re at the airport. Luca’s due to leave in 30 minutes; he’s really excited about thethe idea of flying on his own. They’ve pinned a red Qantas badge onto his clothes so people can see he has special needs, and then we’re off with the girls to Marla in the outback of Australia – a town of 38 people where there’s only the Travelers Rest, which is a petrol station with rooms, a four-and-a-half-hour drive

L'auto utilizzata nel film *The Last Cab to Darwin*

True to our tradition of taking photos the other way round, we took a photo as if we were entering the New Territories. We left Luke at the airport and are driving towards Marla (population 38), where a room and dinner await us. Giulia and I are taking turns at the wheel 🐙. The weather’s perfect, we’ll find out the news of the day once it’s dark – that we’ve found the keys the girls had lost. Shh, shh – the girls had lost them – so everything’s going swimmingly. We’ll find the roadhouse, that’s all, and top up the petrol. Tomorrow we’ve got an eight-hour drive to Port Augusta, so we’ll be bored stiff. That’s all from the car. Cheers.

In viaggio verso Marla all’ora d’oro

Ci siamo ritrovati in mezzo a 124 motociclisti del BMW Motorrad

Caffè a Glendambo

Il miglior Beef Malabar di sempre!

@Port Augusta

Un'ultima tappa: Wagga Wagga