Outback...Way Outback

Did the drive from Uluru to Alice Springs today - about 470 kilometers, with maybe 5 places to get gas, no towns, some cattle stations, and a few large lizards napping on the road who are lucky to be alive. Alice Springs is a wonder - it's the only real town for about 1000 miles in any direction. It took shape when there was enough transport between the top end of the continent and Adelaide, on the south coast, to warrant a midway point of some substance. It also went through some mineral booms. It currently thrives as the starting point for exploring the area known as the Red Centre (primarily because of the deep red color of the land here), which includes Uluru and many of the other natural attractions in the Outback, and is also a cultural center for the local aboriginal communities. For Priscilla fans, it's also the end point of the bus ride through the desert, where the gang performs to CeCe Penniston's "Finally." We're staying at the hotel next door, and plan to make a brief pilgrammage tonight.

I'd heard that the drive could render you catatonic, since the signs of human life are few and far between. I think that's why I loved it. There's nowhere in the U.S. now where you can feel that sort of space. And the landscapes alone are enough reason to make the drive. Though it's all desert, you go through rocky hills, glades of desert oaks, gum trees and mulga bushes near dry river beds, deep red sand dunes, and some positively lunar nothingness. If this were in the States, I'm sure Del Webb would have built several Sun City retirement communities, and there'd be lots of Wellness Spas. In other words, I savored the solitude.

And it's a pretty quirky drive. The few roadhouses (man-made oases every 100K or so to refuel, get a bite to eat, and generally revive) along the way are boiling over with character (my verb choice seems to be influenced by the heat). There's Stuart's Well, home of Dinky the Singing Dingo (see photo) and a small Emu farm; Curtin Springs, where a local aboriginal women's group fought successfully to have the government limit the sale of alcohol by the owner to local aboriginal males in an effort to curb drunk driving, and Erldunda, where in addition to a tasty lunch, you can purchase a giant stuffed toy wombat (everyone knows someone who's hard to shop for at holidaytime...).

We asked to see Dinky, but unfortunately he was on an outing with the owner when we visited. Perhaps you'll have more luck when you pass through.