Uluru, here we come!

On arrival in Australia last October we sailed south over a couple of months to reach Sydney Harbour by Christmas and New Year. We are now very slowly cruising Australia up the East Coast, spending time in places we liked most or visiting places we did not have the chance to visit on our way down.

Having waved goodbye beautiful Sydney Harbour mid Jan, after spending sometime in Pittwater, Cowan Creek and the Northern Beaches, we set our compass north to reach Lake Macquarie again. As it happens, the most difficult place to access from a navigational perspective was for us the most enjoyable place to be. So, despite challenges, we returned. 

With much planning and preparation we managed to navigate safely the very shallow waters when entering the lake. This felt like a great achievement. The lake, once successfully accessed, is most beautiful and sheltered from the ever changing winds. Therefore, we decided that Lake Mac (how locals like to call it) would be our base before the end of the cyclone season when we can sail north towards tropical Australia. 

Meanwhile we want to take advantage of the limited time available to explore inland the biggest island in the world. Once the summer hot weather starts cooling off we will be embarking in a proper Australia road adventure. We will be leaving the civilised East Coast behind and drive through the cooler green hinterland to reach the hot deserted Australian outback and eventually the red centre, the spiritual heart of Australia. This will give us the opportunity to experience the Australian outback with all its unknowns – hopefully not too many and not too scary!

We, and especially Sorin, are very excited ahead of our upcoming Australia road adventure. We both enjoy camping. Setting up a tent (this time off the ground!). Going for a walk. Cooking by the fire. Replenishing our energies with a good night sleep surrounded by nature. Being woken up at dawn by a bird song frenzy before setting off on a new discovery the following day.  

However this sort of road trip in the Australian outback takes a lot of planning and preparation to ensure we have everything that we might need. Preparing for the unknown proves to be difficult simply because we don’t know what we don’t know, despite all the research. We acquired and tested what we think may be required for a sustained off the grid living, at times perhaps in harsh conditions. We are well too familiar with the off grid living at sea. Trying to translate this to a sustained off grid living on land with limited resources is not straight forward!

Nevertheless, we are determined to make it happen. We are very much looking forward to learn about the world’s oldest living culture, the Red Centre being one of the very few places where the indigenous culture outlived the tireless efforts of the new comers ‘to tame’ some of the most welcoming creatures. Many of the ancient traditions, like ‘welcome to country’, have outlived all civilising endeavours. For “the traditional owners of the land” or “First Nation” – how the Aborigines are referred to in a reconciliation effort – Uluru is incredibly sacred and spiritual. The setting of the Great Pebble (Uluru) represents a living and breathing landscape in which the indigenous culture has always existed, despite adversities…