Stumpy Joe in Tennant Creek

The following is an incomplete entry I began a few days ago. We have since journeyed to the east coast and upward via the beautiful Townsville, and are making out way to Cairns.

Anyway, excerpt begins;

I am trapped in Tennant Creek.

Three days ago I set off in a '91 Toyota van with a Canadian guy called Brett heading south. The road has been kind, but the van has a few oddities to it.

Firstly, it overheats in the mid day sun, so we have to drive through the morning and pause between 12 and 2:30.

Secondly, the regulator on the alternator borked so the battery is cooking under the 18volts (inatead of 14) and the whole place smells like sulphur. The acid burned through some of the wires and I had to patch 'em back up.

Excerpt ends.

What happened in the end, was we hung out with an auto electrician and camped in his yard while he fixed up Stumpy Joe. Drinks were taken, banter was had. Then we rode east over bushland with the Lord of the Rings theme music blaring.

Dogs 2

You always miss your dog most. Taffy, you were a fine stand in, but you're no Sola.

Leaving Darwin

The hardest part of travelling is leaving people all the time. In the backpacking world, everyone has a plan and the plan is to keep moving. That's the only inflexible part. You can do anything you want as long as it's new. Every day is a new day, every day is a new goodbye, and every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.