Melbourne
19th February 2009
Latitude 37'50, Longitude 144'58
Start Mileage: 3703km
Finish Mileage: 23,988km
Fuel reading: 8.22/100kms
Trip Notes: 20,285km travelled
Sometimes it’s hard to say what you learned on a journey. You come back and you feel that you have changed. Life seems bigger somehow. It was overcast when we arrived back in Melbourne. The city was cloudy from the smoke of recent bushfires and the people seemed downcast. But as we stopped at some traffic lights, I caught a glimpse of some kids that reminded me of Peter Lowson’s drummers at Alice Springs.
The sight of the kids laughing and teasing each other flung me back into the surrounds of central Australia. The vivid landscapes and incandescent light of outback Australia suddenly flooded into the car. I sat mesmerised by the kids until the truck driver behind me leaned out of his window to threaten unrepeatable things if I were to cause him to miss the green light.
It was hard to believe that we had been travelling for 42 days. We had travelled 500km per day, from east to west, south to north, and all the way back home again. Nine extraordinary artists had welcomed us into their homes. We had battled floods and wild animals, taken on the Nullarbor and found solace in a west coast sunset. The bush was under my skin. The big country had crept into my soul.
We reluctantly drove towards the Skoda head office to return the Octavia Scout. We had become deeply attached to the vehicle. As we entered the garage, my assistant rubbed an invisible scratch in his eye. The guys at Skoda greeted us sympathetically and gently coaxed the keys out of my hand, but as one placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, the second hurriedly jumped in and drove her away. “Don’t look back,” my assistant said mournfully. “Never look back.”
But I did, and as the Scout drove away, I could see a trail of red dust in its wake.
James