lundi 8 mai 2006

According to a recent survey published in France, Australia is the country most dreamed about by the French, after Canada.

It is logical ; the word "Australia", brings to mind wonderful images of kangaroos, koalas, enormous expanses of land...and a successful economy. While the French face serious employment problems, the Australians have now the lowest unemployment rate in the last 30 years.

Personally, this territory on the opposite end of the earth from Europe has always attracted me, which made by travel by thumb through its wild territories very pleasant. Below, I offer a small tour of the Outback, the Australian interior, a land where many unique animals of this continent live, a land of big orange sand dunes, a land of stifling heat and a land of road-trains, those immense tow vehicles that move in a straight line for hundreds of kilometers.

In order to understand Australia within a global context, it is necessary to take into account some statistics. This country is the sixth largest in the world, with a surface area of 7,686,850 square kilometers, which is about 14 times the size of France, but with only one third of the population. Of the 20 million inhabitants of this country, more than 14 million live along the coast, mainly in the large urban centers. Sydney (4 million), Melbourne (3 million) and Brisbane (1 million) are the three most populated.

You have counted correctly : 20 - 14 = 6. Only 6 million people live in the interior of Australia ! Outside of the mining centers, the oasis cities (quite isolated), and the large spaces occupied by the rural population, the rest of Australia is pure desert. Of course, it is a desert with a certain types of flora and fauna (which vary depending on the region), but in terms of population, a traveler must be prepared to cross hundreds of kilometers without finding even the smallest village.

Below, a photo of a sign that announces the next service station, 815 kilometers away. This is an extreme case, but it is normal that one does not find a station for at least 300 kilometers. It is worthwhile to be prepared ; to be stranded in the middle of the desert is not recommended...

Another thing that should be avoided when driving, especially during the night, are the kangaroos, which frequently cross the highways...

Hitchhiking in Australia is a perfectly attainable goal. For certain, the culture of fear and individualism are very present and are increasing as in all western countries, but hitchhiking is a mode of travel that is commonly used here. Nevertheless the refusals are frequent, and one must be willing to persevere.

Below are some photos of me requesting rides. My favorite technique continues to be going to service stations, as I explained previously. What people gave me was not always a ride, as is demonstrated below in the photo with the corn...

Below, some photos of places where I slept.

One of the dangers of Australia is the wildlife, especially the reptiles. Although sleeping outdoors was an everyday occurrence during my first three years of hitchhiking around the world, it turned out to be much more dangerous in Australia. There was nothing pleasant about laying down on the floor and realizing that I was laying very close to a poisonous snake ! Worse still, knowing that in Australia one can find 10 of the 15 species of venomous snakes in the world, you will understand why after this chilling experience on one of Australia’s desert highways, I tried to reduce to a minimum the amount of contact I had with the ground...

Below, a small compilation of photos of animals that I saw in Australia. The snake that I encountered while sleeping is on the left.

Many associate the Outback with Ayers Rock, rebaptized Uluru after the territory was returned to the indigenous populations in the 1980s. This rocky crag is the second largest monolith in the world (after Augustus mountain, also in Australia), with an altitude of 348 meters and a perimeter of 9.4 km. It is 2.5 kilometers in length and belongs to the worldwide patrimony of humanity.

Uluru is known for its changing colors depending on the hour of the day. It is a real delight for photographers. It is a sacred rock for the aboriginals and it contains wells, pools, caverns, and paintings. It is the central place in the belief system of the Anangus, for whom the rainbow serpent Yurlungur sleeps in one of the river basins of the summit.

In addition to Uluru, you can see here a photo of Kata Tjuta, the opal mines of Coober Pedy, and a sign announcing the presence of kangaroos...

One of the impactful moments of this tour of the Australian interior was my first experience of hitchhiking on a “Road-train”. Below are some photos of these impressive vehicles...

To finish up, here are some photos of the lectures that continue to form part of my Australian tour...

Until Soon.

PS : You can read my article about an Aboriginal community here :

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