OK, I can say I have crossed the great Central Desert, but besides the bragging rights I don't have much to show for it. It is a dry, desolate country (and apparently the highway has missed those portions that truly look like the Sahara, with endless swarms of longitudinal dunes), inhabited by very friendly but very rough people. The divide between Caucasians and aborigines is pronounced, with the latter occupying a much lower social and economic status. There is not "apartheid" per se, but the cultural differences and the delay in economic opportunity of the aborigines has created an enormous gap that will not be easy to heal.
No kangaroo or wild camel herds :(
Slowly the country becomes a bit greener as one approaches the north coast, but the controlled fires along the highway have left behind scrawny partially burnt trees and no grass. One feature of distinction are the termite mounds. I have seen them throughout Australia, but here they are very abundant. Now and then you see a really big one, but most of them are less than a meter tall and very slender, so from a distance they look like a forest of spear tips, as if the warriors of the underworld were getting ready to spring out and attack the land. Creepy.
We arrived in Darwin and 3:30 pm. The contrast with the outback is pronounced, because Darwin is a very beautiful modern city, by the Timor Sea, with ample boulevards, high rises, and handsome parks. Besides, after getting off from the bus I walked 10 minutes to the car rental agency, and 15 minutes later I was no longer a lowly pedestrian.
My hotel is modest but very comfortable, one block from the coastal promenade, and two blocks from the business area, where I bought a six-pack of hard cider. A few minutes later I was in the hotel swimming pool, cider on hand, blinking in disbelief at the change of scenery. Tomorrow I will go back to being a tourist, but for today I am taking it easy and enjoying sleeping in a real bed.
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