You never know what you'll find

The Ghan heading through the Gap

I've looked forward to seeing a different side of Australia from the moment I began planning this trip and I have not been disappointed. The rocks of the East and West McDonald Ranges are like nothing I've seen before. They occasionally bring to mind one place or other I've been, Power's Lookout perhaps, but nowhere have I ever seen such vast ranges of rocky beauty coupled with the sandy course of a river bed winding its way through a gap in a mountain side. Whether we wander through shady areas admiring Aboriginal rock art of long ago or burnt out scrub flush with new growth and outbreaks of wild flowers my senses are overloaded,  my spirit at ease and renewed.

From the moment we met, Will and I have been the Ying and the Yang for each other. For me it's the raw beauty of all that this land has to share that has reenergised me, for Will it's the car wrecks, old trucks and campfire comeraderi that has opened his soul.

At times I wonder if our family and friends would recognise this Will who is journeying along with me. The quiet reserved man I left home with hasn't been spotted since arriving in Birdsville.  Rather the larrikin of long ago, that I'd only ever heard about, is here. I've often wondered what it would have been like to know him. It's wonderful. He's one of the first to join the campfire chat and one of the last to leave, he's table top danced with Frank and he's tried his hand at karaoke. Unbelievable!

It seems I got far more than I hoped for, not only a look at a different Australia but a look at a different Will. What a treat!