Link to the previous page on the road – e 
At the Outback 16.September ’18
Then off into the real heat. In the direction of Darwin. We don’t want to arrive there too late in the year. It’s still spring now, November is the height of summer and the most interesting routes around Darwin shouldn’t be visited after October, when the weather is too dangerous.
We have been travelling towards Darwin for 4 days now. The first day we saw 16 kangaroos within 3 hours – all dead by the roadside – – – – – I’ve lost count. The next day it was even worse – I thought I was going to throw up any minute.
And then the road trains. Lots of animals being driven to be killed. They probably set off very early in the morning because it’s hot, there’s nothing to drink and the kangaroos are out and about. But why do they have to be on the roadside all the time? The explanation, of course, is that there is still the freshest green there.
This is the 2nd time we have spent the night in Wallachia. Kilometres of steppe, individual trees, today we are standing by a small lake – not an animal for miles around. No living…. -G.
The small lake was an exception. All the rivers have dried up and it is hard to imagine that there would ever be flooding here and that the rivers would even become raging torrents. Although, we were told that the rainfall has been decreasing rapidly for 7 years. At the moment everything is so dry, which of course has the advantage that the hay doesn’t have to be brought in, the cattle eat it themselves.
Oops – now Petra has got her way after all. We sorted through all our things and in search of the right vehicle ……
we luckily decided on the motorised model …… with the practical trailer. This means you have quick access to everything – and „comfort“ is no longer an issue. – G.
Longreach 21. September ’18
We have now landed in Longreach. A lovely, interesting little town in the outback.
QUANTAS had its first airport here and the first aeroplane took off from here. A very nice museum records the entire history of flight. There we learnt that 38 of the first 40 pilots died in plane crashes in America, they didn’t want to say how many in Australia. Tickets to the museum are quite expensive here, but are valid for 2 days – maybe you didn’t understand everything straight away (?)
On our later visit we learn that this town is the birthplace of the airline QANTAS (QUANTAS – QUeensland And Northern Territory Aireal Services). Flight operations began here in 1922 with 2 small aeroplanes. Today there is a museum and a small airport that still exists. As a special feature, a Boeing 747 is on display for visitor groups. -G.
Then there is the also very well-known Hall of Fame. The ground floor is dedicated to the Aborigines. It is interesting that the first „conquerors“ gave them this name: They have always been here. Later, they were literally shot down and in some cases almost wiped out. Today, attempts are being made to make amends, but just as people everywhere are always looking for other people to vent their discontent on, unfortunately this is also the case here. But fortunately, the opposite is also true everywhere.
And this is expressed here by the museum’s sponsors. They were looking for people to tell their stories. I started listening to one, but I couldn’t stand it, I had to switch off. You could only feel ashamed. Why is it that people are always chosen to be humiliated and tortured and think they are better than others? My God, how unhappy I sometimes felt as a child, but these experiences are nothing compared to that, especially since it wasn’t that long ago. The woman was my age….