This indeed was Crocodile Dundee terrain: eucalyptus woods bathed in dappled beiges and ochres, tufts of yellow grass. Footprints of roos and monitor lizards dotted the sand by the cold, clear creek. To the chatter of pink galahs and the mournful laugh of Australian magpies, we pitched the tent under a gum tree. A Blue-winged Kookaburra watched us with a disconcerting yellow gaze. Happiness. Just the two of us, and Romeo, at peace in the Australian bush.
Until, later, a jeep approached warily down the strip and stopped beside Romeo. Gérard went to greet the driver who stared unblinking at the plane.
“Hi!”
“You right?” In Australia, right means allright. Correct is rendered by ‘not wrong’. “Looks like you’ve been here a couple of hours.”
It was not a question.
It implied he had not heard us land so his accuracy was surprising. Was he guessing from the grains of dust which accumulated on the wheel tracks?
“Yes, we landed at about three.”
From the book Freedom of the Skies
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Glimpses of the journey:
- Around the world
- Crossing the Atlantic
- Saint Louis, Senegal
- Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau
- Timbuktu, Mali
- Cottar’s Camp, Kenya
- Virungas National Park, Congo
- Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
- Sossusvlei, Namibia
- Lumbo, Mozambique
- Antananarivo Madagascar
- Adis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Misfat, Oman
- Jaipur, India
- Himalayas, Nepal
- Mae Hong Son, Thailand
- Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia
- Borobodur, Java, Indonesia
- Baliem Valley, Irian Jaya
- Gimbat, Australia
- Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands
- Hurricane in Apia, Western Samoa
- Anaa, Tuamotu, Polynesia
- Easter Island, Chile
- Crossing the Andes, Chile-Argentina
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
