I’ve done it! I seriously done it! I hitchhiked the Start Highway … down north … 1497 k’s … from one center to the other. I’ve done it. How it was? Incredible! Unbelievable! Awesome! Amazing! A drive of a live time. I met so many interesting people. Every hick an new encounter of personalities, interesting talks and exchanges of thoughts, opinions and ideas. That’s how I imagine travel. That’s how I imagine the world. That’s how I imagine my life. 

 

Moment of moment a new encounter of richness, gratitude and great people along my personal journey. I was a ride to the heart of the center of this magnificent country, where - some years ago  my life got turned upside down and more. I lost myself. I lost my sensing. I lost my inner radar of being. I lost my life, my heart, my inner sensing, my roots … simply myself. 

 

Than, I was traveling back. Still not sure about my personal readiness, facing what was there waiting for me … and I wasn’t ready … but that’s another story, that’s maybe getting written and told one day. For now … we are back on the Stuart Highway. Well, not quite yet, but we are starting the journey soon.

 

One tick of the bucket list. One great experience waiting for me. One amazing ride 1497 k’s down a nearly straight road through the outback and wilderness of such an amazing country. A drive into a rainy dusk. A drive into an incredible dawn. A drive with great people and good memories along the road. Cause that’s what I was there … The on the road Bec! 

 

Let’s starts some miles away from the beginning of the Stuart Highway … some miles high up in the air; particular high up in the cloudy skies from Indonesia to Darwin. Here I met the first angel of my upcoming Stuart Highway encounter. Libby - an older woman on her way back home from a journey to Bali. She got invited by a friend of hers and they spend the time of her life. At least it seemed like that, listening to her shallow stories. It sounded more like a justification that she took the invitation of her male friend. She couldn’t emerge herself fully in all the good times she may could have had with her friend. I wasn’t so in to telling my story, but still before the airplane touched the ground she offered me a lift to one of the road truck stops and fuel stations before they start they never-ending drive on the Stuart Highway. I was flattered. That was luck. This Libby was great. 

 

We landed. We got picked up by a fully stoned and drunken friend and we drove for some beers to her flat. A typical Australian overcrowded living space with no order and system. I was back. I couldn’t feel it more intense. I was back. Back in uncultured Australia, where beers and drugs rule the daily life of innerly unsatisfied but kind of happy people. We stayed for quite a bit and they even offered me a sleep over. But I was determined to move … to move down the Stuart Highway. So Libby brought me to the fuel station, where apparently a lot of trucks stop by to start they journey down south. 

 

Well … apparently … because they were two unpredicted things popping up. First of all it was weekend and not a lot of trucks start their journey on a weekend. Second of all there was his very important football game … and I waited … and waited … and waited … and they were really non cars at all coming. Every now and than someone to fill up their beer stock for the upcoming game. But non who was driving the incredible long road down south. Seriously non … 

 

… well non who drove down the Stuart Highway. But there came one. My personal hero and a „Sahneschnitte“ par excellance. His name was Jack and he was an Australian soldier, mainly responsible for the distribution of military goods and every now and than a peacekeeping soldier on mission in Iran, Afghanistan or in Africa, wachting over the development of schools, hospitals and other humanity projects. He showed me a different perspective of how being a soldier. Espescially in terms of building up social projects. In his opinion there is a need for military guidance in building up social projects. Not because of military presents itself, for him, it was more about the infrastructure and the organisation the military is bringing to those projects. He saw a lot of NGO projects that were deeply lacking on organisation and therefore also lacking in being able to built up the project itself. 

 

It was an eyeopening conversation with him, the solider, my personal hero ... who dropped me of some k's away, still in Darwin next to the very beginning of the Stuart Highway, wishing me luck and driving off into nowhere, ready for a football game, that he had by himself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and there I was ... 

 

... next to the Stuart Highway ... 

 

... the journey was about to start ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I was about to start my walk down the dusty red road, I had to get on top of my technical stuff. I needed a suitable power plug, which I could buy in the nearby supermarket. 

 

Now I was ready. Ready to rock. Ready to roll. Ready to walk down as far as my legs with my big backpack will carry me or a nicely Australian is picking me up. Let’s start walking. 

 

… and I walked … and walked … and walked … some hundred meters. Maybe one or two k’s. It was a short walk. A lovely woman stopped shortly after I started my walk, next to me. My first hitch. My first proper hitch. Her name was Zalia and she was a mother of two boys. Streikt away we had a topic to talk about. Football, sport and the hustle you have with boys as sons or as a small brother. It was good fun. We had good fun. But also a very short drive. We drove maybe half an hour. Some 70 k’s. More or less. She dropped me off at a Roadhouse. 

 

Here I met some real Australians. Drinking at nine a clock in the morning there beer. Sunshine browned faces with sun-wrinkles, dusty sandy cloth and a smile coming from their heart. David a mid fifty-er and his even older and more wrinkled father. Oh man … they had the real Austrian dessert slang … they had the real Australian attitude. They were real outback brothers. Well father and son. They invited me to a beer and we set for a moment together. They were worried about me. If I carry enough water with me. If my backpack is not too heavy. 

 

I wanted keep moving. They gave me one of their Caps. Against the heat. I started walking … and walking … and walking. Again maybe some hundred meters. Not even a kilometer and David and his father pulled over next to me. They gave me a ride. Not a long one but further down the 1497 k’s towards my destination: Alice Springs. 

 

Than it was again time for me to walk down the sandy dusty red road. But again. Not for long … and this was to turn out to a very special hitch. Tim Tullip. What a person. What a story. What a gift he presented me with. Today I am still wondering why I wasn’t trusting my gut and just went with him on his farm, helping him a little. But at that day I just was on a different journey. A journey to even more tears, broken and bruised hearts. But at that sunny nearly midday I didn't now anything about … yet. Here I was with Tim Tullip and his beautiful dog, who got nuts when Tim pulled over to stop to offer me the lift. Here I was with this freaky guy, driving one hundred k’s after the other. 

 

He had some years ago an horrible car accident and this then awful pain everywhere. One could see him suffering. But something to smoke, he stated, would release the pain. So he smoked and there I set in his 4 Wheeler next to one of the biggest bags of Weed I've ever seen. He was a good soul and a good hearted person, I could feel it. As well as he was wracked with pain and suffering. So many times he drove with his hand over his neck in painful agony. So many times he shook his head to try to shake his horrible headache away. He had pain. Horrible pain. But he also had a dream. A dream I could easily share. About a live of self sustained living. He had the land already and was working on it as much as he could. He had dreams for himself and the nearby community of Aborigines, his friends. Not that easy at all, from what he was telling me. Especially after his accident. But when he spoke about his dreams, there was a glimpse of hope and happiness in his eyes, that took him away from his painful outer shell of body. 

 

We drove a long while together. We had time to talk to dream together. Still today, I’m asking me, why I wasn't following my inner urge to go with him. Still today, I’m asking me, why I just kept going the road I was about to head. Well back than, it was a different time. I was on a different journey. Still today, I am thinking every now and than about him … about all my hitch angels, who drove me safely to Alice Springs and some more month of insights, suffering, tears and a new family for time. 

 

Tim had to turn. My way was straight ahead the rest of the Stuart Highway. How war go I already taken? I can’t remember. I didn't made any notes. I got dropped of somewhere on the road. No roadhouse, no fuel station, no nothing nearby. But he also presented me with a small little gift. How I appreciated that little token!

 

What a day so far. What lovely people! What great stories and moments. I was full of life. They made me feel and experience each single second of the day as a gift from the universe. It was a special day. It were all special hitches I had … so far. 

 

… and my hitchhiking down the Stuart Highway was still praised by good fortune and an other car that just pulled over, not even a minute later, after Tim left. My resting hike. Chris from somewhere in Asia, back from a business meeting somewhere in Asia, on his way to … yeah where to … I forgot, but I can check. Because it was one of the bigger settlements on the road between Darwin and Alice Springs. Was it Kathrine? Yes it was Katherine. Well I can’t tell a lot about this part of the journey, except that he tried to engage me into a conversation about plants and gardening, while I was struggling (and loosing the struggle) not to fall asleep. I slept nearly the whole way to Kathrine. I think it was about two hours we drove together. I was tired from walking and talking. 

 

With Asian Chris I finished round about 326 k’s. Not bad for nearly the first day. It started to get late and Chris was very insistent in offering me a place to sleep by a female friend in Kathrine. I denied. This Chris was a nice fellow, but just not my sort of a person. I want’t to keep trying, to get more k’s done. 

 

… and I was lucky. Telstra Yowa was stopping at the road. Thank him. I was really waiting for a long time, in the middle of Kathrine. He got called for a job. His bad. My luck. We drove and drove and drive together. Through a heavy rain. Through the darkness. We stopped at round about 10 PM at a forgotten roadhouse in the middle of nowhere. My almost last stop for the night. 

 

It was a bit frightening in the dark and with no one around. But thanks to the universe. There was someone really looking over me. Why? Because this forgotten and lost guesthouse was owned by a guy, who also owned a resort just some k’s down the road. Where was I? At Mataranka Hot Springs. 

 

This guy not just gave me shelter, I also didn't need to pay for my bed … and the bet of all. There was a big birthday celebration going on in the resort. One of the stuff had birthday and there was she loads of food. And, oh dear, I was hungry! I had interesting people around me, had a cold beer, a lot of food and a good time. 

 

 

I’ve made 421 k’s on my first day and felt totally flashed of all expression into bed. Thanks lord for this special day! 

 

 

 

My next day wasn't that exciting and spectacular than the last one. But I was still lucky. Because when I was ready and about to leave the resort to hitch another hike on the Stuart Highway a car pulled up the driveway of the resort, heading down the Stuart Highway. I can’t remember there names. But i was a coupe with a dog, moving with all their belongings from Darwin to the east coast. They gave me a life for the whole day. No hustle , no worries. Just silently sitting with two people my age and a dog in the car, driving towards my destination. We killed a lot of k’s this day and we made it as far as a small roadhouse, called Warumungu, where we stopped for the day. 544 k’s in total and a quite exhausting and a little boring drive. But I was happy where I was. Close to Alice Springs. 

 

My stay at Warumungu was about to become interesting, too. Soon after we arrived the couple said goodby to me and left me at the roadhouse. The room prices where kind of challenging for me, so I decided to stay outdoors and no one at the roadhouse cared. 

 

But there was another hitchhiker stranded at this silent spot: Malcom and we had good fun together. He wasn't that lucky than me hitchhiking down from Darwin and his story is not that colorful than mine. He got robbed and needed to be at his destination in two days, because of an important meeting. While he was hitchhiking he had to walk and walk and walk … seriously walk … and he didn’t took much water with him, that he nearly collapsed and needed to be saved by a driver that pulled over just in time. 

 

Now we were together stranded at the roadhouse and the night was coming. I had the present. We shared it, talking about everything. If you meet people like that, you just know there is something bigger in this world than we are. I got presented by a friend for a day, that I could talk to, like I was knowing him for ages. Telling him about my reason going to Alice. telling him about my hopes and wishes and feelings and fears. It was kind of magic … well we had magic smokes. We were talking about everything, open and freely. 

 

Than we fall asleep on a bench behind the roadhouse. I walk up quite early and it was time for business. How lucky I was. The roadhouse WIFI was not blocked and I could write my first articles in the early morning hours. How lucky. I earned money while I was waiting that the day started to awake and the first cars would start their journey down the last k’s of the Stuart Highway. 

 

After two hours of intensive writing, I decided that it was time to leave Malcom sleeping peacefully on the bench and make my way to the Start Highway to hitch the first hike. 

 

… and how lucky I was. There came right from the Roadhouse parking slot a car and stopped next to me. It was gold old Sam. An Aborigine with a way to short neck. He looked a little scary, but was a simple gold heart. He was on his way to the Rock for a new job and his drive would go through Alice Springs. My life for the day was save and we drove together in the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen. 

 

One tick off of my bucket list. It was great! It was memorable! It was so special! Thank you universe! Thank you angels who guided my way! Thank you to everyone who stopped for me! Thank you to all the moments, talks and memories. I had such a great time.