I had to arrive to Perth at 6 in the morning, the aerial rout from Hong Kong foresaw the flyover of the west Australian coast, as soon as started to rise the sun, I have been able to admire from my window a beautiful contrast of colors considering that from the immense red land of the desert and the orange of the sun the colors passed to blue intense sky. 

As soon as I arrived, I took the bus for the hostel; the hostels and almost of the restaurants  are found in the district of Northbridge really behind the station. After a short rests for taking back me from the trip I went out to walk around the town. The impression on the city it's a beautiful place to live considering that it is never cold (there are not the heaters in the houses), it's very green and quite; I arrived on Saturday and the traffic  was comparable to that of Milan the day of ferragosto (august 15, when all the Italians are on vacation) but for a tourist there aren't a lot of thing to see, besides the city center full of shops I have made a stroll for the Kings Park, a botanical park where you can make beautiful walks. 

Positive note, the transports inside the city are free (to say the truth I didn't understand if the thing is worth only Saturday and Sunday or every day).

The evening after a fast dinner I decided to do a jump some pubs to make knowledge with the local people, unfortunately a strong storm has prevented it to me. To eat I opted for a very diffused place in the Australian cities, it concerns a kind of self-service where and possible to taste foods of varied countries (Chinese, Malay, Japanese, Italian, Mexican and so on), the expense is around 10-12 A$. 

The morning after I decided to make a trip to Freemantle that finds around 20 Km from Perth; this small village is famous  because some year ago was disputed the America's Cup that if I don't remember badly was win by the Australians. As soon I arrived I went to a cafe that seemed me very nice (more 's that the cafe the maid was nice!!), after having asked if they prepared the cappuccino they answered me was invented by them (mah!!!!); however the Australians love the cappuccino and it's possible  to find almost everywhere. 

Also to Freemantle there weren't a lot to see, the covered market in the center and another back the station. What is worth to mention is a kind of fast food where it's possible to eat some good fish, I have eaten 1/2 lobster with big prawns and oysters for 18 A$, Kaili's Seafood Takeaway is called and he finds in the zone of the harbour. The shellfishes and the fruits of sea in Australia are excellent and they cost very less than ours, the mussels for example are giant (they have however a different taste from ours). 

The Monday morning I started that what probably was the more exciting part  of the trip, in 8 days I would have crossed the desert to Alice Springs to continue then up to Darwin, I booked this part of the trip through an agency of Perth, the Travelabout. Fortunately the meeting was next to the hostel, I say fortunately because I started to make count that the choice bringing the rigid suitcase instead of the backpack was not very happy. My group was composed by 8 persons, not as soon as systematized the baggage we started that what would have been a essentially covers of transfer almost all on asphalted road. The "car" that we used was a big jeep equipped of everything for the crossing of impervious zones and with the material to eat and to sleep.  

Arrived near Laverton Roger chose the place where I would have spent my first night as Bushman. Once unloaded the baggage and the whole equipment we started to prepare the camp and to turn on the fire (it was decidedly cold), the characteristic of these tours is that all people participate in the life of the camp (like in the boys scout). After the dinner consumed in front of the fire we prepared for the night (the alarm clock was anticipated at 4.30 o'clock), to sleep we used an Australian invention: the swag, a sort of air-bed wound in a kind curtain in which to insert the sleeping-bag, to the necessity the swag is endowed with a protection for the head in case of rain. What kind of emotion to sleep under the stars in the middle of the nothing!!! 

The following morning at 6 o'clock we had already done breakfast and we were crossing the road, to that time the sun was already high, in fact in Australia the sun rises and sunset very soon. Inside the jeep I had the feeling to find me on a diligence (the average speed was of around 100-120 Km/h) and the not really beaten road provoked a certain tottering. As for the landscape I was surrounded only and only by the bush, sometimes we met some real full groves of flowers from the bush, looking more 's attentively we saw on the trees small parrots. With a certain frequency then we met some carcasses of auto, Roger has explained that the "white man" sells some old wrecks to the aborigines, as they don't have the sense of the measure they often remain without gasoline or oil for the motor and therefore they abandon the cars to the sides of the road, then a kind of crane that stacks one on the other passes sometimes (I have not understood because nobody bring the cars away). 

The second evening we camped in a grove, for dinner they prepared spaghetti, unfortunately the classical ragu' was killed with corn and ketchup, however   I ate them (probably because I was very hungry)!!! 

While we were dining we heard the howls of the dingoes, the following morning after having disassembled the camp one came out to visit the camp looking for food. 

The only signs of civilization we found in the 2 places in which we stopped to make gasoline, the first time in a farm, really I didn't have well understands what they can cultivate in the desert, but I noticed that had many children however!!! The second time in a small village that if I don't remember it is called Warrakurna.

Copyright © 1999 Giuseppe Ruperto. All rights reserved.