Adelaide to Coober Pedy

From Melbourne, to Tanunda, to Port Augusta and on to the road to Coober Pedy. Forget the long and winding road, now it is is the long and straight road, straight up through central Australia.

Glancing at our satellite navigation system it says, "turn right in 475kms", after posting this on Facebook, one of my fiends commented "if you were in Europe, you would have driven through 3 countries by then"

I guess, it puts into perspective the vastness of this amazing land we call home.

The trees and grasslands promptly disappeared as quickly as Alice fell down the rabbit hole and were replaced by endless plains or rocks, red dust and tumble weeds with an eerie starkness to them. Overhead are the silent flight circles of the wedge tailed eagles.

It seems like the sort of place where you would either lose your mind or find yourself and either seemed very possible depending on your level of comfort and state of mind.

Just as we were beginning to own this open place, to call it ours and imagine we were the only living people out here, a freight train appeared in the distance. Snaking its way to us like some giant serpent slithering along the red baked ground, you could see the heat haze in the air, making your skin feel dry and flaky, you could smell the red dust pervading every part of the RV.

We were in awe of the magesty of the experience, we felt a sense of National pride. The scene was completed by the amazing flat topped mountainous background behind it, like something from an Albert Namtjira painting.

It is one of the longest trains in the world and filled with shipping containers. We were mesmerized, imagining all the treasures it carried, sure we were slightly aware of the truck coming towards us from the opposite distance, but we weren't paying it a lot of attention as the train seemed so much more interesting.

Zooming up to pass us the truck appeared, but unlike a normal truck, these vehicles are like 3 trucks all connected to each other. I'm sure JK Rowlings invented these, they appear looking like a truck and then as the pass you, they allow you to fall into their world and an entire city opens up. They are no longer a truck, they are a network of roads bundled into one, I'm pretty sure there are housing estates within them, their own city complete with parklands and complete shopping and restaurant complexes.

What then occurs is that all this magic that has briefly unfolded has to be sucked back into the truck and as you pass them, you also get caught up in it and sucked into their world. As your vehicle is clinging to the road, it narrowly escapes being sucked into this alternative reality. But not before the aftershock of the event draw you towards the truck,  with a massive WHOOOMP, WHOOMPH, WOOOMMMMMPPHHHH.

Your entire vehicle rocks and shakes uncontrollably and if you have elderly or very young people on board you now need to stop for an underwear change.