| Gee Bok s phone rings. I hopen my eyes, move into
the dark room and shake Gee Bok the Korean guy I met
yesterday. Together we go down with our backpack. Time
to check out and go for our 3 days tour with Mulgas
Adventure. Few peoples are waiting outside.
Some other take a early breakfast in the morning. Nobody
realy know each other, and that s the funny thing about
what will be a fantastic team. My face is just a face,
banal, without any distinction of the tausend other
backpacker that travel the in the world. Okay maybie
I am the backpacker that need a Haircut. But in few
days I will be special. Not only my face but all the
14 peoples that will travel with us. Each face will
be printed for the eternity, each face will have a signification
a story a remember, something very special for each
of us.
I join the people outside and present myself. First
contact. I try to remember quickly the names.
We are waiting few minutes until the first bus pick
up some of us. I will be in the second bus. Our guide
is coming. His name is Sean (like the 007 Sean Connery).
Sean is tall, he has a good tin and he his funny. Directly
he ask me if I m a crazy french. Don t know? Maybie.
The bus is ready to go. Everybody gets inside and Tracy
Chapman beginn to sing. En route pour l aventure ! First
thing we do is writing our names on the window. Sean,
our guide, could in few second remember all of our name.
Incredible. Then he explained us what we will do, and
to be more clear he gave me the marker and I (the master
Copilote) draw on the window the map of our next 3 days.
We will travel to Uhuru, were some of us could climb
it, then camp at night in swags, go on day 2 to the
katja Juta, then sleep again, day 3 Kings Canyon and
Camel ride.
Okay but first we need a volunter to take organise the
drinks for tonight. It should be Nelly. Nelly has an
IQ of 300 and her name is written Nelie! Not Nelly
but Nelie. Got ya ! Weeeeeelldone.
I don t know exactly how that happen but the group we
had was in perfect harmony. It seems that everybody
just want to have good time, just fun. Even if each
of us had a complete different caracter and lifes.
Sean is cool, relax and funny. He tell us story in a
very particular way, so that everybody listen to him.
It seems that he read a lot about the arborigines. Surprising
! A guide that can read ? He could tell us something
so serious and in the next minute come with a funny
happening. I remember this time when he tell us about
the SAMARAMADATAMADHHRA TA or something like this. This
"Guy" was a killer, ordered to kill the bad
arborigines. Nobody realy new him. The footprint who
are a clear identification in the desert for the arborigine
were unknow cause this Guy used feather under his foot.
His knowledge about plant and animal was perfect. This
guy could survived in the desert with no help. Once
he get a mission, he beginn to search the thieves or
murderer and when he find them he will take his time
to beginn the execution. Full of tricks he beginn his
execution. First he wait night, cause the aborigenes
have a very deep sleep. If the murderer will be accompagned
with friends he will act so discret that just the murderer
will be punished. The night he will come and take one
of this glue plant that are used as antiseptique on
wounded people. He knew that if you put that on the
eyes the effect will be temporarty blindness. And so
he proced, put few drop on the murderers eyes and on
the morning when this one will oppen the eyes and with
his hand go on the eyes like everybody does after a
good night, he will become blind. The compagnon at this
point will become afraid. At this moment they will know
that the SMAMAMANTATRATATBLABLA will be here, and that
the blind men did something bad. Affraid they will escape,
run as far as they can. The murderer will be conscient
that his time has come and that the punishment for his
crime is ready to beginn. What can he do ? Run for his
life? He could but were to go in the big Australian
desert ? The SAMABLABLA will approach and the blind
men will hear this lower voice (comment on dit chuchotter?
):
- I know what you did ! I know that you
kill someone ! I know that you didn t respect the rules
! I will kill you.
And he will wait before killing his men, wait that the
men will be so scared and affraid that the death will
be welcome.
That the kind of story that Sean told us. He has tausend
of them and the way he tell them are just amazing, even
if my english is so bad I could realy understand everything.
Uhuru
Ups we arrived. The Uhuru. The biggest monolith on earth.
Tinted with a red color because of a high amount of
iron. This rock is part of the aborigene story and culture.
The white mens came here with a lot of difficulties.
You can imagine what it was without real knowledge of
the land, without modern equipment to survive in the
huge desert. The secret of life was in the hand of the
indigene and the white man who did cross all the ocean
and study mathematic, astronomie, science, language,
biologie, plylosophie or whatever hadn t a big chance
of surviving here.
Climb or not ?
The culture of the aborigine is deep and at this time
still a secret. Know we are here in front of this monolithe.
What should we do ? Climb it or not ? Some people try
to respect they culture and say not to climb it. But
what is the point ? If you realy want to help the aboriginal
than do it by doing something not by not doing something.
Do I help a homeless if I close my eyes, or do I help
him if I speak with him and try to find out what he
realy need. I m fascinated with the mundial phenomenon
of Indigene culture and their death. The modern people
think to have all what they need. But in fact they don
t. Most of us do what the society ask to do. Most of
us work hard and miss to enjoy their life. Some of us
then think, I can t do this, I can t do that, I m not
able to. In difference the indigene volks built their
society on surviving. All the tradition have to help
the society to survive. Its not a matter of power. It
s not a matter to be reach. Its a matter to eat, to
sleep and to have family. If they have that they are
happy and dont search for more and more. They are some
volks in the world that never new what misery meens
until the white men came. They ever work with the nature
and not against because destruction of nature will be
their own destriction. I hope everything will once change
and that culture will be the second priority after the
environment. Well so the question is ? Should I climb
the rock or not ? For the aborigene, if you will die
on climbing it, this will mean that your spirit will
be here forever. Our stranger spirit will stay on the
rock and never get back to our home. And the aborigines
realy don t want this. Why should I die here ? Well
that the question that the 37 peoples who left their
life here would have asked ? The rock is a mass and
climbing it must be do with some concentration. A wrong
step and it is a long fall to the floor. Nothing can
stop you beetwen. The gravity will know be against you
and ....POUUUFFF. Your dead.
And your spirit stay here. No good, no good.
I, well I decided to climb. I don t feel not respecting
the aborigine by doing this. As I say, help the aborigines
instead of ingnoring them. Try to understand them. Second
point, I have a kind of philosophy with the natural
beauties of the world. The earth created fantastic landscape
and the human sometime want that for him. Why ? Instead
of respecting it, the human will see profit in it, he
will put a fense, on the fense he will put a sign and
on the sign he will put a fees. I realy hate that. Natural
wonder should be respect as it and as part of the world
heritage, and should be free. Of course with the condition
that people respect it.
Third thing, the rules. The parc instore some advice
in the cultural center. Do not climb. Do not take photos.
Do not this do not that. But what do I see in the cultural
center, million of pictures...and hundret of artwork.
Some very bad. I don t realy think that this is a good
way to preserve the culture, respect the people.
4 point. What about the base walk. He has a lot of different
sacred places. Can realy everybody go to a womans sacred
place? Even a man? Can everybody go to a men sacred
place? Even a women ?.
I Climb it !
 So
Julie, GeeBok, Mike and me begin the climb. Whatever
ther reason they have, we have fun. The air is hot,
the wall is sharp and a metal chain help up in case
of freefall. 25 minutes, that the time to reach the
first 1/3 of the rock. Imagine that a Kiwi guy did it
in 11 minutes, and I not even sure if it was the 1/3
or the hole way up. Very bizarre this kiwis. Well after
the first most difficult part, we begin to enjoy a magnificient
panorama on the Olgas, Mt Connor and the salt lake.
Everybody on the rock seems to be an antz and the cars
on the parking are just little squareforms. Sometimes
a red wall is pierced with some huge hole. In some of
them water and inside a water insect that looks prehistorical.
Its amazing. I love it. After another 25 min we reach
the top, a kind of trashcan is posed there. We come
and look closer at it. Its a panorama indicator. Here
is the north, here the west, here the Olgas etc.. and
here is the ring. Yes a ring. A mini ring. The one ?
Lord Of the Ring? To much sun on my head. Lets go back.
Sunset
Sean is waiting us! Like I allways do when I go down,
I run. Of course this time more than other I have to
be carefull. My spirit shouldn t stay here. On the way
we met two older woman. Incredible power to get up here,
and they did. They seems to have fun, but no WAT - ER
(NewCastle prononciation). No John a oldy also, turned
back, because it was to hard. They only problem was,
he was carring the water and the photo, so the wemens
decided to continue alone. Hey. Maybie thats why he
could do it...the wemen gave him to much to carry. Hehehe.
Well, we shared our water with the nice and courageous
wemens.
At the parking allmost everybody is there and we go
know for a little exploration with Sean and an introduction
to the more or less secret story arround this place.
Then we go, go and go where everybodies go. The sunset
lookout viewpoint. Its seems that something amazing
will happend here. Do they wait an UFO ? Every part
of the society has his place here. The big bus have
built chairs and table outside, with champagne. For
the other the champagne will be here but they will have
to stay. Then we have the wine people and finaly the
beer ones. The dresscode is also different. We are the
Dirty and some are the fine peoples. Okay I exagerate.
I don t care, I take a glass of wine that I will never
finished because its realy a bad one, but well. I make
my way out of the crowd searching for a quite place,
peacefull and relaxing. I will find one. During this
time my two Smart Girls that I lost when I made a quick
sketch, went to the CHAMPAGNE party. And they did well...Smart
girls (Julie and Nelie).
The spectacle is wonderfull, I loved it. But strange
thing, everybody look at the rock witch is at the opposite
of the sun. They shoot millions of photos like me, but
don t turn to the sun ??? Its like the cave story. Camera
Obscura. Do you know it ? 1 cavemen and 2 cavegirl
are in the cave( yes two girl for one man at this time
!). They are looking at a light on the wall. Suddently
the men is thinking ! Were does the light come from.
The two girls just think it s a nice light and they
want to look at it before its gone. Then, well the the
MAN turn and see a hole behind him. He put the hand
between the hole and the wall, and suddently the projection
on the wall disappear and get into his hand. Waooow.
He tell the girls to go with him and look behind the
hole where the real light come from...but the girls
don t believe the man, they stay and wait that the projection
begin again. The man goes out and see the true light.
The light on the wall is just a projection. Camera obscura,
same behaviour here in Uhuru. Funny. For those who complain
that it is a men that is smarter. Sorry but I write
the story. and I m a men. Maybie the women just wanted
to dream and the men wanted more...Who knows? Who cares
?
Well after this wonderfull scenery, we met to the bus
and eat what Sean prepared. Food is welcome after the
big climb.Everybody is happy especialy my two smart
champagne girls ! The night fall and the crowded parking
is now almost empty. Two bus are here. And the two driver
know each other well. Each driver has a team and each
team naturaly find an "nice Enemi". The fun
beginn and transform fast into a big serie of battle
and revanche. We are driving arround the bus of our
enemy, then suddently a projection of a liquid thing
cover all the window. Its uggly. Its beeeerrrrkkkk.
Its yellow, its kind of gelle. Gee Bok and me receive
few drops. But Sean and the windows stoped the main
flow. What was that ? HMmmm SATAY sauce.
The smell confirm the suspection. We are laughting but
we cant let this be the last action. SATAY MEN is driving
back to the enemies bus, he can t see very good but
enough to spread a coke or whatever it was on the window.
We pass the bus. The other team is hiding. Our window
is full of Satay sauce. We simulate our escape. But
stoped. We need a revanche, we need to win this war.
Everybody is laughting in the car, we are searching
for something big. Suddently Jamies voice....We
should take plant dust and put it on the wet window.
Mike, Nelie and I get out of the car. I m at the lodge.
Julie and Mike hide in the bush. SATAY MAN go for a
ride to the bus. And the other bus escape, they drive
directly to the embuscade, we are waiting, but wich
bus is the good one. Its dark and the only thing we
see are the lights of the buses. They are approaching
but witch car is it. A voice, its SatayMan, he tell
us to go for the 1 car. In front of me the formidable
spectacle begin, with power and precision, Mike and
Julie spray their dust on the window. I m torturate
of laughting, they couldn t have do it better . The
result can be seen directly. The driver open his window
and with a 10 km/h drive with the head out of the window.
Impossible to see through. Fantastic action. We are
pissed of laughthing. Impossible to stop. But Jamie
tell us how you can have such an ID.
Answer: Turn the TV on and look at JACKASSSSS.
Welldone.
We have a break to the resort, with a fantastic tourguide
from SATAYMAN. As funny as the rest of the expedition.
Then we go for the bush and a place far away from any
resort. The bus stop. Its dark. The star roaf will be
ours. First mission, finding wood. Everybody participate.
The team is great. But something stay in my mind. Well
more or less, a story, banal but perverse.
A man enter in a bar, he ask for a glass
of water, the barman look at him and put a gun on him.
The first man turn back without what he asked for, he
is happy and leave the room.
Why ? (answer in 2 articles)
Can you imagine sleeping with no answer to this question
? Well maybie its easier with no people that snorr (ronfler
? Comment on ecrit ca en anglais ?). Everybody arround
the fire sleep. We don t have tent but Swags, a kind
of big sleeping bag with a mattress inside. Its cold
outside.
Know everybody is sleeping. I cant. I m not tired. I
have a walk, the moon shine...Then when I come back
3 people are snorring, I keep out of the group, about
15 meters, the fire don t burn anymore. I will stay
a long time awake, looking at the stars...then my eyelid
fall and the next thing I remember is that they open
on the next morning. Time to attack a new journey.
|
