The Virtues of the out and back to the outback

I've always been a fan of out and back rides or runs as you get an entirely different perspective of the route you've just taken. The same is true of driving. On our way back from Alice there were notably less dead cows, more lizard road-kill and for some reason a number of front-loading washer/dryers spaced about 10kms apart, as though they'd fallen off a vehicle without being noticed - very odd. Jen was worried about me as we cruised along and driver fatigue set in so she took over the honours. I don't think I was hallucinating but we passed one of those diamond yellow warning signs like the ones for kangaroos and I swear, something akin to a Woolie Mammoth/Elephant was painted on it. It was one of those things where you see something and your brain takes a bit to process the information and realize it doesn't fit with what you would expect. We didn't turn around to go back and look - but I'm sure it wasn't your typical kangaroo warning sign. Driving into Coober Pedy from the other side during broad daylight is an interesting phenomenon as well. 40 km or so out and you start to see the human-made anthills which stand out on the horizon as they are a whiter/pink looking gravel compared to the surrounding red and light green of the low-lying scrub. The closer you get the more numerous and larger they become with larger piles overshadowing smaller ones of differing pink and reddish hues. It makes you wonder how the whole place doesn't simply cave in on itself. We're staying at the Mud Hut Hotel, near the entrance to the town and it's packed with people who've come in for the Easter Festival here in Coober today - stunt flying, sausage (bomb) throwing, three-legged races etc. As we had pretty much done Coober Pedy on the way up to Alice, we focused on getting some energy out of the kids after a cooped up ride for 7 hrs. We found the town pool which was a bit chilly but always fun for the kids, then headed into town for pizza, parmy chicken burger and some pasta at not a bad little restaurant. Back at the motel, James May's Toy Story was being broadcast so we tucked in for a watch as we've become avid Top Gear, Richard Hammond, Jeremy and James fans - enjoying their adult sillies and boyish hi-jinx - very English! Aidan was in his element as James was building a Lego house in which to live (for at least 24 hrs) - it was quite an intriguing documentary - who knows - maybe Lego is the future of construction? Today we'll probably get an early start to Quorn and get Gertie the caravan all sorted for the next chapter of our travels.