Falling silent, neither Megan nor I
whispered a word.
Kata Tjuta, 36 stony domes rising
500 metres above the desert plain.
The end of the Great Central Road.
Excitement quietly turned to mel-
ancholy, I’d realised that this part of
the journey was over. I’d felt great
sadness that David hadn’t shared this
with us. Sections were tough but far
outweighed by the beauty and majes-
ty of this part of the world. I’d also
felt regret that I had let Ian ride off
alone with darkness fast approach-
ing. He couldn’t have seen the spec-
tacle of Kata Tjuta and Uluru the way
we had.
Looking across at Megan and Ray,
embraced in jubilant celebration, my
sorrow, regret had subsided and im-
mense warmth and pride had washed
over me. I’d not only conquered the
road that scared the crap out of me a
week earlier, I’d experienced it with
special people. Thankful Megan and
I will have many more adventures, I
was warmed that Ray’s last big adven-
ture was one so spectacular and we’d
shared it with him. The Great Central
Road should be on everyone’s list of
Australian rides, and I’ll come with
you … LW
Footnote: Ian did make it back to
civilisation in one piece. Together we
had a beer, and a laugh about the ex-
perience. The GCR crew were back
together.
TRAVERSE
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