Before yesterday, I had my worst stretch of hitchhiking ever! Four days it took me to get from Port Augusta to Broken Hill: a distance of only about 400 km. For the first time in Australia I was thinking I may have to bite the bullet and get a train to Sydney and hitchhike up the coast (I've done that corridor many times, so I know I can get lifts, although my plan was to hitchhike on a route I haven't done before. The next train from Broken Hill to Sydney isn't for a few days so I had time to continue trying to get a lift. Being stuck at a rest area outside of Broken Hill I was there for an entire day. A nice elderly couple invited me into their sleek and stylish caravan for coffee and biscuits and then another bloke offered me some kangaroo steak. My fortunes would change, however. As I sat having a coffee at 2 AM, a bloke in a big, robust vehicle designed for Outback travel pulled up. His name is Jamie: an expat Brit who trademarks himself the "Australian Bushman." "I'm of no use to a hitchhiker due to a blown gearbox," which meant he could only drive in one gear (the 4th gear). My response was "a slow trip is better than no trip," and he was happy to take me the following morning as he'd be heading home to the Sunshine Coast. I didn't even bother pitching my tent; I just rolled out my sleeping bag and crashed out under the picnic shelter.
It was time now for Outback road trippin'. Jamie has been to some extremely remote corners of Australia, including the Surveyor General's Corner (one of my dreams), the Haddon Corner, and the "trip to the Tip" (Cape York). We stopped not far up the road for some delicious sausages and baked beans to go with a colourful sunrise. Outback sunsets and sunrises are flat-out spectacular!
Jamie's vehicle comes with all the fixings, including an oven: a novelty it is to make pizza on the road. I tried to fly Juliett but there's been a problem with the gimbal as it goes hey-wire every time I fly her, so I may have to get her fixed in Brisbane. From there it was a relaxing and scenic drive. The Dixie Chicks played on the stereo and I got my wish of hitchhiking along a route I hadn't done before. Despite driving with only one gear we made excellent progress. We made it from Broken Hill to Collarenbri, a distance of approximately 925 km, in one day. After my worst stretch of hitchhiking ever, it's turned into one of my best. After a blown gearbox, Jamie would end up having more problems with his vehicle: the starter motor went out. He mustered up all the expertise he had and called a friend to try and get the vehicle going. It's really unfortunate, because this is a big and robust vehicle specifically designed for rugged, off-road travel. It's not like he's driving a Lexus. After not having a shower since Peterborough, one at the free campground felt great. The mozzies are noticeably worse here than outside of Broken Hill so I felt I had to pitch my tent but Jamie suggested sleeping in the back seat of the vehicle. I was so exhausted I ended up sleeping like a rock.
Jamie knew getting a mechanic to come out here was going to cost a fortune, and there was the potential for him to be here for days if it was, in fact, the starter motor. As I came back from washing up I could hear the vehicle running. Suddenly it went from having to search for another lift to "it looks like you're continuing on with me" as we had a coffee and continued this great journey. Jamie was reluctant to turn off the vehicle so we had to hunt around in Moree for a petrol station that would allow him to fill up without turning off the ignition. We eventually found one but later up the road we stopped by the roadside to make a coffee and, as a subconscious driver's habit, Jamie switched off the vehicle. All we could do is hope it would start...and it did! From there it was a long, slow drive through backroads to the Sunshine Coast. Technically, Jamie was going to the Glasshouse Mountains. Normally it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to drop me at the Shell servo but he needed a downhill section to get the vehicle to go. After realizing there's a small section where he could go, he agreed to drop me there. My lift with Jamie is, at more than 1,600 km, my second longest single lift ever. It's still a long way from the 3,300 km lift I received from Northam, WA to Nyngan, NSW but this has been one of my best lifts ever. I told Jamie if he'd ever like me to join him at the Surveyor General's Corner to please give me a call.
From there it was only a (relatively) short journey to Tiaro. A truck driver from India driving to Rockhampton would agree to give me a lift but asked me for some ID first. That's fair, just in case I'm a criminal. Jo would pick me up and after this journey I'd be having a few glasses of wine. After the most difficult but rewarding hitchhiking journey ever, I'm sitting pretty at Jo's for now. Norfolk Island awaits...
