Writing these weeks makes them feel like they’re FLYING by! I can’t believe next week it’ll be 3 months in Australia… I’m SO excited about this week though and what’s coming next.  As I mentioned last week, I got to spend some time climbing in the Grampians with Sam’s cousin, Clae, and his family+friends before making the trek to Alice Springs for work.

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Monday was a full day of climbing in one of the most beautiful spots!  We had about an hour hike to get to the location Tribute, with fun little boulders to climb over, shaded trails, and stunning views the whole way. My body was really feeling it today, so I only climbed a 15 and 16, but I remembered my camera and got to spend a good chunk of time trying out the new lens and photographing everyone on their routes. 

It’s been so nice getting back into photography this year.  It’s been such an important part of my life for almost a decade now (wow…feels like I should know a lot more than I do when putting that into perspective… lol), and getting to capture these moments and share them all with you has been really special for me. It’s had me reminiscing a lot on old dreams I used to have of being a travel photographer/journalist, and I feel like I kind of get a piece of that through this project – so thank you to those who have been following along and sharing your thoughts with me. <3

We had such a special evening with everyone! We had a big fire with the whole camp crew and a handful of some people we’ve connected with the past couple days (probably had at least 15 of us all squished around) and Clae cooked up a huge pot of the most delicious curry I’ve ever had in my life.  We spent the evening sharing stories, laughing, eating good food, and staring at the endless stars above us.

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Tuesday was a reminder that you are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.

We went to a spot called the West Flank that had a super quick approach, making it a pretty popular spot, but one that Harriet and Clae had never been to before with lots of really fun routes! My hands were feeling super raw today and I honestly didn’t have much expectation for myself.  I got through a 16 feeling shaky and sore, so when Kayla offered to belay me on a 17, I really didn’t expect to get past the first couple metres.  I stayed stuck at one spot for a good while – everything I tried wasn’t working and on multiple occasions I thought + said it wasn’t going to happen, and I should just come down.  Kayla remained incredibly patient with me, and reminded me that there was no rush, to take a break, then try again.  After what was probably about 10minutes of attempting and failing – I FINALLY stuck the move and flew through the rest of the route with ease!  It was just a matter of taking the time, giving myself breaks, and believing I could do it.  There were so many little lessons in this one moment, that I could easily ramble on for a post in itself, so I’ll leave it with this: “when you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” –Banksy.

Everyone was feeling pretty low energy, so at around lunch we headed back to camp, said our goodbyes to Kayla, Graeme, and Christian who all had to leave that day, and spent the afternoon taking it easy around camp.  I got to learn how to play Coup, and made a kickass pasta with Rhys+Maddy for the whole crew and another dinner around the fire.

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Wednesday was quite an eventful day – Maddy successfully led a 17, I got SO close to completing a 19 (the last 1.5 metres was just well above my abilities), flew through a super fun 18 that ended up being my favourite route of the trip, got some sick photos of Clae almost on-siting a mid 20’s route, and had my first tow of the trip… lol so – I left late afternoon to get to Adelaide by around 19:00 and crash at Graeme’s place for the night, but not even 30min after leaving the Grampians, my car just stopped running.  It’s embarrassing and I contemplated not sharing this, but I value transparency + honesty and couldn’t leave this out of the adventure journeys… Long story short I had to call a towing company, was going to potentially have to crash at their property since all mechanics were closed, the guys were great and took a look into things to see if it could be an easy fix, we then came to the conclusion that I am a dumbass and put the wrong gas in 🙃LOL.

In my defense… It’s been a few years since I have driven a gas car nor have I ever driven diesel, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be driving an ev since 2019 back in Canada.  I didn’t realize unleaded wasn’t another type of diesel… I learned my lesson and now clearly check that I’m always grabbing the regular diesel option!  The guys at Horsham Towing were absolutely incredible.  They went out of their way to empty out my tank for me and filled it with enough diesel to get me going.  Thankfully I hadn’t driven far on the petrol, so Peg is totally fine and running as smoothly as ever!

I ended up making the long haul and got to Graeme’s by 22:30 and crashed immediately.

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Thursday I felt revitalized! After not showering since Saturday and climbing every day since, I was in desperate need to get clean – both myself and the van. Got myself all sorted at Graeme’s and had late morning Tea with his lovely partner, Lex.  Made a stop at a laundromat, then was finally on my way to Alice Springs!  Kept it shorter today, driving about 4 hours to a sweet truck/gas stop for the nights.  Cooked up some pasta and spent the evening working on messages, emails, last weeks blog, and filling out job forms.

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Friday was nothing of interest. Had a big 8-9hour drive to get into Coober Pedy where I stayed at a caravan park for the night.  The drive consisted of lots of music, some Stuart McLean stories (highly recommend if you’re ever needing a good laugh!), some podcasts by Cameron Rosin (LOVE his work – podcast called This might be helpful) and Unless(created by Only One), and a lot of very straight, service-less flat roads.  Made it to Coober Pedy around 17:30 and took it easy for the evening.

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The next morning, I woke up with the sunrise and did a little morning yoga sesh in the car park, then got myself ready to check out one of the old Opal Mining Museums!  If you’re like me and had never heard of Coober Pedy before, it’s one of the few towns where opal grows naturally.  The majority of the town still to this day live in homes underground – partly to keep cool, and to continue mining underground in search of opal!  Apparently the law states that if you find opal when building out your home underground, it’s legally yours to keep. 

The museum I explored took me through one of the original mines, an original home, and what a modern day home underground would look like today.  Was such a cool experience!  As a lover of daylight and the sun, I personally could never live in a home underground… but was really interesting to see the way it was built.

The next stop before hitting the road again was a Labyrinth.  For those who don’t know, unlike the definition that describes labyrinths as a complex network of passages that are difficult to get out of; these labyrinths are a maze like path formed on the ground, typically using natural materials like rocks, wood, or plants, consisting of one route.  There’s only one way in and one way out; no way of getting lost; just follow the path.  Their purpose is to offer a moment of reflection and contemplation, best approached by clearing the mind, and maybe entering with a question like “what am I searching for/needing clarity on” or “how do I want to show up in the world.” It is a form of active mediation, and one that has been used in many faiths for thousands of years.  I was first introduced to labyrinth walking in my yoga teacher training course this past winter, where we visited one on Bowen.  It’s a really beautiful experience to take your time following the path and reflecting on questions you are seeking answers to, or even just finding some tranquility.  I’ve been wanting to walk one again ever since, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across one in the middle of the outback.   I found some clarity on a bigger project I’ve been toying with since September of last year, and am REALLY excited to share with you all as it progresses.  Updates to come.

I drove about 6 hours today and stayed the night in Erlunda Parks, 2 hours south of Alice Springs, where I got to see a camel and emu up close for the first time and spent the evening journaling, watching the sunset, and editing my photos from the Grampians.

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I took my time getting on the road this morning, and made it to Alice Springs a little after noon.  I stayed at another caravan park just outside of the main town, as Alice Springs has unfortunately become quite unsafe out on the streets at night (I’ll touch on this more another time, as it’s a pretty heavy topic and one I’m not sure is meant to be divulged in this space nor do I have a full understanding of the cities situations).

I took the early afternoon quite slow before getting a sudden burst of creative energy and diving into my bigger project.  I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to start sharing more details with you all as things progress!

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You never really know how your life is going to unfold, but allowing yourself to flow with the changes and opportunities that come to fruition will move your life forward in some of the most beautifully remarkable ways.

Stay passionate and curious,
Hunter 💛