A few years ago, I was delighted to find some beautiful bars of Russian chocolates in a twenty-four hour shop in Claremont, Perth. Unlike the sweetness of Australian chocolate or the fineness of French chocolate, I was touched by the beauty of the magnificent full-sailed ship pictured on the paper it was encased in.
Some years ago, Andie, our one and only astronaut, didn't fit into his suit when the time came to return to our humble planet. After clever negotiation, the Americans were able to extend a government contract with the Australians and Andie was fitted with a new suit. If you are lucky enough to visit Alice Springs, you may be privileged to discover the reason behind the deal. If you are anything like me, however, you might consider hiding your photos under your house for a couple of years.
If you do travel to "Alice", there are many things you can arrange before you get there: this includes chopper flights across Uluru, transport and accommodation. One of the most wonderful things that you could do, though, is go ballooning one day. This time of the year is ideal. You will get picked up at about 4:00 o'clock in the morning in a small bus before, out in the desert, in the dark, you find yourself unfurling equipment off the back of trucks. The sound of flames shooting across before you and the feeling of smallness as, one by one, the balloons drift off next to you into the cool, painted sky will grace you. When you get back, you will repay the ferryman by packing and folding the blood red coloured balloons up in the sticky, sweltering, unforgiving heat.
The only thing that I can equate this journey to is a ride on a tall, majestic sailed ship, like the one on the chocolate I once found. It is quite likely, you will never have the chance to do it again. Be scared...be very, very scared.
