← PreviousThe cattle farm, a certain idea of hellThe next morning we were on the road as soon as we woke. We'd got the road-trip routine down pat. Keep a close eye on the fuel level, plan the stages realistically and anticipate as many obstacles as possible. The money we'd earned gave us a few months' breathing space and let us enjoy our free time a little. After all those days of hard labour, we wanted to enjoy the money earned by the sweat — quite literally, in 35 degrees minimum — of our brows.
Always on the lookout for good deals, we realised several tempting destinations were going cheap from Darwin airport. After several days of deliberating during our wanderings around the huge farm, we'd settled on Bali. The little Indonesian island was only three hours' flight from northern Australia, and prices there wouldn't eat too much into our budget. So we bought our tickets and set our arrival date in Darwin. On the road we discussed the plan and the must-sees. We alternated between hikes in the mountains of the outback and heading back to the coast to laze on the beaches.
We couldn't help smiling as we drove through Bundaberg, the stronghold of Australians exploiting backpackers. And it was with disbelief that we saw, on the spot and on social media, how many young people like us came here despite the town's bad reputation. Absolutely everyone knew scams were rife. The most common came from hostels that had swallowed up the job market.
They said very clearly that you had to take a room with them to have a chance of getting work. Some gullible young people accepted, then paid two weeks or even a month in advance before realising there was nothing for them. And those who did end up working found themselves paid piece rates so low that they didn't stay long. We'd read accounts of people paid eight dollars a day when the minimum wage was around twenty dollars an hour!
Of course we didn't stop in the town, not wanting to give a single dollar to a community like that. Australia had awakened our already sharp awareness of the various forms of exploitation and our determination to steer clear of them. Being in the shoes of the immigrant used for the menial jobs let us put a lot of situations into perspective, and the complaints of average Australians made us chuckle.
For them, there was too much immigration and too many backpackers in their country, but as soon as you started a job that was a bit tough, you'd only find foreigners, all over the country. Worse, when we told city people about our working conditions, they were incredulous, refusing to believe such forms of exploitation still existed in their so-advanced country.
We preferred to carry on to Agnes Water, a small seaside town. It's unusual in being one of the few towns on the east coast where the sun sets over the sea, thanks to its geography. When the sun went down on the horizon, the sky put on an orange gown that cast an incredible palette of colours onto the water. Wonder was written in our eyes and we must have said "it's magnificent" a hundred times.
We took dozens of photos without even having to worry about the settings, the light came through the lens so perfectly. Unique moments like these sometimes reminded us how incredibly lucky we were to be embarked on such an adventure. It became easy to forget, caught up in the routine of reaching the next stop and eating up the next kilometre.
We were as if caught up in the rapid advance of life's continuous movement, and rarely did we give ourselves the chance to press pause. Sometimes it was a single instant, an encounter with an animal; a few hours, a new friendship. This sunset captivated us so much that we decided to stay an extra day to watch it again. Travelling and sleeping in your car meant cutting back on comfort, but it also let you stretch the concept of freedom to the max.
We really liked Agnes Water and could stay two days. No booking to cancel, no next stop we absolutely had to reach. We knew this way of life wouldn't suit us forever, but for now it was bliss to have no pressure on our heads. No house, no bills, no schedule, and slices of life we'll remember till the end of our days.