September 14th, Northern Territory, Australia

Unlike many other natural formations in the Outback these two rocks don't appear to have any spiritual significance to the native Aboriginal population. However, they are a very powerful magnet to the landscape photographer. An icon in their own right they feature in every guidebook and on postcards throughout the territory. This location was very high on my to-do list when I initially researched the itinerary for this portion of the trip but a look at the map cooled my enthusiasm. The collection of boulders, known as The Devil's Marbles, is in the centre of a vast empty area more than 800km north of Uluru and almost 1200km south of Darwin by car. The Australian version of the middle of nowhere is a very big place. Just how far was I prepared to go for a picture?

With no radio reception, no CDs and no MP3 player it was going to be long drive. For entertainment I counted the kangaroos I passed. Sadly, every one of them was dead. The number of carcasses rotting along the road, not just of kangaroos but also of other small mammals and even livestock, was astounding, especially as the only warm-blooded wildlife I spotted during the drive were grazing cattle. Not wanting to add to the body count I followed the recommendation against driving through the outback at night. That, and unlike many of the vehicles I passed, rental cars don't come with 'roo-bars as standard equipment. Soon I lost count and instead looked for Wedge-tailed Eagles occasionaly circling gracefully above fresh road kill.

While the outback contains a lot more vegetation then I expected it is still predominantly flat and featureless. The road I followed for most of the way is the Stuart Highway which bisects Australia linking Adelaide in the south and Darwin in the north. It has no posted speed limit except around the tiny communities that sparsely sprinkle its length providing drivers with gas and free coffee. With a continuous supply of caffeine, many seemingly never-ending straights and lack of cruise control in my compact rental I frequently caught the needle of the speedometer pointing south of 190 kilometers per hour (usually after briefly becoming airborne on a bump in the road). This was unfortunately to the detriment of the local lizard population which chose the black surface of the highway to sun themselves (as if the ambient temperature topping 36 degrees Celsius wasn't enough).

Final death toll, a regrettable three lizards and a soft projectile which I assume was a small bird...