D65 (20250816) Australia road trip: Eucla to Ceduna

进入南澳之后很长一段路没有手机信号，休息的时候连上了星链。

Nullarbor就是没有树的意思，上世纪五六十年代，英国曾在这个平原的附近进行过几十次核实验，可见这里的荒凉程度。

到了Ceduna遇到免疫检查站，我的一袋橘子、几个苹果和几根香蕉都上交给他们了，算是给南澳的见面礼。不知道南澳和西澳的这种检疫政策有没有实际效果，是不是两个州互相赌气｡不过南澳显然太懒政了，这里离两州边界已经过了480公里了，他们不愿意在那个没有人烟的地方设立检查站。可是已经深入南澳腹地这么远了，在这里设置检查站还有什么意义。难怪工作人员一上来就问我是不是从西澳来的，我应该告诉我从堪培拉来的，看他怎么判断这些水果来源。不过他们也知道，在这之前的几百公里确实没有人烟，也没有卖水果的地方。

其实到了Bookabie之后就已经可以看到羊群和草地了，最荒野的地方已经过去了。两边的树木逐渐变多变高，风景越来越好看。

至此，澳洲环自驾游三次大的穿越已经完成，接下来到阿德莱德的路，如果走沿海的话，基本上都是绿色连贯起来。这三次穿越从昆士兰到北领地比较空旷荒野，但是心里并没有恐惧感，进入乌鲁鲁的那条路，甚至有一种很踏实的感觉，虽然没有人烟，但毕竟是澳洲的心脏地带。从西澳到南澳的穿越比想象的要好得多，非常空旷，但是并没有荒凉的感觉。感觉最荒凉的是从北领地进入西澳之后，一直南下到珀斯，穿过多个矿区。那几千公里的路简直就是不毛之地，难怪有很多露天矿，许多地方根本没有土壤。而且那几天经过那里是阴天，风又很大，简直就像到了火星的感觉。几个小时都看不到车辆，有那么一瞬间，有一种很恍惚的令人毛骨悚然的感觉，四周一望无际的旷野，几天都开不出去。

刚才办了营地的入住手续，洗了澡，洗了衣服，泡上一杯茶，回到地球的感觉真好。人类从荒蛮到文明经过了数万年，穿越澳洲如同回溯了整个文明史。我和朋友聊天，戏称这次环澳自驾游是一次思想拉伸运动，精神体操。不同于短期的旅游探险，长达两到三个月的旅行，使我不得不把每一天都当作第一天，身体、营养、精力、精神和情绪各方面都必须处于平衡的状态，这样才是可持续的。

非常感恩，我有这么好的机会，这么好的状态，用这种特殊的方式，驰骋于辽阔壮丽的澳洲大地中，高山、大海、河流、湖泊、沙漠、湿地、草原、林地，上百个国家公园，还有各种各样的人，他们的状态是那么的友好、乐观、阳光。

接下来的行程将逐渐回到我熟悉的地带，再看到那熟悉的一草一木，或许会有不同的视角了。

When I arrived at Ceduna, I encountered a quarantine checkpoint. My bag of oranges, a few apples, and some bananas were all handed over—it felt like a welcome gift to South Australia. I’m not sure whether these quarantine policies between South Australia and Western Australia actually have any real effect, or if it’s just the two states being stubborn with each other. But South Australia is clearly being lazy here—the checkpoint is set up 480 kilometers past the border. They don’t want to establish it out there in the desolate, uninhabited zone. But what’s the point of putting a checkpoint so deep inside South Australia’s interior? No wonder the staff immediately asked me if I was coming from WA. I should have told them I was from Canberra—see how they’d figure out where the fruit came from. Still, they probably know that for hundreds of kilometers before this, there’s no sign of settlement and no place to buy fruit anyway.

In fact, after reaching Bookabie, you can already see flocks of sheep and grasslands—the most barren stretches are behind you. The trees on both sides gradually become taller and denser, and the scenery grows more beautiful.

At this point, I had completed the three major crossings of my Australian road trip. From here to Adelaide, if I take the coastal route, it will basically all be green and continuous. Of the three crossings, the one from Queensland to the Northern Territory was vast and wild, but I never felt afraid. The road into Uluru even gave me a sense of reassurance—desolate, yes, but still the very heart of Australia. The crossing from Western Australia to South Australia turned out much better than expected—vast, but not bleak at all. The bleakest part was actually from the Northern Territory into WA, all the way south to Perth, through multiple mining areas. Those thousands of kilometers were practically wasteland—no wonder there are so many open-pit mines, because in many places there isn’t even real soil. To make it worse, the days I drove through there were cloudy and windy. It felt like being on Mars. Sometimes I wouldn’t see a single vehicle for hours. For a moment, I had this eerie, unreal feeling—surrounded by endless wilderness, driving for days and still not reaching the edge.

Just now, I finished checking into a campsite, had a shower, washed my clothes, and made myself a cup of tea. It feels so good to be “back on Earth.” Humanity took tens of thousands of years to move from wilderness to civilization; crossing Australia feels like retracing the entire history of civilization. I joked with a friend that this road trip around Australia has been like a mental stretching exercise, a kind of gymnastics for the spirit. Unlike short trips or expeditions, this two-to-three-month journey has forced me to treat each day as if it were the first—keeping my body, nutrition, energy, spirit, and emotions all in balance. That’s the only way to make it sustainable.

I feel deeply grateful—for having such an opportunity, being in such good condition, and experiencing Australia in this special way. Vast and magnificent land, with mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, sand dunes, wetlands, grasslands, forests, and so many different kinds of people—so friendly, optimistic, and full of sunshine.

From here on, my journey will gradually return to familiar territory. When I once again see those familiar trees and grasses, perhaps I’ll see them with new eyes.