Chapter 12 – Spinifex and Sand

While the deserts, ranges, and gorges of the Australian Outback are places of rugged beauty, they are but a small part of the continent’s geographic totality. While much of my time was spent enjoying these places in Nature’s inland realm, my path occasionally took me to inspiring sandy vistas framed by the ocean’s invigorating luxury. Although my forays to the coastal regions were infrequent, how I savoured the ocean’s enticing scenery and bathing in the coolness of its waters and breezes at these times. As if to remind me of the underlying character of the Australian continent, some of the remotest places on the coast were much like their inland peers with sand dunes stretching to the horizon thickly covered in prickly spinifex, spindly bushes, and stunted pines. As I travelled into the northwest corner of the continent, to explore its ocean and desert regions, one constant defined the underlying nature of the land. It was the interplay of spinifex and sand, the two most basic of desert elements, which created the backdrop for the abundance of natural delights that inspired and beguiled as much as any other part of the country.