On the morning of July 11th, I left Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and began my trip back to Sydney and eventually back home to the United States. So here, I think I will end this weblog. The rest of my trip was rather uneventful though I did take quite a scenic route back to Sydney down the Oodnadatta and Strzlecki Tracks. The Strzlecki Desert had been transformed since my visit in October into a dunescape full of yellow flowers. It was interesting to see the graves of Burke and Wills along Cooper Creek and to once again stay at Nine Mile Bore just east of Eulo. Idid break my second windscreen of the year just before I got back to a sealed road but fortunately, Imade it back to Sydney without any other incident.
My time in Sydney was spent catching up with friends I had met earlier in my travels and getting ready to fly home. I had put my life back into a suitcase once again and after a year traveling, that is not an easy task. I sold my car with an amazing amount of fortune and ease. I took one last evening walk around Sydney Harbour before I boarded my plane on the morning of July 26th and returned home.
I could try to summarize the year here, to wrap it all up with a nice bow. I could say Ilearned this or that. I could tell you about my favorite bird or favorite photo or favorite place. I could do all of that but that wouldn't do the year justice. I tried to share a bit of my journey through this weblog and Ithank each and every one of your for reading it. Those of you who emailed me, thank you. Your support kept me going on the difficult days. So I will leave you with this.
This was a year of birds and photographs. A year on a different continent in a different country with different people and many new friends. A year of challenges and victories, tears and laughs. A year for exploration of a foreign place. A year for delving inside and exploring my heart and mind. It was a year that will shape the rest of my life.
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