Shot Notes
Outback driving is a unique experience. Even the main roads have so little traffic, passing motorists wave to each other to acknowledge the existence of other humans in the vast hot dry expanse. If you saw anyone outside here they would need the fortitude of a Mars colonist. The main ecosystem is that of the Raptor>Roo>Road-train. The latter being a large truck with typically 3-4 trailers over 50 meters long which buffet you to the sound of a Tie fighter as they pass.
They are essential for turning kangaroos into regular piles of cooking meat on the asphalt for the raptors. There are more roos in Australia than at any point in its history. This is because the cattle stations out here are the size of European countries and manage the land in a way that is good for cows and roos. They graze together as no one is crazy enough to build a roo-proof fence after the failed rabbit-proof fence of 1901.
Unlike the roos, the raptors have adapted well to the roads. As you approach they leave it to the last seconds before taking flight after which you are engulfed in a cloud of wings and claws. Except for the mighty wedge-tailed eagles who just stare at you as you drive around them. All the birds seem to have mastered the road which cannot be said for the roos who seem to defy natural selection by failing to evolve any road sense at all.
Unusually the humans are the only part of this system which is under threat as self-driving vehicles are likely to replace people long before roos learn to cross the road.
I have not hit any roos in my van yet by avoiding evening and night driving and being in one of the slowest vehicles. I will be returning to the Gold Coast to pick up some mail before a house-warming in the Blue Mountains in December.
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