I’ve driven probably hundreds of thousands of kilometres on Outback roads over the years, and I’ve never heard of anything happening such as happened today.

We’d driven about 300kms from Uluru, heading south towards Coober Pedy. At around lunchtime we passed a roadhouse at Kulgera, about 20kms north of the Northern Territory / South Australian border.

It’s very remote here.

This shot below is a rest stop. The next rest stop is 109kms down the road.

Just past the roadhouse, on the highway, I saw what looked to be some construction workers on the road.

As I got closer I realised it was a police roadblock, stopping southbound traffic. I pulled up and a cop dressed in civvies – not in uniform, but wearing a police vest – signalled for me to stop.

He said the highway was closed for an hour, maybe more, because a very wide load was coming through. He told me to wait at the roadhouse until he advised that the highway was clear.

This sounded odd to me. There’d been wide load transports coming through regularly. Some were so wide you had to drive nearly completely off the side of the highway – but they were always preceded by escort vehicles warning you the wide load was coming.

Irrespective, there was no arguing with a police roadblock, so we drove back to the roadhouse where the manager had a police radio. He told me what was really happening.

Evidently the driver of a huge three-ganger road train – called a Tanami truck – had gone nuts and was deliberately crashing into oncoming traffic and forcing cars off the road.

Road trains are massive. Ninety-six wheels. Three times the size of a regular eighteen wheeler. And this one, according to the roadhouse manager, had a huge bullbar, which he was using to crash into cars.

Reminiscent of the film DUEL,I thought. 

I’m sorry I don’t have any photos of this, because I didn’t get a chance to take a shot of the roadblock, and everything else for Jen and myself was a waiting game in the hotel bar.

After about an hour the copper at the roadblock drove up to the bar and told all those waiting inside  – about 20 of us by that stage – that the highway was now clear. I asked the cop what had happened, and he confirmed what the manager had said – and confirmed that the truck driver was now under arrest.

If we had left maybe 20 mins earlier, we could have been one of the cars that the truck crashed into…

Anyway, that’s pretty weird, no?

The Stuart Highway, running north south through the Red Centre of this country, is I think the scariest highway in Australia. All sorts of crazy stuff happens on this remote road – serial killings, people going missing strangely, never to be heard of again, cars breaking down unexpectedly then the occupants raped and murdered…

This is not myth. This happens in Outback Australia.

Anyway, Jennifer and I made it safe and sound to Coober Pedy. I stopped a couple of times to take photos –

Outside of Coober Pedy I took a shot of an old opal field.

We stayed in the Underground Motel again, and I asked Mike who runs the place where was a good place to have a feed. He suggested the Italo-Australian Miners Club.

Hoping for a genuine Italian meal, I was disappointed to see that there was nothing Italian, nor indeed Australian, on the menu.

But then we were told there were specials, including an Indian curry. Jennifer settled for the Lasagna with salad, I went for the chicken and mushroom risotto.

Both were truly disgusting.

The risotto was cold half an inch below the surface, which was hot. Very apologetically, the staff grabbed it off me and then spent the next twenty minutes nuking a lasagna so that it was definitely hot inside.

I should add, when Jennifer ordered the lasagna the lady who took her order asked the kitchen if they had any lasagna left. Someone from the kitchen yelled back: Yep, we got two left over from last night. 

I’d asked to change from risotto to lasagna because eating the risotto could have put me in hospital. There was a strong chance though that the lasagna could be equally as hazardous.

I shouldn’t be unkind to the Italo-Australian Miners Club – all those working there do so voluntarily, and they were very sweet.

As I drove back the sun was setting, and the last rays of light were doing wonderful things to the high wispy clouds.

This really is very beautiful country out here.

Tomorrow we leave this place to return home.

It’s about a 3,500km drive.

I think Jennifer and I both need that drive, that space, that time, to absorb these last several days.

I won’t go into any specifics about the Kryon Consciousness Retreat, because some of you might find it alienating and seriously weird.

It was seriously weird.

But also seriously profound in ways I did not expect.

Through his channellings, which are pieces of unscripted oration to rival the best I’ve ever heard, he speaks about issues which confront us all. The big questions of life.

The huge questions of life.

And he does so with wisdom, compassion, and relevance.

Lee Carroll is a rock star.

And the interview he provided for my film was fabulous.

From the PGS film perspective, the trip out here has been very worthwhile. Not only was the interview with Mr. Carroll spectacular, but I also got some wonderful footage up at Utopia with the aboriginal people there – and as well I made some contacts for future filming in the US.

The Retreat finished this evening, which coincided with the World Cup semi final, with Australia playing India. It’s a testament to how seriously I’ve taken this Retreat that I didn’t stay back in my room and watch the game. Instead, during the evening’s events, I kept peaking at my iPhone to check the scores.

(We won, convincingly.)

One of the biggest surprises I’ve had during this time here is that before I came here, I had no idea how strongly I would be affected by Uluru.

Prior to coming here, I thought it was just a gigantic rock in the desert.

But it’s more than that.
Much more.
Much much more.

I think it will resonate with me for a very long time…

My day started early this morning – 5:30am.

I woke up, and realised that Jennifer would probably sleep till 11am if she was undisturbed. And 10:30am if she was disturbed.

Not wanting to kick my heels in a darkened hotel room for some 5 hours or more, I decided to head out to catch sunrise over the Olgas.

I got to the Park Ranger Station leading into the Uluru National Park, and there were two cops there doing a random breath testing.

And it was just on 6am, and still dark!

Looking around, hoping there was a film crew shooting it all for RBT (a reality tv show in Australia that I’m addicted to) – and disappointed to see there wasn’t, I submitted to the breath testing somewhat churlishly.

I had cleaned my teeth fifteen minutes earlier, and wondered if there was any alcohol in Colgates Whiter than White. Fortunately there wasn’t, and they let me through.

Anyone who has read my book, PHOTO CAMINO knows that good shootable light at sunrise is fleeting, compared to good shootable light at sunset, which tends to last longer.

I didn’t want to go to Uluru again, so I headed to The Olgas, a line of bulbous stone rocks about 40kms from Uluru.

I had to move fast though, because the sun was already rising, and there was a layer of high cloud over most of the sky.

Part way I stopped and got a distant shot of Uluru –

And then kept driving towards The Olgas.

I climbed a ridge some distance away, but by this time the light was pretty boring – the sun had risen into a band of high cloud, but I still took some shots.

I raced back to wake up Jennifer – who would have slept till 11am if undisturbed – and at 9am we attended the second day of the Kryon Consciousness Retreat.

There were people lined up out the door to get a seat.

This guy is hugely popular. There are people attending this retreat that have come from 23 different countries. Some follow Lee Carroll around the world attending his events, like groupies following a rock star.

I can see why.

We walked in, and immediately stepped into a meditation that was accompanied by two didgeridoo players. The two players, working in harmony and at times out of harmonic, created a sound that took the top of your head off.

Mesmerising, and profoundly a product of their land, and their unique and ageless culture.

Sorry I have no photos to accompany this, but photos were not allowed.

After the session I did the interview with Lee.

He was incredible. Articulate, smart, and on the button with intuition. He will be an important part of the film. A great interview.

I then did another interview with a wonderful Chinese doctor – Grace Moy O’Brien – (yes it doesn’t appear to be a Chinese name, but she was born in Penang, in Malaysia.) She talked eloquently about the chakra  system, and energies within the body that Western medicine is yet to formally acknowledge, yet Chinese medicine has worked with for centuries.

This evening we were invited to have our energetic imprints scanned by a new machine only recently brought into this country. I will write a separate post about it later, because it’s amazing, and what Doug Strandly and Grace are doing will revolutionise conventional medical thought.

They scanned both Jennifer and myself, and as I say I will write more in depth on this in a separate post, but I just wanted to report that the machine, amongst other things, measures chakras. It measures the energetic level of each chakra – the “size” of the chakra – and the alignment.

Jennifer’s chakras were strong and healthy, and got very many murmurs of admiration from Doug and Grace – particularly as they were mostly all in perfect alignment.

Then they did my scan, and showed me my chakras.

Mine were friggin’ HUGE!

Now, I know this is not a competition, right? And I am a mature dignified bloke with grey hair (or white as Jennifer cruelly described it this morning, after she had woken) however my chakras were bigger than hers!

Let me repeat that in caps:

MY CHAKRAS WERE BIGGER THAN JENNIFER’S.

Yes, mine were out of alignment a bit. In fact one was almost off the chart, but I’m not fussed about a straying chakra. A couple of shoulder stands will fix that.

Those who had previously murmured in appreciation at Jennifer’s chakras were now gasping in wonderment at mine!

Seriously, this machine is something else. I lost a filling in my upper left tooth. No-one knew about it, not even Jennifer.

It showed up on this scan.

Early night tonight because we want to walk the Base Track around Uluru at sunrise tomorrow morning.

If I can wake Jennifer up, that is…

I took no photos today – which is unusual for me.

I spent half the day in a large conference hall with some 400 hundred others listening to Lee Carroll – and his channelling entity, Kryon.

It was truly fascinating.

If you listen to any of Kryon’s audio tapes – his seminars and his channellings – the entity that is Kryon is an extraordinary orator. A deep rich resonate voice, as if it comes from the very heart of the Cosmos itself.

Meeting Lee Carroll today – the physical “partner” of Kryon – he looks like a primary school teacher. Or a cinephile attending a film festival. The man who channels Kryon looks nothing like the voice of this cosmic guru.

I had tried to line up an interview with Lee Carroll, nee Kryon, prior to coming to Uluru. I was told politely it was not possible. He would be too busy.

Today in a break in the seminar I walked straight up to him, introduced myself, told him what I was doing, and he immediately agreed to an interview tomorrow.

I’m thrilled.

Because this guy is a big deal. Within the world of the Weird & Whacky, he’s a big deal. I’m in no way being derogatory when I say that – he would probably use that term himself – because Lee Carroll is a very down to earth guy.

But what Kryon is saying is important, and it’s shifting consciousness on a global scale.

I don’t say that lightly.
I believe it.

I’m thrilled that he’s agreed to be interviewed for the film, because I have heard some of Kryon’s views on intuition, and they are informed by science, yet they are deeply spiritual.

What did he talk about today? He talked about the Creation Stories of the traditional landowners of Uluru, and how they coincide almost exactly with channellings of Kryon done many years ago. I won’t go into detail here – if you’re interested, go onto Kryon’s website.

http://www.kryon.com

This evening we saw a film made several years ago, centering on one of the main traditional landowners of Uluru, Dr. Bob Randall. The film is called Kanyini – and it can be viewed on YouTube.

I regard it as one of the most powerful film’s I’ve seen on the Australian aboriginal people.

Tomorrow the seminar continues – then I have the interview with Lee Carroll, which should be fascinating – then Jennifer and I do the 11km Base Walk around Uluru.

Another big day at the spiritual heart of Australia…

(No Peter Landers, it’s NOT the MCG!)

A shorter drive today – about 460kms, or nearly 300mls.

Driving out of Alice, I was struck once again by the beauty of the place – and how accurately the aboriginal artists depict the textures of the land and vegetation.

To get to Uluru you have to drive about 260kms off the main highway. I stopped to take a shot of a truck being loaded with gravel.

About 100kms from Uluru, we saw it in the far distance. Even that far away, you could feel its power and spiritual energy.

Small hills masked the rock until I got closer, and then it revealed around a bend in the road. In the distance still, but again its power was palpable.

Let me just say: I’ve been fortunate during my life to see some of the great wonders of the world – the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza, Angkor Wat, the Cathedral of Notre Dame –

And there’s one thing I’ve observed; that on first sighting one of these wonders, I’ve been shocked, truly shocked, at how magnificent they are.

Why?

Because I’d grown up with a familiarity to these icons. You see them constantly in travel posters, on the covers of books and magazines, in documentaries – and after a while you begin to feel blasé.

You feel a certain familiarity.

I had no real desire to see the Taj Mahal for instance. I felt I’d already seen it, because I had seen it thousands of times, although not in real life. And then while I was working in Delhi I had an opportunity to take my wife there on our thirtieth wedding anniversary.

I remember first seeing the Taj Mahal, and being electrified at how beautiful it was. It was just like all the pictures I’d seen of it, but being there in person was something else.

That’s how I felt today at Uluru.

I’ve never had any real desire to go to Uluru. Like with the Taj Mahal, I’ve seen so many images of it, the thought of actually going into Central Australia to see it for real was kind of boring. There are other better ways for me to spend my time. And really, if it wasn’t for this Consciousness Retreat tomorrow, I would never have come all the way out here.

But today, when I drove around the bend and there it was in front of me, I was stunned at just how magnificent it was. No pictures can ever fully give you that experience – a profoundly spiritual experience – of seeing Uluru at sunset.

In its own way, it is a cathedral. An important energetic nodal point. There are stories within that rock that go back millennia. It is truly a sacred place.

Here are some shots I dashed off. I tried really hard not to take any tourist shots – the kind of shots we’ve seen a thousand times – but hey, I got suckered in. It’s really hard not to take tourist shots of this magnificent beast of a rock…

Tomorrow, work schedule allowing, Jennifer and I will do a 11km walk around the base of the rock. I’ll take my camera, and try really hard not to take any tourist shots!

Kryon is someone you’ll be hearing about a lot over these next several days.

Kryon is an entity, channelled by a bloke from the US named Lee Carroll, who is staging this week long Consciousness Retreat at Uluru which Jennifer and I are attending tomorrow.

Jennifer has been following Kryon for years.

She never talks about this stuff.

It’s taken me a while to wrap my head around some of the things he discusses – but if you approach this on the basis that no-one really knows anything, that nothing ultimately is provable or can be quantified, then the corollary of that is that everything is possible.

And so why not consider viewpoints that challenge your accepted notions?

I’m up for it.
Have been for a while, I guess…

Kryon calls Lee Carroll his “partner.” I’lll give you more of an introduction to Kryon and his partner over the next coming days – but if you have the time and inclination, check out his website, which contains audios of his various seminars.

http://www.kryon.com

Here is a link to an mp3 that relates directly to Uluru, and the spirit stories that are held there.

http://www.kryon.com/cartprodimages/download_Auckland_1_10.html

And here is a piece from his Q&A page on his website:

QUESTION: Dear Kryon: I have read all the Kryon books and have been studying spirituality for years. Recently I came across “A Course in Miracles” while at the same time reading the book “The Disappearance of the Universe.” Now I am in a quandary. It seems to me there are a lot of similarities to your material; but also there is much that is not in alignment with the Kryon material.

“A Course in Miracles” (ACIM) says the ego is responsible for our problems, this world is an illusion and therefore all in it is illusion. ACIM states that God did not create this universe but we did through our minds/ego by way of separation from God. The ego keeps the perpetuation of this universe going. My question is should I follow this and start a study of ACIM? Is this “when the student is ready a teacher will appear”? Or is this something to distract me on my path to enlightenment?

ANSWER: Why are you surprised that other sources sound like Kryon? I represent Source and therefore these things should be everywhere.

We have given you much to ponder and consider in our writings. When you encounter differences, we encourage you to study anything that appeals to you, then use your own discernment to decide what to do with it.

But at the same time we try to give you guidance within your discernment that you might not have thought of. When you are faced with other materials that are very different, make your decisions based on these things:

1. Does it magnify the Human Being or tear him down? Human weakness is all part of the test. So the question is: does the study show how the Human can get above the details and create a divine goal? If not, then what’s the purpose?

2. Beware of any study or process that wishes to limit your power, or the potential power of Humanity to create peace on Earth. If the study keeps you suppressed or teaches you that only “others who are stronger than you can do it,” then run the other way.

3. Does the study exemplify the emotional self and speak of the power of love? Beware of anything that is so intellectual that the emotional self is seen as a weakness, for this is not so. Just remember: God is LOVE. And JOY is a product of that love. Therefore, you are an emotional creature as well as an intellectual one; and the balance of the two is the key to an enlightened self.

4. Does the study require you to give away anything that makes you nervous? Remember: God will never ask you to go out of your own integrity.

Dear ones, there are many roads that lead to an enlightened Human. If, along the way, you differ in the details (what happened when, or how; or who did what, or when…) this doesn’t matter to God. What matters is that you eventually discover the magnificence of the Human potential and move into balance, live a longer life, and create light for this Earth of yours. The goal is a higher vibrating Earth, and a Humanity that does not have to suffer to be there. The goal is to achieve mastery so that your life clearly shows the love of Spirit in everything you do.

We packed out of our quarters at Utopia early, and hit the track back to civilisation.

There was 160kms of dirt road before we hit tar. And then another 100kms or so back to The Alice, as it’s called out here.

I did the trip in good time, because in the Northern Territory there’s no speed limit. You can go as fast as is safe. It’s one of the few places in the world now where there’s no speed limit.

(The autobahns in Germany now have speed limits…)

I found myself winding the Toyota 4WD rental up to 195km/hr.

It freaked me out a bit, going that fast – but the road was straight, there was no traffic, the 4WD was almost brand new, and there was no risk of roos.

Back in Alice Springs we had lunch, checked back into our very ordinary but comfortable motel (laundry, kitchen, friendly service, cheap) and then we waited until it got cool before we headed out for a 10km walk.

Alice Springs is full of tourists – most from overseas. Many are either on the way to, or have come back from, Uluru.

The town is also full of art galleries selling the most amazing aboriginal art. Quite a lot from the communities on Utopia. And the artworks sell for surprisingly solid prices.

I hope the people out there get a fair cut for their unique work.

The walk took us along the Todd River, which floods frequently (you wouldn’t think so out here, but the floods can be savage) – and then we wound our way up to Anzac Hill, which has a view out over the town.

I took photos of white trunked gum trees as we walked back, and the light started to drop.

 Tomorrow it’s a 450km drive to Uluru – a sacred and spiritual place – a place I’ve always wanted to see.

We stayed indoors until 4pm today. Listened to the cricket (the Kiwis crushing poor West Indies in the World Cup quarter finals) and did some admin work.

It was too hot to go outside, and the quarters we’re staying in has serviceable air-con.

Also, we now always travel with an Aldi espresso coffee maker, so that wherever we go we can get a decent cup of coffee. Four double espressos and I was flying this morning.

At 4pm, once the temp had dropped down to below 40C, we ventured outside to begin work. The light was better too. From 7am on, the light here is too harsh.

We filmed some more with Cowboy and his family. He is the elder statesman here. And I took some stills – close-ups – of his extended family.

Notice how the young men have a tooth missing. This isn’t from fighting – this is part of their initiation ritual. They get a front tooth knocked out.

In interview Cowboy spoke in language about “dreaming,” and about his spirit world. It was fascinating…

I noticed that he sat like a Sadhu – in the half lotus position. And this man is 74 years old.

Later as the sun was setting I got a visually stunning sequence of Cowboy just walking through the grasslands, surrounded by his dogs. Beautiful stuff.

We leave here tomorrow morning having had an extraordinary time. I have spent a lot of time on aboriginal communities, all around Australia. And in particular in remote parts of Arnhem Land. It is special there, and it is special here.

There is a very gentle benign energy here which is quite transfixing – exemplified in the dignity of the faces here…

After nearly 4000kms of driving, the last 160kms on dirt, we got here.

To Utopia.

And it is Utopia.

There is a serenity here – a quietness – which stills the heart and mind.

It looks anything but Utopian. But the people here are content.

It may not be what you might regard as Utopian, but it is for these people.

Yes they have their problems – we all do, elsewhere – but there is virtually no crime here, it’s a “dry” community, and there is respect for country, and culture.

It’s also very famous for its aboriginal art. Some artists’ work here sells for millions of dollars, and is collected by galleries around the world.

Today we met Cowboy. Cowboy is 74 years old, but he looks much younger. That’s because his diet has been largely goanna (big lizard), kangaroo and bush turkey.

He’s an elder here, and a holder of ancient wisdom. He’s also a much sought-after artist.

We filmed with him late this afternoon while he was doing a painting. The painting will sell in Sydney or Melbourne for $25,000 or more.

His works out of the back of an old meat truck just outside of Utopia.

His family lives in humpies nearby.

While he painted, I did an interview with him for the intuition film. On the interior wall of the truck he had a graffiti-ed – ANGELS. 

Tomorrow we’re shooting with him some more. He’s what’s called a “wise man.”

Tonight Jennifer and I are staying in very basic quarters – kind of like shearers’ quarters. More basic than anything you’d get on the Camino. But it’s perfectly fine.

It’s a privilege to be invited into this community, and to spend time with gentlemen like Cowboy.