Matthew Barley/Cellist

Music is the language that permits me to converse with the beyond.

Robert Schumann

Australian Road Trip

Just arrived in Melbourne after a 3,000 km drive through Australia on my own in a camper van! What an amazing country this is – I could have driven around the coast from Brisbane to Melbourne, by all accounts very beautiful, but I have seen a lot of good beaches in my life, but never the Australian outback so I decided to head inland. Once I had passed the Great Dividing Range, it was the big empty outback, and quite incredible. I have never been anywhere so empty, but so full at the same time – the land has such a strong energy there that it’s like having company the whole time. The view of the stars at night with zero light polution, and the silence that accompanies it is unforgettable. Through a friend of a friend, I ended up piggy-backing on an archeological trip to Mungo National Park accompanied by the local Aboriginal tribal elders – we saw the sacred site where the 40,000 year old remains of Mungo Man and Woman had been discovered, which was really moving. I slept that night in a swag (a kind of sleeping bag in a bigger bag, under the stars, magic), and then made my way down to Melbourne the following day. Great adventure, I really love this country!

Now at the Australian National Academy of Music for a couple of weeks, performing, teaching, coaching, jamming etc.

3 Comments

  • Emily B says:

    I just heard you on the ABC breakfast show and I think I’d like to take my dad to your show tonight. Hope there are tickets left.. but more importantly, if you have any extra time in victoria for road tripping I can tell you about some secret places that in my view, compare with mungo.

  • martin holt says:

    Interested to hear you did Melbourne to Brisbane inland rather than via the coast – planning a similar trip myself via poss Wagga Wagga and Tamworth – what was your route? Be great to hear what you did – cheers! Martin.

  • I went through pretty near Tamworth I remember as I had a tire blow out, and the spare came from Tamworth! It was very nice up there, but then I went kind of due west, and ended in Broken Hill, and then down to Melbourne from there. Have fun! Matthew

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