In a Trance

Yup, the next few days passed in a state of trance. We got closer and the makings of something good was most certainly there. We sat next to each other at five in the morning hoping to get a glimpse of the elusive duck-billed platypus, we cooed over a koala mum and her incredibly cute off-spring as she shambled ( they move like a crawling baby with a 'heavy' nappy) right by us and went up a tree. So close in fact that my shot was out of focus and I was never forgiven for that. We shared our first kisses in a secluded bay while the others played a game of cricket. Our first passionate kisses were at the originally-named 'Remarkable Rocks' - which always seem to feature prominently on postage stamps and tourist posters. A truly memorable site for a truly memorable event. That sealed us, the long trip back to Adelaide was completed in a state of bliss and arriving late we looked for somewhere a little more comfortable than a hostel to spend our first night alone together.

The hotel was on a busy street and probably had no rating stars at all, but we were both on backpackers' budgets and were comfortable with it. The verandah ran the length of the building and the bathrooms were at the end of the corridor. It was clean and it was enough for us to lie in a comfortable bed together. Passion blossomed, but I held back a bit as I did not want to spoil things by being fumbling and clumsy. Claudia did not care, but recognised my insecurity. Am I the only guy who has noticed that once a girl is 'hot', there is little that will stop her? Anyway, I managed to avoid anything that would have made it feel like a fumbling one-night-stand -something in me that, I suppose, puts me apart from many blokes just keen on getting their end's away. But something that I always hoped would make things more meaningful.

The next day we looked for another place that was a bit further from the main road and had fewer 'dodgy' types in the lobby. We found a lovely place south of the markets. There we stayed for the next few days before Claudia had to move on. Her trip was only a month long and she still had flights to Cairns and a trip to Alice Springs that were booked and paid for. Our limited time together meant that we feasted on each others company the whole time. Again, Claudia was prepared to throw caution to the wind, complaining after a couple of days that the condoms were making her itch and she did not like them anyway. I was reluctant not to use them, preferring to cut back on the sex or just do other things. We played lovers games and cared about nothing but each other. I remember waking next to Claudia with the rays of morning sun shining through the big sliding door and warming the bed. I lay there quite beside myself with happiness. One of those moments of such extreme happiness and contentedness, spiced with love that make you think that life could never feel so good again.

All too soon, Claudia was gone. She was on the bus up to Alice Springs, going to stay at the place I recommended her and from there she was going to fly to Cairns and then back to Germany. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers, we clung to one another and promised to call and write. Then she was gone and I was miserable but elated that I had found such a wonderful person and shared time with them. I had another few days to spend in Adelaide and then I was going to head back to Kalgoorlie and the mine.