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From Alice to Ocean: Alone Across the Outback
Robyn Davidson is a modern-day heir to the adventuring heroines Amelia Earhart, Karen Blixen and Beryl Markham. Her 1,700-mile solo journey across the Australian outback was a cover story in National Geographic, and her account of her trek has become a worldwide bestseller. Now the photographer who originally took the pictures for the NG story combines Davidson's text with his award winning photos, most never before published.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1992
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370 people want to read
About the author
Robyn Davidson
32 books299 followersRobyn Davidson was born on a cattle property in Queensland, Australia. She went to Sydney in the late sixties, then spent time studying in Brisbane before moving to Alice Springs, where the events of this book begin. Since then, she has traveled extensively, living in London, New York, and India. In the early 1990s, she migrated with and wrote about nomads in northwestern India. She is now based in Melbourne, but spends several months a year in the Indian Himalayas.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 4, 2011
In From Alice to Ocean, a very large coffee table book, beautiful photographs provided by National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan are situated alongside excerpts from Robyn Davidson's travel memoir, Tracks. At first I did not intend to read this book in its entirety. I planned to only flip through it and look at the pretty pictures as a way to start thinking about Australia, which I will be visiting in the fall. As I read the captions, however, I began to be fascinated by this amazing journey this woman took across the outback and ended up reading it quickly in its entirety.
Robyn Davidson's journey began in Alice Springs and lead her across the Australian desert all the way to the ocean. She made the journey with her four camels and her dog. It was a journey she felt she needed to take, for reasons that were deep rooted and not even fully known to herself. In one of her opening paragraphs, she wrote:
"There are some moments in life that are like pivots around which your existence turns -- small intuitive flashes, when you know you have done something correct for a change, when you think you are on the right track. I watched a pale dawn streak the cliffs with Day-glo and realized this was one of them. It was a moment of pure, uncomplicated confidence -- and lasted about ten seconds."
Davidson faced innumerable challenges in simply preparing for this trip, one of which being what she called "the cult of maschismo" that exists in Australia. Because no white men had ever been able to make the journey she was about to undertake, no one believed that a woman would be able to do it. So she met incredible resistance in trying to just get the training to work with camels and to earn the money to fund her journey.
The challenge of money was eventually solved when she received funding from National Geographic. It was a decision she immediately regretted. While she would not be able to make the journey without this funding, Davidson felt like a sell out. Now a photographer would be joining her at points of her trip, therefore eliminating the solitude she had hoped for (having a photographer around at times also created problems with the Aborigines, whom she also hoped to connect with).
Davidson, like the Aborigines, makes a strong distinction between tourists and travelers. Tourists being the kind of people who suck up the scenery, are glued to their cameras, and are often rude. Tourists don't care for the people or the cultures they are disrupting. While a traveler is respectful. This notion can be a little confronting to some readers, I'm sure. It just made me sad and made me think about how I travel and behave when I'm outside of the U.S.
Tied into this is the discussion of how the Aboriginal culture has been abused, made quaint by news and photographers, while many of those same news outlets did not care what was actually happening to these people -- how their culture was slipping away and how they keep getting relegated to worse and worse lands.
Whether or not you agree with her political views, at least Davidson makes you think on multiple levels and I would love to have some discussions with someone who has read this book.
I felt deeply for Davidson on her journey. Her writing allows you to connect with her and her experience, bringing you right down into the dust of the desert with her. I came to love the contradictory nature of her emotional experience and how she could swing from perfect bliss of the moment to wanting to throttle some tourist. She's funny and real and doesn't (seem to) pretend to be anything other than herself.
The only major flaw of From Alice to Ocean, as far as I'm concerned, was that is was merely the abstracts from Tracks, necessitating the need to go read the full story and get more details of the journey. However, I would argue that From Alice to Ocean is an excellent companion to the story. One of the interesting things about it was the way the photographs told a completely different story from the text. At times Davidson railed against the the photographer in her writing, hating having him there, although keeping quiet because he's a nice guys. Also, the pictures are often a lie, painting a beautiful, though highly romantic notion of the journey that was contrary to her actual experience. (Yet another layer to the possible discussions one could have about this book.)
This emotionally and intellectually complex, but ultimately fulfilling, journey is well worth a read.
Robyn Davidson's journey began in Alice Springs and lead her across the Australian desert all the way to the ocean. She made the journey with her four camels and her dog. It was a journey she felt she needed to take, for reasons that were deep rooted and not even fully known to herself. In one of her opening paragraphs, she wrote:
"There are some moments in life that are like pivots around which your existence turns -- small intuitive flashes, when you know you have done something correct for a change, when you think you are on the right track. I watched a pale dawn streak the cliffs with Day-glo and realized this was one of them. It was a moment of pure, uncomplicated confidence -- and lasted about ten seconds."
Davidson faced innumerable challenges in simply preparing for this trip, one of which being what she called "the cult of maschismo" that exists in Australia. Because no white men had ever been able to make the journey she was about to undertake, no one believed that a woman would be able to do it. So she met incredible resistance in trying to just get the training to work with camels and to earn the money to fund her journey.
The challenge of money was eventually solved when she received funding from National Geographic. It was a decision she immediately regretted. While she would not be able to make the journey without this funding, Davidson felt like a sell out. Now a photographer would be joining her at points of her trip, therefore eliminating the solitude she had hoped for (having a photographer around at times also created problems with the Aborigines, whom she also hoped to connect with).
Davidson, like the Aborigines, makes a strong distinction between tourists and travelers. Tourists being the kind of people who suck up the scenery, are glued to their cameras, and are often rude. Tourists don't care for the people or the cultures they are disrupting. While a traveler is respectful. This notion can be a little confronting to some readers, I'm sure. It just made me sad and made me think about how I travel and behave when I'm outside of the U.S.
Tied into this is the discussion of how the Aboriginal culture has been abused, made quaint by news and photographers, while many of those same news outlets did not care what was actually happening to these people -- how their culture was slipping away and how they keep getting relegated to worse and worse lands.
Whether or not you agree with her political views, at least Davidson makes you think on multiple levels and I would love to have some discussions with someone who has read this book.
I felt deeply for Davidson on her journey. Her writing allows you to connect with her and her experience, bringing you right down into the dust of the desert with her. I came to love the contradictory nature of her emotional experience and how she could swing from perfect bliss of the moment to wanting to throttle some tourist. She's funny and real and doesn't (seem to) pretend to be anything other than herself.
The only major flaw of From Alice to Ocean, as far as I'm concerned, was that is was merely the abstracts from Tracks, necessitating the need to go read the full story and get more details of the journey. However, I would argue that From Alice to Ocean is an excellent companion to the story. One of the interesting things about it was the way the photographs told a completely different story from the text. At times Davidson railed against the the photographer in her writing, hating having him there, although keeping quiet because he's a nice guys. Also, the pictures are often a lie, painting a beautiful, though highly romantic notion of the journey that was contrary to her actual experience. (Yet another layer to the possible discussions one could have about this book.)
This emotionally and intellectually complex, but ultimately fulfilling, journey is well worth a read.
April 1, 2021
Although large in size, and filled with breathtaking photographs, this book includes much more than the regular "picture book". Robyn's thoughtful words make you feel as if you are traveling right along with her and her famous camels. The story is engaging and heart-wrenching; and the reader runs through the same emotions that Robyn feels at each leg of the journey, from the tragedy of loss to the jubilation of completion.
Beautiful and introspective - and very highly recommended.
Beautiful and introspective - and very highly recommended.
March 29, 2025
Wonderful book and photos. I bought this after watching the movie Tracks (2013) which I would recommend.
June 11, 2007
I was listening to episode #111 of TAL: Adventures in the Simple Life, the story of three people who set out to travel across the US on horseback, when I suddenly flashed back to a book I read while in grade school about a woman who journeyed across Western Australia on camel. A couple of google searches later, and I found this book! When I checked this out of the library as a kid, I remember being fascinated by this woman's exotic journey and the starkness of the Australian outback. Apparently the prose in this book, which is mostly meant to showcase the gorgeous photographs taken by the National Geographic photographer who met up with Davidson at pre-arranged points, is excerpted from the book she wrote about the journey: Tracks, which I will look forward to reading someday.
July 5, 2015
This book is actually a coffee table book. I had seen the movie "Tracks" this past year and wished I could have seen the photo's of Robyn Davidson's journey that had been published in National Geographic at the time. I discovered my sister had this book on one visit to her home. She graciously let me borrow it. Along with the photo's there are several excerpts for Robyn's book, "Tracks" that gives a good synopsis of the journey. Loved this!
April 7, 2014
I gave it five stars. It's a gorgeous large format book. The photos are marvelous. The text/story is fascinating. The graphic design and overall presentation is almost perfect. (Excuse me while I grind my teeth grrrrr... why don't graphic designers ever get any credit!!)
Yeah, I think this book is sort of amazing, and my copy is not for sale.
Yeah, I think this book is sort of amazing, and my copy is not for sale.
March 25, 2010
A beautiful travel journal of one young woman's walk across the continent of Australia. At times I felt I was drying out in the desert with her and some of the hardships she endures are heart wrenching.
March 21, 2011
This is a coffee table book. The photos are by the guy that did A Day in the Life and the text is excerpts from Robyn davidson's book Tracks. She travels with 3 camels and a dog from Alice Springs west to the ocean. The pictures are amazing and the story is cool.
June 15, 2011
The photography was really good. The author was rather eccentric which at times bordered on being crazy. But then maybe I would be a little crazy crossing the interior of Australia alone with 4 camels.
October 9, 2008
Such an amazing story with GREAT pictures!
October 15, 2009
A national geographic coffee table book companion to the book "Tracks" by the same author.
March 18, 2010
WOW great book of empowerment
April 15, 2010
Okay this one is goes along with Tracks and cannot be seen until you read that first...then take a peek...great pics of the camels and the do and a few of Australia
November 3, 2013
Loved this book. The photos are incredible and I think I will read Tracks as well which is a more comprehensive look at her trip.
January 5, 2014
I confess, I did not actually "read" this book having just finished "Tracks" the book from which this text is excerpted. However, the pictures are stunning and add a great deal to the tale.
Read
August 27, 2014I didn't read this, as I've already read the book, but I did enjoy flipping through the book looking at the pictures, especially after reading Robyn's comments regarding Rick's pics.
May 23, 2015
Beautiful photos, but I would have liked more of them.
November 15, 2015
Not only is the journey unforgettable with brilliant photography, but the author is beautifully and brutally honest. Absolutely stunning.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews