Introduction to Outback Travel: The Wave

One of the first courtesies to be introduced to when driving north of Port Augusta is ‘the wave’. In recognition of the shared challenge which is being undertaken, drivers (and sometimes passengers) acknowledge one another with a wave as they pass. Complete strangers, who will never see one another again – or recognise them even if they did (“Hey, didn’t I pass you doing 110 km/h on the Stuart Highway 100 km south of Marla on July 6 2006??? Yeh? Maaaaaate!”) acknowledge one another as co-travellers on a shared pilgrimage. As simple as all this sounds, it is actually a complex skill to add to one’s driving repertoire. Among other things, timing can be a real issue. But first let me introduce you to some of the characters who reveal themselves in their wave:
The Politician – a single finger raised from the steering wheel as if to emphasise a point in a speech;
The Goal Umpire – raises both fingers as if to signal a goal (Aussie rules style).
Foo – you barely see three (sometimes four) fingers appearing above the dashboard.
Sleepy – who remembers to wave just as the cars meet. You only manage to see an upward movement from the steering wheel (which could have been a movement to pick one’s nose, but more likely the driver has been daydreaming and forgotten their travelling responsibilities.
Royalty – the sort of ill-defined wave that could mean there is a fly loose inside the vehicle.
The Faker – who moves as though beginning a wave, but only shifts the hands on the steering wheel for driving comfort.
The Clampetts – a special bunch here, as it involves everyone in the vehicle waving like you are some long-lost relative. Of course it could mean that they are about to run out of petrol and are trying to gain your attention so that they don’t need to walk 100km to the next stop to get a jerry can, but... hey, we’re on a holiday here! Some Clampetts have been so exuberant that you can see handprints on the inside of the windscreen.
The Throwback – this driver clearly knew the Stuart Highway before it was sealed, and places a finger against the windscreen to prevent it shattering should our vehicle kick up a rock in its path.

And then there are those who simply do not wave:
The Road Train drivers. But when you are over 50 metres in length, have 15 or more axles and even 7-foot roos bounce off your front without interrupting the air flow past the cabin, who needs to acknowledge that there are others on the road?
The Tourist, who is too distracted by something interesting on the side of the road to acknowledge a passing pilgrim. Of course, whenever we were looking at the sights, there were no others passing.
The Statue, who has been frozen in one place for the last 20 km of straight road and is barely capable of any movement and is at risk at the next curve in the road some 5 km further down the track.
The Too-Late, who has just woken up that another vehicle has just passed, and waved to the thin air in its wake.
And then there is the one who is so sick of having no response from the last three drivers that they are in a snit and not participating in this stupid ritual any more.
A WORD OF WARNING. Do not attempt the wave in the middle of Alice Springs. One needs to be at least 50 km in either direction before attempting this arcane yet deeply moving practice of community. This practice also ceases a similar distance south of Darwin. (If you try it north of Darwin, you are in a boat!)