CHANGES!
Since we last spoke there have been
some major changes to our expedition.
Unfortunately due to the problems with
the camels and a few more unseen expenses
we have had to make the difficult decision
to change our route. We are now not
going to be able to walk from Adelaide
to Darwin, a five and a half month expedition,
and instead are now walking across three
of the interior Deserts, meaning ten
weeks in the heart of Australia.
We have made this decision in order
that we maintain the spirit of the original
expedition and that we may still do
justice to the memory of Captain Charles
Sturt. Charles Sturt was a man who journeyed
out into the interior of Australia,
starting where others had finished.
We will be starting our expedition in
Tiboburra walking to Depot Glen, were
Charles Sturtís expedition party
were held up for six months waiting
for the rains. From there we are now
following his route north to where he
finished then continuing to the other
side of the Simpson Desert. The expedition
will cross the Strzelecki, the Sturt
Stoney and the Simpson Deserts. We will
be unsupported, apart from a network
of people ready to lend a hand if we
call them on the HF radio and we will
be discovering this land for ourselves
achieving our original aims of two years
ago.
Due to the new expedition we have decided
to push our start date back to the 15th
of May giving ourselves time to readjust,
try and secure the documentary and prepare
properly for what will surely be a challenging
journey.
The camels have proved to be fairly
well behaved and we are feeling quietly
confident that they will all be up to
scratch for the beginning of the walk.
Not that we havenít had any teething
problems though. On the contrary both
Ben and I have been kicked, spat at
and one morning before breakfast had
to walk/jog for three hours to find
them and bring them back to camp, on
the way having several minor skirmishes
usually involving being thrown into
a bush. But as I said all seems to be
shaping up quite nicely now. Siabod,
the bullock, who is very steady no matter
what is happening with the other two,
will be our lead camel. Munroe who is
slightly skittish will carry most of
the water and be tied behind Siabod.
Then last but certainly not least is
Chewie who will be loaded with most
of the weight until she quietens down
a bit. We will need to keep an eye on
Chewie as it was she who led the breakaway
before breakfast the other day.
So summing up there have been some very
hard times recently and at times we
have both felt lower than I think either
of us has ever felt before. But we now
have a central Desert expedition to
prepare for and this is going to prove
as exciting and challenging as the original.
Our camels are almost ready, we have
enough money for supplies and our new
support network will be ready by the
end of the week. We only have one minor
problem now and that is the lack of
a Video camera to record our journey
but we still have some time and weíve
come this far..
We will be in touch. Bye now. |
