Bluedome

Ben and Steve have asked us to push out a report to you this time, as I am happy to say - for their sakes, that they are temporarily incommunicado. They finally started their walk from Tippoburra a couple of days ago. They had some last minute hitches: the Sat. phone still not working - now partially fixed and working well enough for us to call him (at £2.50 per min.!); his lap-top crashed -now working again. Worst of all they discovered when loading up their camels that the saddles had been poorly made and the girths snapped, so they cobbled some bits and pieces and some ropes together and made temporary ones until they think of something better.

We spoke to Ben this morning, and he and Steve are really pleased to be under way at last. They were 40 kms out of Tippoburra and 4 days walk to Cameron's Corner. They start walking at 8.30 ish in the morning, stop for lunch and then walk until 3.30 when they stop for the day, this is to give the camels time to feed before nightfall. The temperature at the moment is comfortable, about 25 degrees but with quite a strong headwind. (Pretty burning I should imagine, hope they've got plenty of that white stuff cricketers put on their noses).

While they were waiting for a few last minute hiccups to be straightened out at Tippoburra, they stayed with a couple who run a shop there - something like The Village Stores, I imagine, a very kind couple who lent them a room and shower room behind the shop. The chap who ran the shop did something very clever and Outbackish with some beef, he dried it and salted it or something, so when they 'stop for lunch' which sounds so civilized doesn't it, they are actually getting out their knives and cutting a wadge of this piece of cow and getting stuck in to that. (Pimms, barbecued trout, garlic bread and some nice chilled white wine for me any day!)

They have with them in his pink Land Rover, Sam Rutherford, who you may have seen in the press, drove overland to Sydney from London. Sam has someone with him who is acting as cameraman. They will be the support team for Ben and Steve, and will check up on them and take some pictures every now and again. (Please don't take this as correct, we have had so many different versions of every aspect of this trip every time we speak!!)

They should be at Innamincka in two weeks, when they should be able to fire off another mates report to you straight from the camels mouth as it were.