Walking for Talking 2

The Support Crew are on Their Way

Hi everyone, Kim here. I’m hijacking the blog for a bit to bring you some insider shenanigans and happenings. Actually, it’s not all that exciting, but Katrina and I figured you may want to know what’s been going on behind the scenes.

So, Bren and I got back from Italy a little over a week ago after 36 hours in transit. Yep, there’s not much more to say about that, but with only eight days at home before Bren left again, we were both thinking that maybe we were a little bit crazy. The jet lag slammed both of us, so not much got done in the few days after, what with sleeping and having to go back to work.

Reality: check!

One thing that did get done was the Cruiser went in for a bit of a spruce up, with new sidesteps, brush bars, snorkel, and roof rack being fitted. It had gotten new tyres before we went to Italy, so I think it’s safe to say the car is set for desert and outback conditions.

Friday came and well, we hadn’t managed to do much (we were still dealing with that reality check). We had issues with one of the poles for Bren’s swag and we’d been trying to rectify that, but all I’ll say is Toll IPEC are … (insert lots of nasty swear words here). Bren and Matt went to do some food shopping—I’m glad I didn’t give them my credit card—and they packed it straight into the fridge and food box when they got back. It was a start.

Saturday dawned and with it came the rain. It’s at this point we were thinking maybe we should have sacrificed some sleep and actually done stuff the weekend before, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. We also had to factor in a movie and sleepover party for our newly-ten-year-old, Emily. Before we left to see the latest Alice movie—much to Bren’s horror—we managed to pack about a quarter of what needed to go in the car. It’s funny how no matter if it’s one person or four, you still have to pack the same amount of stuff. All the spares, tools, recovery and safety gear etc. It takes up so much room, but there’s no option of leaving any of it behind. The rain made sure we couldn’t get much done, because every time we opened the garage door, it would blow in and soak everything within a two metre span.







After a very restless night with three giggling girls awake from 1.30am until about 3am, we woke to even more rain and stronger winds. It was also Emily’s birthday, but she took it like a trooper, knowing that she had to pitch in and help along with everyone else. I think the pancake breakfast with her friends softened the blow.

The plan had been for Bren and Matt to leave by 3pm and get at least as far as Dubbo. There were quite a few times when we didn’t think this was going to happen. In the end, Bren donned his rain jacked and tackled the problem head on. The kids and I helped where we could, doing things like filling the water bottles, and making sure all the bits on the cart that shouldn’t get wet didn’t get wet.

Matt turned up around lunch time and we got stuck into figuring out how to get Graeme’s monstrous cart onto the roof of the Cruiser. We had to disconnect the brakes and other bits and pieces to get the wheels off, so I hope it all goes back together again at the other end, and it’s not a case of, “Oh, what’s this screw for?”

Bren got to the point where I think he was sick of me taking photos. Either that or he was over feeling and looking like a drowned rat.

Miraculously, everything was in both cars by 2.30pm, and there was time for a quick play with the kids and a coffee before hitting the (very wet) road.





Throughout all of this I have mostly stayed out of it, helping only when I’ve been asked. I figured Bren and Matt knew what they were doing and had it all sorted. They are big boys after all. I had to laugh though after I’d gone out in the pouring rain to get photos of them driving away, then two minutes later Bren was back. He’d forgotten his wallet. Yep, working with turkeys.

Finally, they were gone and the house was quiet again. About an hour later there was a knock on my front door. A lady from down the road stood on my doorstep smiling, with a parcel in her hand. It was the pole for Bren’s swag that had been missing since Friday. Mind you, I’d been to this woman’s house twice to see if it had been delivered there by mistake (it’s happened before) and no one was home. Grrrrrr. By this stage Bren and Matt were already at Singleton, so there was no option of turning around. When I spoke to him, Bren also rattled off a list of other things he’d forgotten, including his blanket, cereal, and the stickers for the car. Like I said, I’d stayed out of it. We would have had no hope of actually putting the stickers on the car in the rain anyway, but apparently it’s not raining at Birdsville. Oh well. This is what happens when you leave it up to the boys.

I spoke to Bren this morning and they were at Nyngan after spending the night in a free camp. Bren was trying to steal the helicopter. No doubt there will be many more photos of this calibre coming my way over the next three weeks.

Kim