Tomorrow’s the day!

Since Thursday Graeme, Brendon and Matt have been travelling across the Simpson via the French Line. Conversations have been brief and factual and stilted due to delays given they are using the satellite phone so there really isn’t anything to report other than the cart has been reassembled and he starts walking tomorrow. 

We all wish him well!

Leaving Birdsville

Today’s the day that Graeme, Brendon and Matt left Birdsville to cross the Simpson. First camp tonight was at Eyre Creek. No idea how many kilometres that was but it is slow going out there with rocky flats and sandy dunes to cross – average top speed and to be comfortable was around 30-50 km/hr other times we’ve been so I assume they’d be about the same.  

Yesterday/today was spent in Birdsville packing, a last trip to the bakery for a pie and of course the pub.

All a little bit exciting but also scary and daunting. Sounds like a healthy balance though given what he’s about to embark on. He’s a little snuffly with blocked nose but it’s also been quite windy so he’s thinking it might be more hayfever than anything.

Stories and photos will slow right down from now until Brendon and Matt get back into range and I’m hoping they’ll have some to share. Graeme will only have the satellite phone to call/text from so it’ll only be the basics. He’s hoping to actually start the walk back around Sunday/Monday but it’ll just depend on how they go getting across. 

The cart has arrived!

Today was the day Brendon and Matt arrived in Birdsville after 2 ½ days of driving. A long way on your own in the car.  Aside from themselves, their most important cargo was the cart and most (all?) of the gear needed for the walk. I think they are all a tad excited now!

While waiting Graeme did some more walking this morning (sand, birds and water…..) and went to the hospital clinic. Nothing serious – he bit his lip the other day and it keeps bugging him. Seeing as this is the only medical place in town it was off to the hospital when it was clinic day. He was given some kind of numbing cream so it’ll take his attention off it so it’ll heal. Also spent about an hour chatting to the nurses/staff about what he’s about to do.

The boys got there mid-afternoon so before the visit to the pub for dinner they got all the gear out for the trip to repack so it’s all ready to go for the morning.  The next few days will be crossing the desert with the aim to start walking back around Sunday.

Nice sunset over Margaret and David’s set up!

Adria Downs and Big Red

Today Graeme and his parents drove out to Adria Downs to see one of the camps on their land and have a chat in general.  They ended up passing the owner on the way there so they had their chat on the road so to speak and then continued on a tour via the Eyre Creek bypass track, Big Red and back to Birdsville.  On the way they’ve seen quite a few people taking the short cut across the desert to participate in the Finke Desert Race in a week’s time.

This was the first time David and Margaret have been out to Big Red so they were all impressed and had a great day though. No photos were taken though!!

The funny story from Graeme today involves underwear. It goes without saying that he has only taken a few pairs and given this was a Monday he decided it was undie changing day. Find the clean pair, the towel and off to the shower. Getting dressed, both legs in and attempts to pull them up. Nup. They aren’t going to go over the knees. What’s going on? Tries again and then takes them off to look. They’re not his, they’re Nathan’s the 10 year olds undies.  The kids have been laughing about this for the last 2 hours.   

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

Sunday

Just a short stroll for Graeme today with a 25km walk around Birdsville. Headed past the racecourse, south along the Diamantina, turned ‘left’ (his words), up towards Boulia and then back to Birdsville via the historic cemetery. 

Racecourse....

Somewhere along the way he has also passed the cairn with the signs about Madigan’s crossing.

His parents arrived today which he is happy about. Unfortunately the back windscreen smashed on the way in – just a rock thrown up but still annoying I’m sure. Home cooked meal for him tonight.

Bren and Matt also left Berowra mid-afternoon so they’ll be there in a few days time. More on their departure/packing in another blog.

Bird day

A quiet day for Graeme walking around Birdsville talking to some of the local businesses, visiting another of the Burke and Wills blazed trees, seeing lots of birdlife and lots of the Diamantina River.

We’ve quite often heard budgies when travelling but never seen big flocks up close.  Here’s a few of the bird shots from today. He also sent an audio file on the phones but it won't upload so I can't share it - you'll just have to imagine it.

The Burke and Wills Tree is located approximately three kilometers from Birdsville and is said to mark one of their final campsites before they reached the Innamincka area, where the famous Dig Tree stands.

With all the rain, the Diamantina River is actually looking like a river. This river starts near Longreach and joins up with the Warburton River before emptying into Lake Eyre.  Of course, more often than not these rivers do not run or run for long. 

He’s all set up in the campground at Birdsville, loving that he can have a fire and looking forward to seeing his parents tomorrow. 

This last shot wasn’t explained by Graeme but it’s obviously a home job and given Graeme is always talking about upgrading from the 4WD/Jayco pop top van combination to a truck set up, perhaps this is a hint.