Tuesday 21 June 2016

Big Red

Graeme, Bren and Matt arrived back in Birdsville last night. They collected the cache of water & food along the way and drove up Big Red once more.  Looking at the cars, I'm thinking that the trip up Big Red was before they were stuck in mud - taking an hour and a half to dig the car out. Woops...... I bet there were some rude words said during all that!




Dinner at the pub, washed the mud off the car (hot water straight from the Great Artesian basin) and crashed into bed.

They left today in all 3 cars and will be home in the next few days.  I've passed on everyone's best wishes and support of which Graeme is appreciate and grateful. Emotions are still running high but he knows this was the right decision - every time he starts to think the knee might've been ok, it catches and reminds him it's not.

Saturday 18 June 2016

Day 6 and this is not the blog post we wanted to write

Unfortunately Graeme has had to stop.  The sore left knee from yesterday felt ok when he woke up but after only 4kms with the cart the pain was too bad to continue. He can walk 'ok' (I don't really know what that means) but to carry/tow any weight/load such as the cart is no longer sustainable. He had hurt one foot about 2-3 weeks before leaving and this has been fine - the knee is a new injury.

On top of that, they had another night of heavy rain and storms so everything is sodden. For Graeme, who is just in sleeping bag under a light weight tarp with (realistic) expectations of cold dry weather this is significant impact. I can't imagine what it's going to feel like getting into that tonight.

Bren and Matt were still close by, so Graeme has spent most of the day with them in the car coming as far east as they can. Tonight they are at Camp 12 but their ETA at Birdsville isn't known. This is mostly due to the extreme weather that is being experienced across Central Australia and I guess an amount of reluctance to leave.

He's absolutely crushed by the turn of events, upset and disappointed as no doubt you might be as well for his sake.  He knows everyone will be thinking of him and wishing him well.

I will blog again when we receive any more news and/or photos but I imagine this might be a few days away still.

 Thank you everyone for the support to date to Graeme and beyondblue





Friday 17 June 2016

Day 5 - rain, thunder and lightning

Very different day distance wise, only 6-7kms due to a sore left knee, more difficult terrain and general tiredness.

Overnight there was lots of rain, thunder and lightning. So much so, that he ended up sleeping on the ground in his sleeping bag under a tarp about 100m away from cart from 11pm-3am. He said it was so close a few times he thought for sure the cart had gone. Now that's a little scary!! Thankfully he had taken his day bag with him so at least he'd have been able to call to let us know.

No animals today - a little mouse yesterday.

Bren and Matt have caught up with him as well and they are all at Camp 6 with more rainy weather expected. When they drove across what Graeme had walked on Day 1, they had water up to the top of the tyres or at least that's what it sounded like he said on the phone tonight. Hard to imagine.

He also called Lizzy's class, 6B for a chat (and 6K listened too). They asked him lots of questions such as overnight and day time temps (8 and 18 respectively), has he seen Mad Max (I'd argue he's seen Grotty Graeme), have you seen any cactii, how long will it take you, what have you been having for dinner (honey soy chicken) etc.  At the end Lizzy's teacher let her leave the class to talk to him a bit longer - she said that was good but 'so embarrassing as everyone was looking out the window at her'.

Thursday 16 June 2016

Day 4 and a call to 4G

A bit over 19km today and much harder walking. The sand dunes have started and he said they are hard but there's worse to come.  A better night's sleep too and not so many mozzies - or putting the net up earlier worked.....

Graeme rang Nathan's class today and chatted to them all about his trip and I presume what he's been seeing.  Through that we learnt he's had a flat tyre each morning and he asked the kids to vote on whether he should continue to pump it up each morning or replace it. From memory, I think the majority voted to replace it.  Nathan was excited that the call happened but as he's not always a forthcoming child I didn't get a lot of information from him this afternoon. No doubt he'll tell me more tomorrow once he's digested it all himself.  Now Lizzie is on Graeme's case to call her class!

No animals or people or stories to tell (I've started humming the play school theme....). Apparently there might be a little rain tomorrow but he doesn't seem too worried about it. His back is good in the mornings but by the end of the day it's starting to hurt more on one side than the other so he's been adjusting the load balance on the cart and will try shifting some of the harness padding about tomorrow to see if that helps especially as these bigger dunes are coming.

Wednesday 15 June 2016

Day 3

I'm going to have to start thinking of more imaginative titles for these posts......

A mixed day for Graeme with some lows and then back to even keel. I guess it's the case of all the planning to achieve a goal and then when you reach it (in this case starting), the enormity of it hits you with a bang. On top of a poor nights sleep due to stacks of pesky mozzies, a bit of a sore back still and a not so nice dehydrated meal (the only one he didn't test try before leaving), it was just a lot. By this evening he was sounding much better and he's got the mozzie net set up before going to bed.

The upsides of the day were:

  • walking a touch over 23km today camping about 3km past Madigan's Camp #5
  • seeing a small snake, 12-15cm long with copper body/black head which was very curious about the tyres on the cart. He thinks for their shade.  (I/Katrina, do not want to know what sort it was!)  
  • saw 2 other people (in a car) 
  • Lizzie's scarf is now up on the flag too as it's too hot for it at the moment and
  • having a laugh at the pink feather boa from his cousins (think Priscilla Queen of the Desert).


From tomorrow he starts to reach the sand dunes so he expects it will get harder so he won't push the kilometre's too much if that's the case.




Tuesday 14 June 2016

Day 2 and photos from Day 1

Another good day for Graeme. Walked from about 730-430 and crossed off 27km.  More comfortable today, good sleep, not cold and all going well.  I forgot to ask which camps he's been through/passed but we do know that he saw one animal today and that was a Brolga just sauntering up the track in front of him.  Some water around and as you can see from the photos it's exceptionally green but still, a Brolga in the desert??

Re-assembling the cart

Graeme all rugged up and yet Bren and Matt still shorts and thongs.....funny







Graeme will sleep on the cart like this


Packing to leave

The flag and pole are so he's more visible to anyone else travelling over the dunes. 


Either the eggs cracked or they were having one last fry up 

Showing off his taping skills on his foot - more to prevent blisters than anything else


The stuffed quoll on the flag pole is Nathan's toy and Lizzie knitted the scarf he's wearing. All so he can feel closer to home.



And he's gone...the start of the 20km day 1

Monday 13 June 2016

Day 1 of X?

Finally after months and months of talking, walking and planning Graeme has started his Walking for Talking 2 walk. 520km.....mind boggling really.

He started walking about 1030 this morning from either Madigan Camp 1 or 1A. They stayed at 1A last night so not sure if he just started there or not. Either way, he accomplished 20km hauling the cart (max weight 140kg but not sure if he knows what the starting weight actually was) and was in a good mood this evening when he called.

No sore feet and a bit of a sore back but he's ok with that given he's not hauled the cart for about 6 weeks and certainly not with that weight on it before.  Tired though so he rang us earlier than expected as he was heading off for an early night. I imagine there might be plenty more of them and much earlier starts,

Bren and Matt have gone through to Alice Springs to restock for their return trip back across (passing Graeme) to Birdsville. Thanks guys for sending him off in style I'm sure.

Sunday 12 June 2016

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!

Thursday 9 June 2016

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. 

Tuesday 7 June 2016

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!



Monday 6 June 2016

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 5 June 2016

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.















Saturday 4 June 2016

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.