Distance today Nil
TOTALS: Distance 5456km. Donations $7570.09. Days remaining 61. Deserts: Sturt Stony, Strzelecki, Tirari, Gibson, Great Victorian. Tracks: Birdsville Development Road, Birdsville Track, Oodnadatta Track, Red Centre Way, Great Central Road, Goldfields Highway, Wiluna North Road, Marble Bar Road.
Note to new readers: I am travelling with my bike who’s name is Banjo. I often refer to ‘we’ meaning Banjo and I. ‘We’ have an amazing support team of family, friends, sponsors and folk we meet each day. But it’s still up to ‘us’ to face the challenge and tackle each day one peddle at a time.
It’s 9.50am on Sunday the 18 July 2021.
I have one more perspective story to add to last night’s post. When I arrived on Friday I found the furthest corner of the campgrounds to pitch my tent. It was a great spot tucked back under the eucalyptus with the nesting galahs and lots of space between me and the next campers to breathe.
I was having a great night sleep last night. At about 3am I got up and went for a wee walk to the amenity block. It was a beautiful clear sky night and the stars were shining in the stillness. I left the awning door tied back to enjoy the stars as I went back to sleep.
Just before 4am I woke to the figure crouched in my awning. I called out and they didn’t move. Then I shoved them through the fly of the tent with a very loud expletive. They stumbled back, knocked over Banjo and ran off. My goodness it gave me a fright. Alert mode was ON. I moved the tent back up in the ring of other campers and sat in the awning to digest what just happened. About 430am, one of the campers got up for the day and started making a cuppa. The alert mode registered I was safe and turned OFF. I put everything comfy on; down, beanie, gloves – tucked myself away in my cave and slept for 4 hours. Perspective!!!!
What a bizarre series of events. Isn’t it ironic that the primal part of being human can override a sense of distance equals safety. I suppose we’re pack animals first with a genealogy that knows there’s safety in numbers. I was talking to Malcolm in the camp next door. He said he heard me call out and looked out to see me moving tent. He said he had been laying there worrying about leaving his wallet in the car. When he saw me he thought ‘oh it’s safe – she’s up and about for the day.’ 🤣 Perspective!!!!
I’ve let the managers know and they said that hasn’t happened before? Maybe they thought I was having a go at the campgrounds security – who knows? Maybe I gave the person just as big a fright as they gave me. Our western world of toys and trinkets may look very enticing to some local folk – It may talk to that part of the brain drawn to lollies in shiny wrappers. Replace lollies with shiny cars or jewellery, bright lights and poker machines – albeit whatever the draw card. It’s very important for me to respect cultural difference and the symptoms of generational trauma caused by our history of western ways. By no means am I having a go at our colonial past. Look at the stories of sacrifice in the ‘Pioneers Wall’ yesterday… ‘often without reward.’ However our Australian history includes the oppression of our First Nations people and we’re all part of our history. We can’t just take out the bits we like and discard the rest. We all need our stories seen and respected. Hopefully we will collectively and consciously be part of our recovery too and rewrite a modern history of respect and equality. Perspective!!!!
It was supportive to reach our and talk with my partner this morning. Tears are my energy release when my emotions overflow. Dawn is aware of my ‘overflow valve’ and can sit with me in tears when I need to offload. This is a language of love for her to hold her own discomfort and be there for me unconditionally. I deeply value the story of our relationship. It has not been an easy road and we have worked through many personal and relationship issues to find clarity about what we choose to be part of. Dawn, Dylan and I consciously practice caring habits in our family relationships. That doesn’t mean we get it right every time 🤣 But it does mean it’s our ‘bottom line’ set of boundaries that help keep us safe and stable as a close family unit: being supportive, listening, encouraging, accepting, respecting, negotiating differences and trusting. I’m so proud and excited about our past, present and future together. Desert peas in a pod. Perspective!!!!
It’s 7.16pm.
It’s been a day of good company and relaxing, needed and appreciated. After the experience of last night, it was helpful to write the first part of my post this morning to reflect on what happened and find a place and perspective. Afterwards, I went over to the camp kitchen to make a cuppa and was planning to paw over my maps and plan my itinerary for the next days.
I met up with Jeff from Toowoomba who was a guy who got up at early o’clock this morning and enabled me to feel safe and sleep off the adrenaline. It was really special for me to spend time with him and share the impact of his early rising. He said he goes to bed really early and by 4am he’s done his 8hours. No complaints from me about his early rising 🤣 We talked about our travels and perspectives for the next 6 hours!!!! Robert from Perth joined the conversation after lunchtime. What an interesting afternoon with two awesome fellas. It was easy time spent and a quality way to share our Sunday.
Jeff’s a retired geologist and spends his winter months travelling in desert country. He has a 2005 Toyota Troopie Land cruiser and is a natural explorer. His interests are desert birds, animals, flora and prospecting. He uses these interests to bring purpose and meaning to his travels. His troopie is set up to spend 2 weeks at a time out in the bush exploring remote tracks and camping wild along the way. His mining permit enables him to camp anywhere in WA.
Robert’s from Perth. Ironically he’s also a retired geologist and the boys talked ancient rocks with a language that was captivating. Some of the exposed rock areas in this country date back Billions of years. The ancient nature of this landscape is apparent from a novelist perspective. So hearing it from folk with a trained eye added a depth of appreciation. They both shared a language of love that I could relate with and I was in awe of their passion.
Robert is 18 months into a retired lifestyle on the road. He reviews the places he travels and provides quality information for people who are planning their trips. He noticed this niche when he was preparing his travels so this gives his explorations purpose and meaning. He’s recently introduced a drone into his experiencing. He loves the context it adds to his reviews. What an awesome afternoon.
By 430pm if was time for me to get ready to head backup to the water tank look out for sunset. I called Mum and Dad on the way and shared the experience while we finalised the Halls Creek postal pack.
The colours of twilight highlighted the rolling hills out to Gorge Range
The 360 degrees also looks out over the campgrounds
On the way back to camp I called Dawn and we caught up on our days. They had lunch with Mum and Dad earlier and Dylan gave Nanna and Grandad a big hug from Maree. Thank you Mate!! I walked past the corner store where hopefully my postal pack will be waiting for pick up tomorrow.
Let’s see what Monday brings. I got a text from Claudia and Lothar who are now in Kununurra. We’ve planned to have a phone catch up tomorrow which I’m super excited about 😊 For now it’s time for dinner and bed. I’ve packed up Banjo and any gear I had under the awning so not to attempt anyone looking for shiny things during the night. Night and talk soon xx
The 10 desert challenge 
Ohhh jeez maree… where’s ya whistle 😳
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