Preparation for stage 2
Temperature - Day (maximum):
freezing cold
Germany – 14.02.2001 – 12.03.2001
As always, when I pick up the phone and call Anna Plains Station, my heart beats faster. I am annoyed by this vague and unpleasant feeling, because it is actually completely unfounded. Since Tanja and I left the station to fly to Germany for a few weeks, I have been gripped by the fear that our 7 camels might run away and disappear into the endless expanses of the Great Sandy Desert. From November to March, bad cyclones sometimes hit the coasts of northwest Australia and destroy absolutely everything in their path, including fences, of course. Because we cannot continue our expedition during this dangerous time and because our animals have to recover from the exertions of the last 7 months, we decided to leave them alone and take care of the further financing of the expedition in Europe.
To be honest, I don’t need to worry about our boys, because before we left them in a 1 × 1 km fence, we repaired all the holes in the fence that Cyclone Sam had torn. Sebastian, Hardie, Goola Badoola, Istan, Jafar and the two newcomers Jasper and Edgar are therefore in safe hands. Anna Plains Station is also a cattle farm run by professionals. We know the Yilleroos, Yackeroos, (cowgirls, cowboys) the head stockman (head cowboy), manager and owner personally and feel that we are in good hands there. The manager David even promised us that he would check on the animals from time to time. Nevertheless, I think it makes sense to inquire about the well-being of our camels from time to time. “Hello David! How are you?” I ask, reassured as always to hear his voice. “Not so good. Your camels are gone!” I think I’ve misheard him and laugh at his joke. “It’s no joke Denis, your camels left ten days ago. One of the construction workers repairing the storm damage here left the gate open. It was barely open for an hour and your entire caravan made off. Unfortunately, I was on vacation for 10 days and only found out a few hours ago. What’s more, it’s been raining for weeks, so their footprints are no longer visible and I can’t track them down now.” I sit in my office chair as if hit by a punch and search for words. That was probably it. No expedition through Australia’s outback without camels. My thoughts are racing. How long will it be before we get new camels in this remote region? How much will it cost? How many months will the new training program take? Can we psychologically survive another year of working with inexperienced animals until they are ready for an expedition? Do we have a chance of getting our boys back? “Denis, are you still there?” David’s voice brings me back to reality from a distant world. “Yes,… I… uh, have been thinking. Do you think they’re gone for good or have they run off to another enclosure? “They should be in a 20 × 10 kilometer area now which is fenced in on three sides. There is only no fence to the west. But everything there is under water. Do you think they’re walking through water?” “I have no idea. If they can’t find anything to eat, I could imagine that.” “When the rain subsides, I’ll try to look for their tracks. Until then, you’ll have to be patient. I think we’ll find them again.” “I hope so, otherwise Tanja and I will have to carry the 1400 kilograms of equipment ourselves,” I say and laugh. “It’s nice that you can still laugh. I’ll call you when I have news. Give my regards to Tanja.” he says and hangs up the phone.
