An interesting future for our boys?
N 23°08'12.8" E 148°09'26.8"
Day: 231 Stage three / total expedition days 622
Sunrise:
05:25
Sunset:
18:56
As the crow flies:
21,6
Daily kilometers:
34
Total kilometers:
6502 km
Temperature - Day (maximum):
41.5° degrees, sun approx. 62°
Temperature - Night:
21.5° degrees
Latitude:
23°08'12.8"
Longitude:
148°09'26.8"
Visiting camp – 02.01.2003
The first 12 kilometers of today’s run take us less than 100 meters towards Rockhampton. The road leads us almost straight south before heading east again just before the village of Capella. Almost everyone welcomes us with great friendliness. Many congratulate us on our success so far and, as always, are exceptionally helpful. A man shows me a path around the small town of Capella. As soon as we have bypassed the village, a motorcyclist follows us. “There are some people looking for you. I’ll tell the jeep driver that you’re heading for the Gregory Mine,” he says out of breath and rattles off at a crazy speed. “These will be our camel prospects,” says Tanja. “Yes, it really is unbelievable how word of our presence gets around,” I reply and wonder if Margret, Greg and Paul are nice people.
Just a few moments later, a jeep overtakes us. A colored boy waves to us in a friendly manner. The jeep stops a few hundred meters in front of us. It doesn’t take long before four people run towards us. They greet us with a smile. It’s actually Margaret, her nephew Maly, Greg and Paul. We liked all four of them from the very first moment. Greg takes the jeep to Capella for safety reasons. The others accompany us on the rest of the march. Greg will then join us again with the mountain bike, which he has brought with him on the roof rack of the jeep.
Over the next few hours, we have the opportunity to get to know our visitors through intensive discussions and stories. Margaret and Greg own the fitness center in Mount Isar. Both 44-year-olds are in top shape. Margret is a triathlete and took part in the Ironman in Hawaii in addition to her many other activities. Greg is also an ace at sport. He was a member of the international Ego Challenge in Borne. The Ego Challenge is a kind of competition for the hard-boiled in which the aim is to see which team can master the challenges set, such as white water rafting, jungle crossings and much more, the fastest and best. Margret and Greg’s bodies are wiry and look chiseled. They have five camels themselves and would like to undertake smaller expeditions over the next few years to follow the routes of the old explorers.
Paul is 41 years old. He owns 22 camels and has spent the last 10 years training his animals for camel races. He has won many races in recent years, but an accident with a camel has prompted him to sell some of his well-trained mounts. In the meantime, he has regained his self-confidence and would like to take our animals on tourist rides in the Mount Isar area.
In the afternoon we find a nice place to camp under some shady trees. We tell Margret, Greg, the 15 year old, very nice Maly and Paul a lot about our expedition, the characteristics of our boys and the equipment.
Just like yesterday, we get to bed late. But the way things look at the moment, our boys have an interesting future ahead of them.
