Bare fields
N 22°58'08.6" E 148°02'57.2"
Day: 230 Stage three / total expedition days 621
Sunrise:
05:25
Sunset:
18:56
As the crow flies:
24,2
Daily kilometers:
34
Total kilometers:
6468 km
Temperature - Day (maximum):
41.5° degrees, sun approx. 63°
Temperature - Night:
22° degrees
Latitude:
22°58'08.6"
Longitude:
148°02'57.2"
New Year’s Camp – 01.01.2003
We follow the narrow Magenda Langton Road. We encounter a car every 20 minutes. The drivers usually stop to ask us a few questions. “Why are you doing that? Are you walking around a bit? Are you doing this march for a fundraiser?” are some of the questions. Although it is very time-consuming for us, we stop the camel train every time to tell the people our story in short words.
As yesterday, we pass many fallow fields bordered by fences. The chances of finding a place to camp for the night are very slim. A woman who visits us with her four children invites us to spend the night on her ward. “Talarah Station is not far from here. Your camels are sure to find a few trees to snack on here,” she says, which is why we take the 3 kilometer detour and head for the farm.
After more than seven hours of hard walking, we set up camp in an enclosure not far from the homestead. Although there are hardly any green trees left and the ground is cracked and dry, the owner calls this fence the nursing station for his weak and starving cattle. “At least they can still find a little food here. All our other enclosures have been more or less destroyed by the drought,” he says kindly. We are very grateful to him for allowing us to put our boys up here for one night despite his obvious need.
Dark storm clouds gather in the late afternoon. At 41.5 degrees in the shade, it is very hot and unbearably humid. I have the feeling of breathing viscous air and feel weak and powerless. Due to the difficulties in finding a good camp site, we walked 34 kilometers. I anxiously study the sky and the flight of the clouds. The barometer is low. Of course the farmers urgently need rain, but for us it is more of a hindrance. Apart from that, we are constantly worried that after almost two years of drought, the floodgates will suddenly open and completely submerge the land.
At 10 p.m., drops fall from the sky at around 32 degrees. We quickly jump up from our camp beds, bring our equipment to safety and erect the tent. As soon as we lie in it, it stops raining. The air is even hotter and more humid than before, which is why I can hardly fall asleep. When the beep of our wristwatches wakes us up a little later, I feel downright exhausted.
