Jo gets away with it
Day: 44
Heart Camp – 24.06.2000
After an 8-day forced stay, we finally continue today. I can’t sleep well because of all the excitement. Ahead of us lies a 140-kilometer stretch with fences and the cattle grids described above. There is also the unresolved question of whether our saddles will finally fit. At 10 a.m. we attach the ‘L-frames’ to the camel saddles. Latching the ‘L-frames’ causes completely new noises that the camels have never heard before. Goola’s eyes widen and he puts a huge heap of fear behind him. Hardie also reacts with panic as usual, sliding back and forth on his bound knees and constantly trying to jump up. He puts Sebastian under stress, who also reacts nervously and constantly yells as if someone is leading him to the scaffold. It takes a lot of patience and nerves to finish loading the camels.
I’m busy with Sebastian when Jo calls for me. “Yes, okay, I’ll be right there,” I reply, fastening a strap and running to her. “Why don’t you feel Istan’s shoulder,” says Jo and shows me the spot. Carefully and gently, but with light pressure, I let my hands glide through Istan’s thick fur. Suddenly I feel a hard pressure point the size of a child’s hand. Istan reacts immediately, opens his mouth and makes a sound of pain. “My God, that doesn’t look good at all!” I say, to which Jo nods. “I can’t believe it, this damn bomber (steel saddle basket)!” I shout, kneel down on the ground and put my face in both hands. My thoughts are racing and I realize that I now have to make a decision. This injury could develop into a huge problem if Istan continues his march and put him out of action in the long term. Especially when he’s still in so much pain after an eight-day rest and we load the same overhanging saddle with the kitchen box onto his back. The saddle will press on the inflammation and so his shoulder has no chance of healing. I realize that the saddle Verne built sways back and forth on his back like a ship in a storm and that this is exactly what caused this injury to develop.
“We can’t leave. Quite the opposite. Istan needs anti-inflammatory medicine three times a day from now on and, above all, we need a modified saddle and an L-frame for him too,’ I say sadly and depressed. “You’re right Denis, I would make the same decision,” Jo replies with comforting words. A decision is made within a few moments. Petro will take Jo back to Goomalling. While she sews the missing saddlebags, he will weld another L-frame. But before they leave us, we want to test the three existing new frames on the camels. “Let’s see how our animals cope,” I say.
The moment of truth is coming. We release the hobbles and the leg ropes and, as expected, our desert ships jump explosively into the air. After a few pauses for breath, Jo gives the command: “Camels – walk up!” The train starts to move with extreme nervousness. Sebastian pushes forward like a locomotive. Jo has difficulty holding him. The new L-frames rattle unpleasantly. Suddenly Hardie breaks out, can’t take the stress any more and tries to walk through to the side. He presses his neck into Sebastian’s ass, which in turn causes him to do a few leaps. As if on command, the camel train passes through. Chaos breaks out and Sebastian now flings his front feet through the air like anvils. Jo escapes his kicks by mere centimeters. She races forward like a sprinter, still holding Sebastian by the nose and the lead line. Sebastian and the other four wild camels set off after her like a whirlwind. “Wuna! Wuna! Wuna!”, I shout to calm the camels and have to watch helplessly as Jo is almost overrun. Like a weasel, Jo makes a hook, leading Sebastian into an arc and all the other wildly jumping camels follow her. Hardie crashes into a tree with his load, manages to free himself and the hellish dance continues. Moments later, after another circle run by Jo, the nervously snorting animals calm down. “In any case, we know that the load will hold!” Jo calls out with a smile. As always, Tanja and I are glad to have her by our side, because Jo keeps her refreshing sense of humor even in situations like this. After a few minutes for humans and animals to catch their breath, we take the caravan to the nearby open field. Jo and I take it in turns to guide the animals to see whether the load is correctly positioned and whether the ‘L-frames’ have any weak points. After a few laps we have to admit that some of them are not long enough and the panniers in the shoulder area of the camels swing back and forth too much. Back at camp, we set the train down. Pondering, I look at the frames of Hardie, Goola and Jafar and come to the conclusion to lengthen all of them between 10 and 25 centimeters, depending on the size of the camel. “No problem, mate!” says Petro with his sympathetic laugh. Just an hour later, all the frames and Istan’s saddle are loaded onto Petro’s jeep. “See you soon!” Petro calls out and while Jo waves to us from the passenger seat, the Landcruiser disappears in the direction of Goomalling.
WE DECIDE TO ENJOY THE FORCED BREAK
Tanja and I first sit down by the campfire. We can’t believe what consequences the wrong advice of a few ignorant camel men is now having for us. If Jo and Tom had had their way, we should have used Afghan packsaddles from the start. According to their extensive experience, these are the most suitable pack saddles for camel expeditions. As each of these saddles weighs around 40 kilos, we were against it. The aforementioned camel men also advised us against it. Unfortunately, we didn’t know at the time that these people didn’t have the slightest idea about expeditions and the associated loading problems. We were clearly given the wrong advice and must now learn from our own painful experiences. But it also doesn’t help us to mope. As on every expedition, there are always new tasks to be solved. If it weren’t – then it wouldn’t be an expedition. Everything we do here is for the most part completely new to us and that is one of the really interesting moments of this life. So we decide not to react angrily, sadly, aggressively or annoyed, but to accept the facts as they are. There’s nothing we can do about it anyway. So we are now enjoying the extended forced stay here at Cleary and living our lives in the Australian bush. And to be honest, that’s what it’s all about! Right?
