Sebastian is terminally ill
N 23°22'32.9" E 150°24'01.3"
Day: 249 Stage three / total expedition days 640
Sunrise:
05:28
Sunset:
18:49
Total kilometers:
6897 km
Temperature - Day (maximum):
38° degrees, sun approx. 57°
Temperature - Night:
20°
Latitude:
23°22'32.9"
Longitude:
150°24'01.3"
Paradise Lagoons-Camp – 21.01.2003
The sun forces us out of the tent at six o’clock. We immediately go to Sebastian to see how he is doing. The sight of him is shocking. He is sitting on the floor and can barely hold his head up. Slimy fluid drips from its mouth and its eyes are deep in their sockets. Tanja’s eyes immediately well up with tears. When our Goola had pneumonia about two years ago he looked similar. His agony lasted just under a month. (Diary overview of 03.08.01 day 49, stage two) Tanja and I look at each other. We don’t want to say what we think. Robert comes by again. We show him Sebastian. Without letting a minute pass, he calls the vet Peter Lawton.
It only takes 45 minutes for Peter to arrive and examine Sebastian. Unfortunately, he has never treated a camel and therefore doesn’t know his way around very well. The poor thing looks very ill,” he says, giving him a penicillin injection, a vitamin injection and a restorative to stimulate gastric activity. “I’ll drop by again tonight,” he promises and says goodbye.
We use the day to drive the saddles and all the equipment to the wrestlers’ house. We try to set up our base as best we can in the completely dirty building standing on posts. In the large living room, we push aside an old, rotten bed to use the corner for ourselves. We set up our folding chairs, put the rucksacks and some Ortlieb bags against the wall and set up one of the camp beds. As there are still four wrestlers (cowboys) living in the house, I set up our tent in the shade of a spreading tree in front of the house. So at least we have our privacy at night.
ATTENTION! HERE IS SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR READERS
Only now, on Sunday 02.02.03, do we tackle the last few kilometers to the Pacific Ocean. Sebastian is still very ill. He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything since we arrived. He probably caught some poisonous plants just before Paradise Lagoons. We don’t know whether he will survive the poisoning and are therefore very depressed. We have to cover the last kilometers of the expedition without him. We will only be running with Hardie, Istan and Jafar. This way, Sebastian has the company of Edgar and Jasper while we are away.
We have appointed Hardie as a replacement guide camel through the city of Rockhampton and hope that everything will go well.
The media are very interested. Every day we are visited by a newspaper, radio or television station.
Our stay here in Australia will last longer than we had planned, as we have not yet been able to find good owners for our animals. I will report on everything that has happened so far and what happens next in the next update, hopefully when we have finally made it.
