It is a wonderful feeling, when the pain subsides

Cleary-Camp — 2000-06-21

Today, the beginning of summer in Germany and the shortest day in Australia, I feel much better and am confident that we can continue the expedition. It is a wonderful feeling, when the pain subsides and I must admit that I can think of nothing better. Suddenly I can hear the birds singing again, hear the wind rushing through the branches and the ringing of the camels bells tell me that the cycle of life continues. Today is Rufus’ birthday too, our lovely dog joined us exactly one year ago and decided we should cross this continent together. After a breakfast of musli and cocoa, Tanja and I take the oppurtunity to spend some time captioning our films while waiting for the frames. Every shot is labeled with name, time and scene before we send them to Germany.

Jo, Tom and Petro come in the evening and bring with them the long awaited pack frames. We celebrate the occasion by the camp fire, enjoying a rendition of ballads describing australian bush life played by Petro on his guitar. Later, Petro and Tom recite a very amusing and lengthy poem called ‘Drovers Cook’. This was written by Tom Quilty and describes a not so cleanly bush cook back in the droving days. And so we enjoy yet another splendid evening under a night sky in which the stars are sparkling with the promise of an impending weather change.