Lack of control will be punished. Contact with the first wild camels

Lyons Soak Camp — 2000-10-08

At 4:30 a.m. Lorraine, Brian, Wendy and Reg take us to our camels. Lorraine helps to groom the camels. She loves camels. Her father was still a real camel man taking sheep wool and other goods on big wagons from the farms to the coastal towns. As a farewell gift Lorraine donates an antibiotic spray for Goola which I apply to her eye immediately. At 7:00 the small caravan is ready to depart. We say good bye to Brian who wants to come around tomorrow morning again with his Jeep. He wants to beat a track through the rough bush land. He wants to make sure that we find the correct way to the plateau. We gratefully accept his offer. Wendy and Reg accompany us for a while. They just want to walk a few kilometers with the caravan to gain an impression of marching with the animals. After 1,8 kilometers we bid our farewell to these kind people and continue our expedition. For reasons unknown I feel very miserable and feel like collapsing at any moment. One headache attack after the other is torturing me. My knees refuse to function, all joints are aching and the whole system apparently wants to go on strike all of a sudden. ”I dont know what is going on. I am finished before we even get started“ I lament. Tanja looks at me worriedly. What is causing this brooding? Is it Ross River fever?“ (A sickness transmitted by mosquitoes and which can cause the human system to malfunction for years).”I dont think so,” Tanja says thoughtfully. “Then it must be the dairy products I devoured in such great quantities” I answer back. Tanja agrees with me. For a few years now I unfortunately have a problem digesting rich food in particular milk, cream and ice cream. Though I get punished again and again for losing my self control I sometimes simply cannot resist. Especially when I am well. Be it as it may, now I am being punished again and suffer to such an extent that I feel like dying.

All of a sudden we discover a 20 head strong herd of camels resting in the wind grass about 300 meters ahead of us and next to the track .”Oh god, that’s all we need now” I moan. With “Camels…udu!” I stop the caravan. In no time we hobble Sebastians front legs, keeping an eye on the wild camels. The wind comes from their direction so at least they have not picked up our scent yet. As I explained at the beginning of the report, wild camel bulls may attack humans too. They are amongst the biggest threats to us. Sometimes the bull just wants to drive the caravan away, or he drives it in a direction were he can incorporate it into his herd. He does not know that the animals are tied together with ropes and in this case would cause a catastrophe. We have to do everything to avoid such a horrible incident. This means that if the bull attacks I will have to cull him just to get out of this unscathed. Of course I would fire a warning shot into the air first but if it does not help I have no choice but to kill. Quickly I snatch the Marlin Lever from the scabbard which hangs on Sebastian’s saddle. I load the rifle and let Sebastian get up again. With weak knees we walk towards the herd keeping an eye on its every move. Since the path leads directly past the herd we hardly have a chance to avoid it. For all that we give the herd a wide berth through the bush to avoid the confrontation. As the bush is forcing us to come as near as 100 meters the herd jumps up and stares at us. We move slowly and tensely towards them. Suddenly one of the proud animals starts running away and it only takes a few seconds for all of them to flee in panic. “Wow, just as well they are afraid of us” a relieved Tanja snorts. I hand her the rifle and we are on our way again.

At 1:15 p.m. I am at the end of my strength. “I am finished” I groan and rest the upper part of my body on my thighs. We are now in the dried up riverbed of the Ashburton River. Though we’ve managed only half of the planned distance we lead our camels into the light shade of an Eucalyptus tree and set them down. I am dizzy and have the feeling of dropping down unconscious at any moment. Tanja unloads the folding chairs, lets me take place on them, hands me the water bag and starts to unload the camels without my help. Only for the heavy bags of equipment I force myself up to give her a helping hand. Then I lay down onto the stones of the riverbed and try to survive the next few hours. Tanja applies a wet cloth to my neck gives me two painkillers and urges me again and again to drink. At 6:00 p.m. I feel a bit better. I am in a condition again to take a few slow steps and while Tanja herds the camels I take a refreshing dip in a nearby water hole, left behind by the river in a small hollow. An earlier discoverer left an inscription in the rocky banks of the river. JJ Lyons is engraved into the red brown rock. Did he feel better than I?. What did he do here and why did he immortalize himself here? After the cooling down I go back to the camp. Tanja prepares our supper on a tiny fire while I erect our mosquito tent. White parrots are sitting above our heads in the trees screeching into the glowing sunset. Sometimes they fly away in big flocks only to land straight away again in the treetops and on the branches. The sandy bed of the Ashburton River is littered with innumerable dark stones gleaming in the last light. By the time we eat it is dark already and at 7:00 p.m. I am already in the tent.