Broome
1 comment September 13th, 2008
I do apologise for the long break. In essence, I shut down everything until I finished the book, which I now have!
I will make this brief until the next time - which will be soon, and will also include photos.
I got stonewalled in my plans to return to Africa, again. Fed up and tired of going around in circles, I started looking into doing the Australian walk I have often dreamed of. The result of that was getting in touch with Chris Hill, who runs Red Sun camels and Ships of the Desert in Broome - the camel treks which go down Cable Beach each day. Chris is a renowned camel man who has walked every desert in Australia at some point, and what he doesn’t know about camels isn’t worth knowing.
We got talking, and he invited me up to stay for a while and talk camels, routes, etc. And thus I find myself back in paradise, camped at the camel farm, and walking camels down the beach every day. My walk is coming together - I plan to leave next April to walk from Broome to Melbourne, following for a length of time the route of the Afghan cameleers who traversed much of the Australian outback in the days before motorised transport. I am really excited about this, and if I can’t go back to Africa, then this for me is not a second best option but rather a walk of pure joy.
I am here for a few weeks and then will come back up during the Wet to organise my camels and equipment. Chris has been an incredible support and fountain of infformation, and it is fascinating to watch the way he handles the camels - I have a lot to learn before I could even begin to know a fiftieth of what he does. It is a great experience for me.
Even better is wandering down Cable Beach each morning and evening, that gorgeous long white expanse that I fell in love with so long ago. Broome is where it all started for me, and there is a wonderful synchronicity in coming back here and dreaming another walk. I am so excited about walking my own country, and particularly by the extraordinary history of the Afghan community and the role they played in opening up this country, amidst persecution, misunderstanding, and outright racism. It seems an apt time to remember their siginificant contribution, and to honour their extroardinary courage in a lonely and hostile land.
I hope that my second book will be out next year. It was hard to write, and I just hope I have done the journey justice. I also hope that the African journey is not yet really finished, but in the meantime, I am soooo looking forward to the next one…
Photos next time I promise.
Paula