constanttrek

Broome again, but even more fun

2 comments January 13th, 2009

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year – and huge apologies for the long break between updates.

I am up in Broome again, after going back to Melbourne for October and most of November. It was wonderful to step back off the plane into the dense richness of the Wet season; God, I love it. And this time it is even more special, as Graeme and his two kids, Chloe and Taylor, have also come up for a month.

It is the very quiet season for camel treks on the beach and so I have had a bit of time to spend with Chris (my mentor for this next expedition, who runs Ships of the Desert camel treks) whilst he makes my saddles for the next expedition and I assist. I would like to say that he is teaching me how to make them, but the reality is that I am simply a passionate observer of a master at work, and help where it is possible for me not to muck anything up! I punch a hole here and there and stuff some straw in, but Chris is awesome at what he does, and I feel much safer leaving the construction of my equipment in his capable hands.

Here he is, explaining what he does as he goes; and that is me, stuffing straw into the leather – one of those ridiculously basic jobs that needs any old hack to do…

Things are moving quite slowly in terms of getting the schedule together for the walk in April; it is taking me longer than I thought to confirm the route I want to travel, simply because I am unsure of exactly what I will be up against at that time of the year in the region in question – eg: if I am too close to the Fitzroy I run the risk of encountering a croc or two, which doesn’t turn me on in the slightest; but conversely, if I drop too far down south, I will be right in the Great Sandy, and reliant on water drops to get through. I also want to trace the route of a couple of explorers who passed this way, but in the fashion of explorers, poor sods wandering into the depths of nowhere with little or no guidance, their routes tend to wind about in the most circular fashion, and through some incredibly tough country (when you look at where they ended up one wonders how Australia was ever mapped at all – God they must have been determined). I am extremely keen to remain in their footsteps, but I am still weighing up what is actually viable and what isn’t.

Chris is extraordinarily helpful in this as in all things. In every piece of advice he gives me, from camels to equipment to packing systems, I am conscious of all that I missed in my previous camel treks, and wonderfully grateful to have found someone prepared to give up their time to help me put together a trip exactly the way I want it. I am frequently in awe of the sheer practicality of his ideas, most of which have been developed after years of trekking and experience to further improve and fine tune the art of walking, something I am right into after years of doing it in various ways.

view from the beach shelter at Cape Leveque

In the meantime, we have had a wonderful time being on holiday in Broome. Luckily for me, since my camera cracked up, both Chloe and Taylor have taken to the image business with a passion, and I have to say their efforts are probably far better than mine anyway. For two teenagers rather more interested in playstation than natural wonders (who isn’t at 15) they have

taylor's pic Cape Leveque

done an extremely good job of making the most of Broome and everything around it; we just came back from an overnight trip at Cape Leveque, which is more than a little warm at this time of year, and I am astonished at the quality of photos Taylor got with a camera he only picked up a couple of

taylor's pic

days ago…guess maybe I should be paying him to come on the next desert trek.

Many people find the Broome Wet season tough to take, but I just love it, and I am glad to say the kids are taking to it with a very good will. Before they arrived I was staying out at the camel camp attached to the camel farm – basic but I just loved it, being a very comfortable open camp (as you can

Camel Camp

see here, but only after it had been cleaned out for cyclone weather). Very fortunately for me, some friends have gone away for six weeks and needed someone to mind their house and dogs – and hence Graeme, the kids, and I are ensconced in air conditioned comfort, which makes the midday heat far easier for them to take having come up from Melbourne. The beach has been safe enough to swim in – as long as you stay inside the breakers there have been no serious jelly fish around – but even so, it was brilliant to get up to Cape Leveque and swim in jelly-free water. It is eight years since I have been up to the Cape and I had almost forgotten just how beautiful it is, all red rock, white sand, and jewel green sea. At night the full moon rose up over the still

CHloe's pic Cape Leveque

sea and looked like a shining pathway straight to the sky.

Chloe has taken to the local wildlife with abandon – I am going to have to examine her luggage before she gets on the plane to make sure there are no strange geckos, or anything more sinister. She rather liked the idea of taking this little guy home

Chloe and a croc mate..check that girl's bags

from the croc farm…

Taylor may be in more danger of putting the dogs in his bag to take home – they are two of the more adorable canines I have had the privilege of knowing, and they rather enjoy Taylor hooking along the beach with him on his runs.

Graeme and Taylor after sunset beers and dog swimming

Graeme will stay up here for as long as time and work permit, and it is bliss to have him with me. I only have a couple of months up my sleeve to work out route etc, and I am glad he is here to go through it with me. It is always infinitely easier to work this stuff out with two heads rather than one.

There is so much to learn for this trek – so much about the flora, what tree is which, what Ironwood (poisonbush – very dangerous for camels) looks like, and how I identify it straight away. Cutting through station fences and retying them; making sure I have really considered exactly how much water I will need (no regular wells like in the Sahara!). In so many ways it is a far more relaxed walk than the Sahara was, but in others, it is a whole new process, and I am just as much a beginner as I ever was.

Which makes me grateful once more that I have Chris on hand to advise and help. I could ask for no better guidance than he gives, and increasingly I am aware of how fortunate I am that he agreed to mentor me. There is no better thing than being taught by someone who has genuinely been there and done that.

And in the meantime, another beer watching the sunset on Cable Beach never goes astray….

sunset, good company, great dogs and cold beer...heaven

I promise to update more regularly.