Thursday, August 18, 2005
We had to hang around in Hawker because I was expecting a call on my mobile. Mobile coverage in these areas is very limited and Hawker was the only town in that area that had coverage. The call came early and so by 10.00 we were free to go where we wanted. While we were having breakfast we met Beth,a sprightly retiree, whom we had met when we were at the same caravan park a few days ago. She was with a walking group. The night we met her, one chap had fallen and injured his head. We asked how he was. It turned out that he needed nineteen stitches on his scalp to close the gash, and he'd also broken two fingers in the bargain. Their group seemed to be having an eventful week. the day after the chap fell, another lady injured her knee on the second day of walking. Beth had hurt her thigh on the same day that the chap fell. So on the third day most of them decided to do a small and simple walk. Two of the men wanted to do a more challenging one. They were dropped off at the starting point by one of their wives, who was also to pick them up at the finish. She waited there at the agreed time, and they didn't turn up. It got dark and time went by and she got worried and raised an alarm. The SES (State Emergency Services, volunteers who go out and so searches if somebody is missing, besides doing a host of other things) was all ready to launch a search for them when news that they had been found was received. They had not planned properly and had underestimated the amount of time they needed. They had neither torch nor compass. When it got dark they missed the trail and got lost. After stumbling around the bush for some time they found a vehicle track and followed it. It led to a homestead. the farmer, seeing two men walking in the dark came out with a gun! They were given a good talking-to.
Our chit-chat turned to India, where Beth had recently travelled. she'd been there many times. We talked about the traffic in big cities, and the lack of any order in traffic, of public transport, or the lack of it, and of travelling long distance on trains. She recalled one incident where she and a friend were on the lower berths, on an overnight journey, while the upper berths were occupied by and Indian family with four children of various ages. Somewhere in the middle of the night she felt some spray from above. the little boy had passed water! “Don't they use nappies?” she asked.
The daughter of one her walking companions was going to India for a few months and he was very worried as she was going alone, and was only 17. “I'm sire he'd love to meet you” she said and so we went to where they were sitting in the sun outside their cabin. Introductions were conducted. One gentleman raised his beanie on being introduced and we could see a row of neat stitches on his scalp. Anyway, we sat down, exchanged pleasantries and chatted casually. They said that they'd seen a chap with three camels in Hawker 2 days ago. He had travelled all the way from Broome in Australia's northwest on the camels and was headed for Adelaide. He didn't carry provisions, living off the land entirely! Between Broome and Adelaide was the vast outback and deserts like the Tanami and the Simpson.
Talking of camels, one of our party said his wife had just bought two camels. He said it so casually that we almost didn't believe him.
“And where does she keep it? In your back yard in Adelaide?” we asked increduously.
“No. She just bought them at Williams Creek, and they're still there. She'll have to find somewhere to keep them.” he replied.
Apparently, every year there is a round-up of feral camels. Most of them are culled and end up either on the table or in pet food. But before that, some which show potential to be trained and domesticated are sold to interested people. We wondered how they were identified. There must be a camel psychologist, who interviewed them and picked the suitable candidates. He would be the St. Peter of camels. Anyway, and so there was our new friend's wife with two camels, which she was going to train to ride. The people you meet in the outback!!
Later we stopped at the Hawker post office to send off some postcards. We'd dropped in there a few weeks earlier, on our way up to Alice Springs. The lady remembered us and we got chatting. She and her English husband had moved there from Adelaide less than a year ago, and were loving it. We learnt that more than 50% of Hawker's population were retired people, living independently, in retirement villages or in a nursing home. There were about 40 kids in the school, from kindergarten to year twelve. And in the lower grades, children from 2-3 classes were put together. Students in the higher classes worked more independently, with distance learning techniques, and supervision and tutoring support from the teachers. We also got chatting about tourists. Most of the local tourists visited in spring and autumn. Those who came in summer were often European tourists who most likely had no idea how hot it got. Temperatures around 40 C are common and its just too hot to do anything much outdoors. Sometimes people get into trouble because they are not prepared or just don't know what to do. In the past year alone at least two people had died. One fell off a cliff. His companion went to get help, but by the time help arrived, he was dead. The other had gone for a drive on a 4WD track and got bogged. He left his vehicle and set off on foot to get help and died in the heat. His car had rations enough for at least a week. He should have just waited with his vehicle until somebody came by. As it was, the incident was discovered when another car noticed his empty vehicle and informed the station owners about it. It was also observed that if he had just reversed his can and backed up he would have been able to get out, and could have driven back! Most tourist literature addressing four-wheel-driving always advice that in the event of breakdown to stay with the vehicle. It is easier to spot a vehicle than to spot a person on the ground, especially from the air. There are better chances of surviving in the shelter of the vehicle even though it might get hot. And if one has enough supplies one can wait. But it is much harder to carry enough water to get to help in the outback, where the distances are great, and there is little shade or water in between. There was a tourist couple who went for a drive on Lake Eyre and the car got bogged. They set of on foot to get help. The man started feeling ill, and couldn't go on and returned to the vehicle, while the lady pressed on. He was found alive, with the vehicle, and she didn't make it. Stories abound.
After finishing up at the post office we headed towards Parachilna, which was on the way to Leigh Creek. We planned to turn off the main road there and head down to Angorichina through the Parachilna gorge. We were quite hungry when we got to Parachilna and decided to stop and have lunch at the pub there. The pub is famous for giving people a "taste of the outback" very literally. They serve many Australian animals on a plate! You can have roo burgers, emu patties, camel steak, feral goat cutlets and so on. Those who cannot decide just which one they want should order FMG - feral mixed grill! The pub was lovely inside. The front room was the bar counter. But inside were fine-dining rooms with neat tables covered in chequered tablecloths, and fine oil paintings of teh outback by a local artist adorning the walls. On first entering the pub, it looked like a small one room affair. But going through it, it seemed like a house had been converted. The dining rooms led on to other dining rooms. An extension had been built, and here there were rooms to be had for the night, and all the facilities that go with it.
We ordered our meal and browsed through souvenirs, books, newspaper articles on walls etc. until our food arrived. We decided to eat in the front room,rather than the fine-dining area in the back. We were well rewarded for our choice. A group of people cam through. All were in good spirits and dressed in white. They ordered drinks at the counter and hung around htere chatting. Then we saw that a lady was dressed in a nurses uniform. We thought they might be from the Royal Flying Doctors, or something like that. A little while later, more people came in. Their faces were painted green and they had stuufed pillows under their shirts to look pot-bellied. They wore headbands with ears on them. They were all dressed to look like Shrek! It turned out that there was some kind of a car rally that was passing through from Adelaide. They'd gone through Port Augusta, and Coober Pedy, and were now on their way back home thorugh the Flinders Ranges. As we sat there eatling lunch more people came through the door. There were prisoners, and priests, and Vikings and even Elvis. And they were all having fun. When we'd had lunch and stepped outside we were greeted by more funny sights. Many of their cars were old and beat-up, and painted really whacky. We'd learnt that there were 100 cars and 300 people in the group. Don't quite knwo what they were all about, but any excuse to have a good time. And they were having a grand time!!
After lunch we drove through the gorge. The road followed the creekbed, winding one one side or the other of the creek, and frequently crossing it. There was no water, which would have made teh crossings more exciting. But it was a nice drive. We go to Angorichina and pitched tent, and then just sat and read and chilled out in the shade there.
