Friday, May 5, 2017

My world walk Australia Blog 2

If it shines... It's gold.
> Update: Total distance to date for 359 road days is: 13,724  myworldwalk.com kilometres. It was May Day, my second day on the road in Australia. I was enjoying myself immensely. I was excited and wondered what  adventures and yarns  lay ahead waiting for me and Michael Gillan. 

Michael had kindly offered to provide crew support for me for Australia. He drove his white Toyota Corolla which we had crammed with camping equipment, clothes, food and water. That meant I could walk hands-free, free of the shackles of pushing Karma, my cart.

> As I walked along route 94, a busy four lane divided highway Michael would come from behind, about once an hour. Or sometimes depending on the weather less frequent. On my back I carried a small water bottle bag, which was obviously optional. Many of my followers wondered if I was attempting a fastest trans-Australia west-east walk record. My feet were itching to move fast and are capable of long, long road days. They felt like two boxes of tinder, ready to explode, a spark to fire me along the hot Western Australian tarmac. I considered the Perth to Sydney, circa 4,200 km walking record. I thought about it  for only one day. One man told me that it was in the region of 90 days, if so it was a soft record one to be broken by a serious challenger. I for one was not interested. I want this walkabout to be as enjoyable as possible, I don't need any added pressure nor have I anything to prove to anyone. I will walk at my own pace, as little or as much as I like

> That second day I walked 39 kilometres and then the following day an enjoyable 47 when I finished in the coolness of the evening. Usually towards the end of the day I ask Michael to go on ahead to find a place to camp and prepare dinner. That night we camped just north of Northam.
>
> Australia, a country of 23.9 million  people is the sixth largest country in the world, by landmass. Most people live along the coast. There are just a few main roads, a national network in the shape of a figure 8. So-called 'grey nomads' who are elderly, usually well-heeled, retired people (akin to the American 'snow birds') travel the country in expensive RVs, motor homes or caravans pulled by powerful SUVs

> I walked past countless street names with Irish names, like Kelly road and even a place called Irishtown
> For the early settlers in the country were mainly Irish convicts and also the English gentry who also introduced cricket, rugby and horse racing, all of which are deeply rooted in Australian culture today.

> Arriving in a small town called Meckering, population 139 we camped in the Memorial park. In 1968 the town was completely flattened by an earthquake. Miraculously, nobody was killed and perhaps some townsfolk  were spared as it was a holiday weekend when many people were away.

> That night I walked across the road to the petrol station to ask if I could charge my battery pack overnight. I would collect it before leaving town the next morning. The friendly attendant, a woman called Lou couldn't do enough to oblige. While telling her about my world walk another lady called Emma kindly made a donation towards our next tank of petrol to keep my cancer awareness march on the road. I have said it many times in the past... Life is precious and early cancer screening saves lives.

> In the morning when we went into  a cafe called Coltons Beef Jerky company we got a really warm reception from the owners Ralph and Louise. They had only just opened for business a fortnight before. It was to be a long enjoyable fry up breakfast. First we were both told we could shower! How generous was that? In all of my years traveling, I struggle to remember a more delicious breakfast for even the mushrooms tasted like pieces of tender steak. Before we left Ralph  told me to keep my head down to the ground. I wondered if he meant to watch out for snakes. He laughed and said that there is so much gold there that 'anything that shines is gold!'

> Then gave us each a packet of his delicious beef jerky. When I asked him where he was from, with a big smile he replied. "Western Australia" Its not the first time that I have detected that big proud smile, for in Western Australia, the largest state, many people like to brag about 'biggest is best.' Reminds me of Texas!

> It was a late start on the road, around ten am, for lately I am managing to get walking before eight o'clock.
> On the way out of town I was stopped by a man called Joe. He was doing some pipe work outside his house. Joe told me of his friend, a woman who had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. Tragically the very next day her daughter was killed in a traffic accident.

> I walked on, through Cunderdin, a quaint town where many buildings have interesting architecture. As it was five pm and with so many break stops I made slow progress. Earlier that warm day bush flies were a nuisance. When the day cooled I decided to send Michael on ahead towards Tammin to find a camping spot. I walked alone for twenty more  kilometres that evening for it was a pleasant time of the day.

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