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September 13, 2001
Overland Australia - Update 41
September 13, Day 52
Its amazing how quickly one can slip into a set routine, even in places you least expect it, like out here in the Australian bush. After just a month and a half on the road we know pretty much what we’ll be doing at any point in the day: get up at 5.00am; on the bikes by 7.00; 15km stretch; 15km thumbs up to BlueDog; 15km more and then its morning smoko break.
None of this will mean much to anyone reading this, but to us it’s the system we’ve developed to move 9 people a minimum of 60 kms per day through some pretty inhospitable territory. And it works. But things can get a little samey, even with the amazing country we’re passing through. Today, however, was an exception. Not being big on birthdays I’d tried to keep today being my 34th birthday a secret. But somehow word leaked out and at 5am this morning I found myself being rudely woken by what seemed at first glance to be a posse of out of season carol singers, but on closer inspection through sleep deprived eye-slits proved to be no less that Crister, Git and Bel doing the Happy Birthday thing. But the best was yet to come – breakfast in bed. To some this may not seem to be such a big deal. But in the bush, and especially at that time in the morning when everyone is normally fighting at the feeding trough to fill their bellies with porridge and damper, getting fed by another team member is truly a luxury. First a cup of hot tea was thrust into my hand, followed shortly by a bowl of hot porridge, topped with a healthy dollop of Golden Syrup, and a slice of toast and jam on the side. My, what a spoilt birthday boy was I!
At 6.40 am we found ourselves easing out of camp with a stunning sunrise at our backs, skimming the last 60 kms of bitumen to Hermannsburg where we spent the rest of the day exploring the mission set up by the Lutherans in 1877.
Jason
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Posted on September 13, 2001 1:15 PM