Friday 27th April 2007

   In spite of being late to get to sleep, I still naturally woke up at 6.30. The room was dark but felt unusually warm. I still remember being practically frozen for most of yesterday, so it may just be the warmth of being in bed. I got up and checked the thermometer and it was warm. 26deg in fact! Then I heard it. The air-conditioner. I had left it on all night. It probably did its job better drying out my stuff but I am not one to waste electricity. I poked my head outside the door and it was still all misery out there. Raining and blowing. And no-one around at this time of day. I'll stay in for a while.

   I got my electrical gear out and put the sat phone on charge. It'd take about an hour, then I could charge up the other batteries. I made the bed (well, pulled it up) and had a quick shower. I found that most of my clothes had dried overnight, so I felt clean and had dry, clean but crumpled shorts and shirt and I was warm.

   I sat on the bed and wrote up my diary. I am not a diary person nor did I have any hope that I would get myself together enough when the walk was over to write a book. But, here I am. Thank goodness brother Bill insisted that I keep a diary and get a camera and even later, a voice recorder (as part of an MP3 player). I agreed, because maybe, someday, someone else would do the work and put together a book and at least I would have enough notes, pictures and memories to make it possible. And these ramblings (as I call them), along with some recorded interviews, are making it possible for Cyril to massage into a readable book. I spent over an hour writing up the horror of yesterday with as much detail as possible so that I would be able to recall the details.

   To supplement the diary notes I got out the camera, which I did not use at all yesterday, and headed out to take some pictures

   The first shot was the verandah of the hotel where I found shelter and a hot coffee, then turned back and got the outside of room 1 where I "camped" last night. Later I took a picture of the inside of the room showing my gear strewn around to dry.

   Across the road from the pub was the post office. Not the modern Post Shop we are used to seeing. The sign on the door says that they look after "Mail Lodgement etc". See pics below.

                

   Back up the road (the way I came in) after the pub was the general store. Then the unoccupied miners cottage, made with tree logs, that has recently changed hands and will be restored to the way it was when it was back in 1864. Next was the brick building, the school that opened in 1872 with 95 students and closed in 1980. Today the total population of Blinman is around 20 residents.

   The old school building is today the Wild Lime Cafe and Art Gallery owned by Robyn Holtham and Phil Matthews. They also provide Internet access here so I was able to keep my email up to date. Then it was back to the hotel for a long shot photo and ask about the laundry facilities.

                

   I found John, from memory a relative or long time friend of the owners, who was doing handyman duties and has topped my record for the number of iced coffees consumed in a day. In fact, he regularly cleans out the general store who get new supplies weekly. John showed me where the pub washing machines and dryers were tucked away and told me to help myself.

   I bought some fruit from the general store where I introduced myself to Lisa, Tom's wife. Their son Bailey showed a keen interest in what I was doing and asked many questions about my gear. Months later, Bailey emailed me for more info as he was writing up my walk as a school project. I headed back to the room to gather up all my washable clothes (I remembered my floppy hat this time) and after I had started the wash going I ran into Richard again. He insisted on shouting me another coffee and wishing me well for the rest of my adventure. But, by the look of the angry sky, it would be at least another day before I could continue.

   I hung around the pub, chatting to four your travelers in two 4WDs who were about to head off across the Simpson Desert. The two couples had got together by chance and decided to travel "in convoy" for safety. One couple were from France and heading into the outback for the first time. The other couple were an aussie bloke and a girl from England. They were all interested in the HF radio gear I was carrying as they had hired HF radios at top prices and they weren't happy with the coverage. We ate lunch together in the bar, I had a very juicy steak sandwich (with chips).

  Tony introduced his wife Maureen and we talked for a while about the weather and they reckoned I should stay another night. I didn't fight the offer as my backpack was still wet and I wasn't prepared to put it through a dryer and the rain has never really stopped, just slowing to a drizzle from time to time. And I have certainly made up my mind NEVER to walk in rain except in a dire emergency. Besides being wet and uncomfortable, I was chilled to the bone and it is not winter yet. I stayed right through till 7 when I had just a plate of chips for dinner. I watched the AFL on the TV for the first half, then retired to my room by 9 o'clock.


   Saturday, 28th April 2007

   Bleak. Bleak. Bleak.

   The sky has fallen. There is no sun. Just drizzle and wind.

   But plenty of smiles around town. The rain is sorely needed by everyone but me. The area has been drought declared for years.

   There's a standard joke around here.

   A traveler asked a young boy "Does it ever rain around here?"

   "Don't ask me," the kid replies, "I'm only seven."

   Most of my gear is now dry and freshened up. The shoes are still a bit damp but look like they will survive the drenching ok. The pack feels damp but probably only needs a good airing. Just gotta find some dry air somewhere.

   I went to breakfast at the pub and although it was early in the morning, Tony said,

   "You better plan on having breakfast with us again tomorrow, I reckon."

   "How long do you think it'll keep up?" I asked.

   "We need the rain," he answered. "You keep the rain coming down, and you can stay for a month."

   I could see his logic, but I wasn't too sure I deserved long service leave yet.

   Whenever I am faced with such generosity, I always try to offer something in return. I can fix just about anything, but every time I approached Tony, he's just say "You're right mate, go and have your breakfast." Or whatever.

   While I was at the general store I did manage to let Lisa know that I was available to talk to school kids about the walk or about the possibility of a "workshop" for adults to discuss computing and the Internet. And I struck up a conversation with Dudley, a local in a 4WD ute, that looked like it loved working in the paddocks.  We arranged for him to bring the ute in to the store tomorrow if he still could not work because of the rain. I would have a look at why the "glow plugs" were not working on the ute, making it a bugger to start on cold mornings.

   The drizzle stopped enough around 4 o'clock for me to find a spot to sling up the antenna and try for some radio contact with Bill and Roger. I did have access to the public phone and also to email on the Internet computers at the Wild Lime Cafe. But getting the radio up would be better. I found a couple of trees across a dirt road that provided a second access to the caravan park. Not that there were any patrons. Blinman does not seem to be so much a destination as a pleasant stopover watering hole. I soon had the cord thrown over the two trees and the antenna lying across the road and I walked to my room to get the radio, the feeder cable and the battery. as I came back, there was a 4WD just about to drive across the antenna. I called out and the car stopped immediately and the driver leaned out trying to figure out what he had done wrong. I calmed down when I realised that driving over the wire would not bother it in the least. I explained what I was doing and he could see what I was up to and I helped things a bit by re-assuring him that the caravan park was "just round there" pointing towards the back of an old shed. We met up again in the dinning room that night and had a long chat.

   There was a good crowd at the pub tonight. By good, I mean that there were a lot of them, playing pool, watching TV and generally talking in loud voices. I hung around for a bit and after a couple of Solos, I said goodnight to Tony and a few of the guests that I had got to know and headed for my room. Realising after I got to the room, that the crowd was probably bigger because it was Saturday night, it struck me that tomorrow was Sunday. I could have another crack at getting on to "Australia All Over". I would head for the public phone booth at 5 o'clock in the morning and hang there till I got on. I reckon I was asleep by 10 o'clock.


   Sunday, 29th April 2007

   I slept in! I woke up at 6 and realised that I should be over at the phone booth. Australia all over starts at 5.30 but that is Sydney time and it would be 8 o'clock by now in Sydney and harder to get on. From listening to the show I have worked out that you have to call between 6 and 7 to have the best chance of getting on the air without having to wait forever.

   I couldn't get at the public phone in the pub as the doors don't open till around 9. This would have been preferable as it was quite cold outside and there was a slight breeze. Besides, there was a chair and table next to the phone in the pub. I only have shorts and thongs on and a T shirt. I have also put on my plastic top for some protection from the wind but I was still shivering within minutes.

   I called the 1300 number and was surprised to hear Kelly, the producer, answer the phone almost immediately. I re-introduced myself as the caller from the opera at Rawnsley Park last Sunday. Kelly enthusiastically remembered me but was straight into an apology. The cricket was being broadcast and the show was not going to air today. She said something about being "streamed" to the 'Net but I was only interested if there were going to be the usual 2,000,000 listeners Australia wide.

   I crawled back into my warm bed and stayed a couple of hours reading a novel I had picked up out of the cheap box on the verandah of the general store. It was still heavily overcast when I was at the phone booth but it had not been raining. When I discussed the weather again with Tony in the kitchen (he was cook this morning) we both reckoned that it might at last be passing over. I said that I would check it out on the Internet after breakfast. Once again he insisted that I stay one more night and make up my mind tomorrow morning.

   I logged in to the 'Net at the cafe and replied to several emails from Janne and Bill. The satellite weather map did show that the huge weather cell that had covered the area was slowly moving south east and only the trailing edge was now above us. By 2 in the afternoon there were enough patches of sunlight that I was able to bring out my pack and shoes onto the bar-b-q area tables at the back of the pub for some "airing". The sun  came and went as the clouds swirled around but it was doing the trick.

                

   I lashed out and had chicken schnitzel (with chips and salad) for dinner and talked to an American couple as we had coffee afterwards. I caught up with Tony before turning in and told him that I would pack up ready to go in the morning and I would see him before I left. I offered to pay him something for all his generosity but he would hear none of it. I was in bed by 8 o'clock and finished off the cheap novel. Not a bad yarn but I prefer something a bit more challenging (ie technical).

   With luck I will be getting clay on my boots in about 12 hours time.

   
       
   Tomorrow, heading for Wirrealpa and the Farghers