And the Journey begins. Well, almost anyway. Tomorrow I shall finally putting paddle to water in anger. The first stroke in the journey down the Darling River. And not before time I might add. The last few weeks has been astoundingly busy, buying equipment here, talking to people there; researching what's needed here, modifying equipment there.
Now though, I am truly kitted out and ready to hit the water. I'm writing this now on the veranda of the Port of Bourke hotel, a pub which I stayed in for the first time over 30 years ago. Back then as a callow youth it made quite an impression on me and I'd have to say its still a great place to be. Back then they charged $19 per night per person. Today things are different. They charge $50 per night but you get a free meal thrown in. Last night I had a Reef & Beef meal: Scotch Fillet steak with prawns and squid on top essentially, with as much salad on the side as you like. The meal was easily worth $25, which means that the room itself was about $25. not bad eh.
The pub (which I think was called the Royalle hotel when I was here in '77) is a classic outback Australian pub. Wide veranda's, corrugated iron and tiny rooms. I love the shared sitting room (where the only TV is) and showers are down the corridor. V
ery civilised. Tomorrow however, will be the first night on the river. I'm ready for it. I've been running hither and thither for the last few weeks and feel as if I've been run off my feet.
I now have enough equipment to fill a warehouse. I'm not really sure just how I will fit it all into the kayak. Maybe if a put it all in and just jump on it it will all just find a place somehow. Actually its not that bad but I sure do have a lot of gear. One of the funkiest purchases over the last week has been a new water filter. Instead of the normal pump action, which most filters I've seen use, it is gravity fed. You simply fill up a water bag and attach it to the filter and Bob's your uncle. Just leave it for a few hours and come on back to fresh water. The claim is 10 litres over about 7 hours, which means that by the beginning of every day I will have all the water I need. Of course thats just the most recent purchase.
I have a GPS, camera, phone, laptop, tons of food and more to say the very least. I even have a solar panel to help keep this electronic world fed.
At the moment the plan is to head out tomorrow morning from Bourke by 4WD to the junction of the Culgoa and Barwon Rivers. Zanni, a very good friend of mine is joining me for the first few days and we are being very kindly taken to the river by a bloke I met in Bourke who just happens to be a mad keen kayaker himself. So just to give you a bit of an idea about the itinerary...
| Sunday 30th | Put paddle to water with Zanni |
| Wednesday 2nd | Paddle into Bourke. Zanni head home to Melbourne |
| Thursday 3rd | Joined by the Melbourne Mob (Pip, Paul and Rob). Late morning start for Louth |
| Tuesday 8th | Melbourne Mob leave the river and head for home |
| Thursday 9th | Estimated arrival in Louth. |
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For more detail on where I'll be check out my calendar.
I am hoping that I shall be able to update people as I go on down the river but I don't expect to put much up for the next few days.
Regards,
Christo
