Report by Evan Smith and Carolyn
First Convoy
Today is going to be a long day so we rose early enough to see a delightful sunrise with a temperature of –3 degreesC, however the start of the day saw some minor problems. At 9am all those vehicles ready and able to move, fuelled up and the first convoy departed, leaving behind Tony with the H.F. Radio, Barry with starting problems, Brett with getting out of bed trouble, a couple of ‘bush mechanics’, and the Scout, which is another story altogether.
We had a good run to Djarra apart from a few chipped windscreens caused by a fast semi and two faster troopies – gee can’t those troopies go!
After morning tea it was another good run to Boulia, where we stopped for lunch and a look around town. Daniel spied Peter, heading for the pub, from his ambulance bed and decided to follow, but alas, he then discovered that his wheelchair was in Barry’s car, which was in the second convoy still at Mt. Isa. What a plight to be in! (Maybe a ploy from the medical staff to keep him lying on his stomach after developing a pressure sore). However ‘where there is a will there is a way’ and he made it to the pub. Boulia has been made famous by the Min Min light and the red stump, but it appears the town itself has seen better times. Several shops and the Westpac Bank all had their doors firmly shut. One pub, one garage and one general store still remain open. Judging by the size of hats for sale there this Shire must have some ‘mighty big men!
We remove Pete and Danny from the pub and are back on the road again. We now farewelled the bitumen for sand and gravel tracks. Communication with Tony over the H.F. is poor but we do hear that the second convoy is on the road.
Andrew suddenly realises that he has a C.B. in his vehicle so he ‘hogs it’ however he does have a pleasant voice.
Graham then gave us a demonstration on how to drive with three tyres and hop on one rim. With one more ‘flat’ in the convoy we arrive at Bedourie for a tea break and ‘fuel up’. Caroline meets up with the Mayor. Graham finds the Shire Council garage just waiting with a supply of new tyres specially made for the 80 Series (I wonder if there is a moral in that story).
On the road again Caroline discovered that back country fuel stops are not the best and a new petrol filter was required. One more stop and George now holds the record for ‘the most flats’ (eight flats).
The last part of the journey was made in the dark. We arrived at Birdsville and Daniel was very relieved to see the new camping ground facilities complete with excellent wheelchair accessibility (if only desperate Danny had a wheelchair he could make good use of these conveniences).
The second convoy only suffered one ‘flat’ during the day and arrived thirty minutes later. ‘Desperate Danny’ was reunited with his chair. What a relief!
Nibbles and a large pot of soup satisfied everyone’s hunger and we all retired to our beds to avoid the cold evening.
Report by Trevor Philip
Second Convoy
Day 25 dawned, everyone enthusiastically packing again anticipating an 8am start. The mechanics made an early start on a repair to the Scout and found that the righthand flexible brake hose was broken. After a hurry and flurry around Mt. Isa, we got the said vehicle repaired and the second convoy was on its way at approximately 11am. Incidentally, the local press arrived for an interview and photos whilst the vehicle repairs were underway.
Once we left Mt. Isa the pace was picked up heading for our lunch stop at Boulia where we enjoyed leftovers of the Chinese meal from the previous evening (which was greatly appreciated by the second convoy).
After