TEN MINUTES OF FAME - Birdsville Track

I moved to the front stage amid much applause, and with a tremble of my hands and a thumping heart, retold the story of my past journey. Traversing five hundred and seventeen kilometers along a dusty, bumpy unsealed road through an area of Australia's arid outback, down to Marree, along the Birdsville Track.


During the event, I paused as I became aware of the stillness, the lack of sound in the crowded room, and with a quick glance around - noticed only smiling faces, nods of approval and chuckles of enjoyment - as I continued to relate tales from the past, of how the early pioneers struggled on, regardless of dust storms, illness, death and years of drought!


I spoke of Mungerannie where we stopped for lunch, the only place for food, fuel and a place to rest, situated roughly half way along the track where I had a chance to relax and explore a beautiful wetland area and a heated artisan spa pool surrounded by Gum trees, covered in White Corella's and Pink Galah's.


On the road map I noticed the names of many large cattle stations that had strange sounding names, Pandi Pandi, Mungerannie, Oorawilanie and Mulka where there was only the ruins of a store which had once served the Cattle Drovers, Camel Trains and travellers that had passed that way, many decades before.


At Coopers Creek we paused once more to check out a twelve foot steel barge that had been left as a reminder to the passer by, of the inconvenience of rare floods in the region which had isolated properties and disrupted travel and supplies along the inland tracks.


At the end of my talk I was over-whelmed by the support and encouragement,
hearing words of " well done" , "great story, "
"I could hear every word, so clear was your diction,"
Will you come again? A photo please for our news letter!
I left the meeting feeling relieved, elated and gratified my story had been so well received.

- AMJB