26/6/09

I kind of messed up today. Stupidly.

At first lovely. Woke at sunrise, gorgeous sunruse. Down at river watching skies get brighter and the birds start to appear. Feeling wonderfully lazy and aimless. Decided to stay one more day so no pressure to pack up and get out. Mooched around camp just kicking dirt and feeling good. Then decided to go for a walk - kind of like I SHOULD do something with the day. Ate B'fast and collected twigs 4 little LES and my cup of coffee AND... messed it up completely. Made coffee WAY too strong and was soon edgy, tense, headachey and vague. And this persisted most of the day. DOH!

So set off - this time with 2 litres of h2o for a 12k walk - to explore the flat dry expanse of the crossing itself and then north on the far (east) side of the river. Crossing itself amazing. Blasted, arid, dry flat, often tortured looking black stone. Then east side of river similar to yesterday - Arid plains as far as the eye can see to one side and then tiny fringe of lovely trees and shady bank right on the river itself. But somehow - not quite as picturesque as yesterday - or is it me? Grumbling along - headachy and out of sorts. Just back to track from eating lunch when come across the couple from the crossing again in their 4wd - they offer me a cold drink and say they just saw a 3.5m salty - about 100m from where I had lunch. Wow. Then I trudge on alone - having bitter conversations with C in my head - over and over again. Awful. Eventually back down to camp picking up some more firewood - gonna burn it all tonight. Make dinner - no more pre-packaged meals - so Tuna and Deb in a cup - surprisingly good! Fire is good thought and I walk around the campsite in the fringes of the flickering light and look at the stars and then back at my tiny little pool of light my fire makes against the vast blackness. Think big thoughts. Eventually to bed. Tomorrow - time to leave. Hear the same rabid cattle cries again till late into the night - but reassuringly on the other side of the river. Eventually sleep.

diary ends here
continue to next page

return to Dan's homepage