Papillon - The Ultimate Journey

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DAY ONE

It's time, its 7am on Christmas Eve and the bus has arrived........oh my god this is it. Karen, Sharon and I gathered our things together and loaded up. We all struggled downstairs with our luggage, which seems to be getting heavier and heavier as the months go on, even though I seem to be offloading things each time I re-pack for the next part of my journey. The tour guide introduced himself as Leith, he first comment to me was that on reading the list of names on the trip he noticed the name Jo Haslam and thought to himself, "why is the boss's wife on this trip?" - you will never believe that the owners of Nullabor Traveller are called Craig and JO HASLAM!!!! how uncanny is that? That is the first time I have ever known anyone with the same name as me - good start.

We got on the bus and headed straight for the back so we could have some space, we acknowledged everyone on the bus, it wasn't quite full yet, we still had one more pick up to do. After everyone was on board we set off on our "huge journey".

I sat and looked out of the window and took a deep breath, this is it girl, my tummy was full of butterflies, I had mixed emotions, apprehension, excitement, scared.......

About an hour into our journey we passed a sign saying "Snow Town" - Leith told us that a lot of socially dysfunctional people used to live there who received good benefits because they were unable to work. In 2002 somebody realised that these people had "money" so started "knocking" them off one by one, hiding their bodies in barrels in a bank vault. Unfortunately, nobody really missed these people, particularly as their social security numbers were being used for claiming their benefits! Thirty people were discovered in the bank vault and this was the biggest murder case in the world per captia!! Even to this day the town is like a ghost town and rather eerie - most people moved away.

We stopped to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for our journey and stretched our legs. Now do I look out the left or the right window? The scenery was the same - vast expanses of nothing. I saw my first wild Kangaroo hopping across the Nullabor. It was pretty relaxed in the bus, people chatting, sleeping, laughing, music was playing - so many songs brought back memories, good and bad. We were driving through the Southern Flinders Range, where 6 years ago a fossilized marine animal was discovered from some 200 million years ago, prior to any other fossil every being found! We are learning so much on this journey, and its only just started.

We stopped for a Camel trek and bush tucker lunch in the middle of nowhere. In all the years I had spent in Dubai I had never actually ridden a camel, so to do this on Christmas eve felt, just "right", very apt! We rode them for about half an hour, which to be honest was probably enough as my bottom was getting a bit saddle sore. We had a lovely little picnic in the middle of nowhere, the choice was either Kangaroo or Yabi salad - Yabi is very similar to a prawn caught in the local rivers. I had no choice but to have Kangaroo as the Yabi was spoken for! I did try to eat the Kangaroo, but after seeing my first wild one earlier it just didn't feel right eating one!! I'm sure I'll get the opportunity later on.

We set off again, stopping at a place called Quorn for petrol. It seemed like a ghost town, there was nothing there that would suggest it was habitable, let alone Christmas eve!! There were about 50 houses, a few pubs, a grocers and a post office. It was 3pm in the afternoon and there was no-one on the streets, no noise, no children playing, nothing - just dust!!

We stopped for a break in Port Augustus to buy Christmas presents, Leith had suggested that we all bought a present for one person, a bit like secret santa, so we all grabbed a name out of the hat and dispersed to do our shopping, then headed for the bottle shop so that we had plenty of booze for Christmas eve!!! We had to get our priorities right. We all met back at the jetty which was absolutely gorgeous, we had our first sighting of wild dolphins, they were just swimming in and around the moored boats.

We arrived at a place called Polda Park at 9pm, where we set up our first camp. We were all given a tent to erect, bearing in mind that (a) it was dark, (b) we were in the bush and (c) I'd never put one of these tents up before, so taking all these things into account I feel we all did remarkably well. Once the tents were erected, the campfire was lit, the dinner was on, we all sat around chatting, drinking and getting to know each other. Even though we'd spent the all day together on the bus we no-one made too much effort to make friends, it was so new to all of us.

The toilet was just a drum with a seat on it going down to a very deep pit, with no flush, so you can imagine the stench!! very nasty, but better than nothing. We didn't eat until nearly 11.30pm which was rather late, but we were all starving by now and whooffed it down, then all just bid each other goodnight. I looked up at the sky and I will never forget the sight I saw - millions of stars, the milky way, it was truly out of this world. As there is no light pollution in the bush nothing is spoiled. I didn't get much sleep, some locals had decided to come out into the middle of no-where and party all night, which just happened to be right next to our camp!! I guess I must have dropped off around 4am.

DAY TWO

We were woken up at some unearthly hour - it's Christmas Day!!! I had a quiet moment giving a few thoughts to Brian, Bobby and Samii, the rest of my family and friends, wondering what they would be doing right now - probably getting ready for bed as it would've been Christmas eve. We had breakfast then packed up our tents and were on our way by 8.15am to Baird Bay to hopefully swim with the dolphins.

We arrived, had a briefing, got into our wet suits - most attractive, with our Christmas hats on as well, then headed for the boat. We set off with Alan, our guide for the day, with his assistant, Troy. The weather didn't look very favourable, it was cloudy, windy and pretty cold!! What was going on, its Christmas Day, this is Australia - it's supposed to be hot and sunny! Alan was very concerned with the way that the wind was picking up and the cloud formation, he took us to see the seals which was lovely, but all we wanted to was swim with the dolphins, but our hopes were slowly slipping away, the weather was not getting any better, it would have been too dangerous to get in the water. I had resigned myself that I wouldn't get to do this, albeit very disappointing when all of a sudden Alan said right everyone in the water NOW, the dolphins had appeared and it was as though god was looking down on us, the weather changed for the better. Right here we go, oh my god I've never used a snorkel before, what do I do? I jumped in put my face under the water and my mask just filled with water......I was coming up so often that I thought I'm never going to see the dolphins. I panicked a bit, it is pretty daunting when you've never used one before. I did eventually get used to it, we had to get in and out the boat 3 times to be closer to the dolphins, but on our final swim it was unbelievable, I had now mastered the art of snorkeling whoopee, and there they were, about 8 dolphins just circling around us, then they came closer, close enough to touch, looking at us, almost looking after us. We were in shark infested waters, a fact I chose to totally ignore, otherwise I never would've experienced this magical moment! Here I was in the middle of white shark territory face to face with these beautiful creatures. The most amazing thing is that they came to us, they are not trained dolphins, they are totally wild, they choose whether to swim with you - not us with them!! We had bought an underwater camera so there I was clicking away, thinking it was like my digital - wrong, it was a wind up one with a big click lever to take the pictures!! I have no idea what the pictures will come out like, I was shaking so much with excitement god only knows what I've taken? I got back on the boat and just cried - tears of exhilaration, awe, happiness, disbelief - just unbelievable, Here I was, just plain old Jo Haslam from Leighton Buzzard, here, now, swimming with the wonderful creatures. Karen wasn't sure if she could do it, she can swim, but is uncomfortable in the deep waters, particularly with the added fear of sharks in the water!! I can't think why she should be afraid! She had never used a snorkel either, so when I asked her if she wanted to take the remaining 6 pictures left on the camera, - she just stood there shaking her head saying no way, its enough getting me the water and concentrating on my snorkel etc let alone thinking about taking pictures!! Anyway she did brave it and her face was a picture, she was in total shock!! We both just cried, what a wonderful experience. I was so proud of her, I think she felt almost relieved when it looked like we might not be able to do it due to the weather, at least then she wouldn't have had to chicken out. Sharon had used a snorkel before so she found that part really easy, but like Karen and I, she too was pretty scared about getting in the water - but we were all so pleased we did. and all hugged each other - I think the whole group deserved a pat on the back for our achievements - we all had different fears which we had overcome.

We then set out on the bus again and stopped at a place called Murphy's Haystacks, which were a collection of huge ancient wind worn granite rocks, which are purported to be over 1500 million years old!! They were a wee bit like a mini Ayres Rock!! We had a walk round, stretched our legs then headed for Venus Bay for a Christmas walk, in our hats! It was drizzling with rain, but we continued the walk around the cliffs which was beautiful.

Back in the bus to go to Coodlie Park, Jo & Hassie's place - as we drove up their driveway the emu's were running all over the place, which looked really strange. Jo & Hassie had set up a huge table with Christmas crackers and games, and had cooked a wonderful barbecue for us. We had our dinner and then sat around the camp fire and chatted, had a few drinks then about 9.30pm Hassie took us out on a nocturnal spotlighting tour. It was a bit early to catch the wombats, but we did catch sight of two and a half!! (the half being the backside of one diving back into his hole!). We saw several kangaroo's hopping about which was great.

DAY THREE

We were woken up the following day at 6.30am by howling dog's - they were sent to howl outside our rooms to to wake us up! Had breakfast then back on the road by 8am. We set off to find a beach called Streaky Bay. In 1802 Captain Mathew Flinders rediscovered and named Streaky Bay whilst examining the South Australian Coast in a ship called the Investigator. He named it after the streaks in the water in the bay - which are caused by the reflection of light and seaweed. It was originally named Flinders, but in 1940 was officially changed to Streaky Bay.

We were here to try and learn to surf - yeah right! Again, we donned our wet suits and headed for the beach where we had to lie on a pretend board and learn what to do once we were in the water, We all had a go, I couldn't believe how hard it was to try and stand up, I gave it all I had, but I think I would need a few more than one lesson! I did lie on the board and go flying through the waves it was fantastic, such a wonderful feeling of rushing through the waves really fast!

Once we left Streaky Bay we went west up the Flinders Highwway, about 45km later we passed through a town called "Haslam"!!! I am going to have to do some research once I get home to see if the name Haslam originated here? We traveled through Ceduna up to Fowlers Bay where we were to spend our 3rd night - we had a bit of luxury - we had showers and real toilets!!! We all put up our tents, found a local laundrette - which caused a bit of excitement (clean clothes) did some washing then had dinner and sat around in a circle playing games and drinking - well they go hand in hand really don't they? I didn't get much sleep that night as there were quite a few people snoring which seemed to echo through the still of the night!

DAY FOUR

Back up at the crack of dawn again, which is fine really because once the sun's up it was too hot to stay in your tent. We set off up the sand dunes to try our luck at sand boarding - well getting up the steep dune was enough to wear me out, it was like three steps forward one step back! I eventually made it to the top, got on the board, hung on then was pushed down the hill, unfortunately I was pushed on a bit of an angle so didn't quite get the right line to go too far! I kind of zig zagged all the way down before coming to an abrupt halt not quite at the bottom! I carried my board to the top again, which was even harder than climbing the first dune, once back at the top I decided the ride down wasn't exciting enough to endure the climb back up afterwards, so I headed back to the camp, after watching everyone else come off, unlike Kim who went on for miles!!

We boarded the bus again, which was now becoming "our little home", we'd all become really comfortable with each other by now and were all sharing our sweets and exchanging stories about our lives, and chatting like we'd known each other for years! I guess its time to introduce you to the "team" - first there was Helen from England, "Frenchie" Caroline, Markus from Switzerland, Niels, Bodil and their son Steffan, who was Danish but emigrated to Sydney some 19 years ago, Kim and Kayleigh, two sisters from Hampton Court, Spanish Antonio, German Christian, English Bob from New Zealand, and Grish who was an Indian lad doing a tourism thesis, as you can see quite a mixture really, all races, sex and ages, which made for a good combination.

We were driving along when all of a sudden came to an abrupt halt, did a u-turn back to a large grill across the road. We were told that Hassie thinks we should all 'play' the game and crawl under this grill and put our hands up through the grill and keep them there for as long as possible, when we know that a lorry or car is heading towards us - then as the vehicle approaches the person who keeps their hands up through the grill the longest is the winner - so long as they don't lose their fingers in the process of course. I have added a couple of picture to explain - quite a random and weird thing to do - but its one of those things that you had to be there!! It was quite nice to get out and do something so stupid because we were stuck on the bus for over 400kms today! We carried on down the road when we came across the "famous sign" advising that there will be Camels, Kangaroos and Wombats for the next 92km. We all had our photos taken behind it - had to be done!

We were then crossing the Nullabor, which in Aboriginal terms means "Treeless Plain" - and boy was it! there was nothing to look at for hours on end, just sand, scrub land and sky. We traveled for 178km in a straight line!

We stopped at the Head of Bight - the Southern Right Whales territory. We walked along the man made boardwalk and just took in the stunning ocean, what a sight for sore eyes. We crossed the WA/SA border, where we had to declare any fruit, vegetables or honey, none of which we had, so were allowed to pass through.

We then headed for Eucla, where we set up camp, it was a beautiful campsite with hot showers! I went for a walk and watched the sun go down, which was amazing, just standing in middle of nowhere watching the sun disappear was so peaceful. I returned to camp where we all sat and played truth or dare - I'm not going to go into all the questions and answers, but a few were a bit close to home regarding Brian. I felt a bit awkward talking to strangers about what had happened, as up until now no-one knew why I was on this journey, or anything from my past.

DAY FIVE

I got up early to see the sun rise, but missed it, so wondered around talking pictures and came across a beautiful horse, a photo of which is attached to this blog. I stood watching him for ages, it was so tranquil and gave me time to sit and think. What we've all seen and done over the last few days is just out of this world, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I would feel like I do right now.

We had breakfast, porridge, made by Karen and myself, once everybody had tasted it they wanted to have it everyday! I must admit it does start you off well.

Once again tents down - off to Old Eucla to visit a telegraph town buried by sand dunes! There really wasn't much left to see, just a few bricks but it was quite interesting to know that we were standing on a buried town with very little left to see! We then headed for Madura, which looked like another ghost town, its so weird being in such desolated places - especially at this time of year. We had a coffee and a wander, I stumbled across so many great opportunities to take photographs, a few I have added, a really old car, a crow on a branch, all sorts of interesting things. I absolutely love taking photographs, but not always of people, I just love the capture the moment, take unaware ones, scenery and unusual things. This is something that I would love to take up on my return.

We stopped on the Eyre Highway on our way to Norseman and camped in the bush. We are talking BUSH, there was nothing, just sand, bush and stars. I did my first "whoopsee" in the bush, pretty scary walking out in the pitch black to find a "safe" spot to squat, everything goes through your mind - spiders, snakes etc, but you do get used to it and think nothing of it.

DAY SIX

Up at 6am we set off on our travels again, stopping at Norseman, something we had to do so we could collect our certificates to say that we had crossed the Nullabor! which i must say felt like quite an achievement!

We carried on down south to a lovely place called Esperance, it was a quaint old place with a small section just outside of the main town consisting of very old fashioned shops, which had a cultural feeling to it.

We drove down to Cape Le Grand National Park, where there had been a massive bush fire recently, so weren't sure if if we were going to be allowed to go there, but as luck would have it, everything was under control and in hand. As we drove down the hill to Lucky Bay we saw the most amazing beach and clear waters we had ever seen, we all thought "ooh hope we're staying here", but we keep on driving, we all tutted as we passed it, but then..............the view that was before us was totally unbelievable, it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my life. The pure white white sand, bright blue clear waters - and to top it all Kangaroos on the beach! - its one of those instances where you have to pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming - I wasn't - it was real and i was here!

The campsite was fully booked so we had to set up camp in the day area, which the ranger wouldn't have been too chuffed had he spotted us! We took the chance and went for it, as you looked out of your tent we were yards from the beach, you'd pay hundreds of pounds to have a view like that on holiday and here we had it for FREE!

We walked along the beach, watched the Kangaroos hopping around, drinking the water and eating the fish washed up on the beach, they were so tame they let us come very close.

When I walked up to the washroom a Kangaroo actually passed me on the same path, as though he was needing the toilet more than me! one of them actually went into the men's toilet, looked around then hopped out - "no toilet roll?" I got close enough to actually touch one, it was amazing having them wander around the campsite, where in the world would you see Kangaroos on the beach?

DAY SEVEN

Today was just a chill out and do what you like day really. We did a massive walk from Rossiter Bay to Lucky Bay taking about 3 hours, covering approximately 8km, I was exhausted, my legs were in so much pain, but am so glad I did it as it was a wonderful walk - no pain no gain!! Later on everybody decided to go for a walk up Frenchmans Peak, there was no way I could manage that, apart from being exhausted Sharon fell asleep and didn't go, so we both stayed behind had a drink and a chat.

DAY EIGHT

Up and atom early today and drove for approximately 500km, on our way to Albany where we were were going to spend New Years Eve, in a backpackers hostel. Where had the last week gone? We stopped en route and visited a place called Castlerock for yet another climb up Mount Barker - once again I declined, so stayed behind and looked after the bus and all the belongings.

I began enjoying just sitting on my own pondering, thinking about my trip, Brian, my children - what am I going to do when I return, it was such a peaceful place, I didn't feel like a failure for not being able to go with the others, I knew my limitations and so I was quite happy to have 'me' time. I felt for the first time at peace with myself and almost ready to go home. My impending trip to Thailand seemed less and less appealing, I'd heard several travelers complain about Thailand, not as a place, but that the itinerary was not as expected. I don't think i want to go somewhere where I'm not sure that I want to be, Sharon and I had spent the last two months together and as we didn't really know each that well before we came away, we went to school together 34 years ago and have spent a few weekends together since, but we'd never spent 24/7 time together, and I think the pressure was showing. Although we havent fallen out at all, I feel now is the time to go our separate ways. I've decided to give it serious thought over the next few days as to whether I want to make the next part of my journey.

Bobby is only a few hours away in the same country and I feel like I havent spent enough time with him, I only had a week before Christmas, which wasn't enough. Ii want to spend more time with him, and am looking forward to getting to know Toni.

We arrived in Albany for the night, there were 7 of us girls in one dormitory, with Bodil in with the boys and her husband. The evening started off really great, playing the fool with Antonio's rather large false teeth in I pretended that they were my real teeth and saw peoples expressions when I smiled - most of them either didn't know where to look or smiled in pity!! At midnight we all stood on the bridge watching the fireworks display, which was pretty spectacular, then we all seemed to disperse. I went and sat outside on my own, even though the place was heaving and I wasn't alone I don't think I've ever felt so alone. I know it sounds silly but I just wanted Brian with me, to hold me and say Happy New Year to me like he used to, and see the New Year in together. Everyone there seemed to have somebody to share it with. i could've gone and shared it with my group, but I needed to be alone. I walked home and was in bed by 12.30 - how sad is that? most of the other girls came in around 2ish - I was still awake as I'd spoken with Mark and then Nickie for some time, which helped.

DAY NINE

We got up late today, it was about 8ish, had breakfast, got our stuff together and left about 12 o'clock to go the Valley of the Giants - we walked along the boardwalk, it was magnificent, it was built on giant and ancient tingle trees. it was a bit wobbly walking on the bridge, Sharon didn't really like it, so we all rattled it from side to side to scare her - mean but amusing!! We then went to the climb the diamond tree which was 52m tall with big spikes coming out of it to climb up to the tree house at the top, Karen made it to the top, but Sharon and I didn't!! mind you she is 10 years younger We camped close by for our final bush camp with a roaring camp fire, which is so lovely and you feel a kind of comradeship, but looking up at the stars and the milky way for the last time was so sad. We were all bushed (pardon the pun) so were in bed by 11.

DAY TEN

Up again early, off for our last trip to Ngilgi Caves - I was a bit dubious about going into them as although I don't really have any fears, I'm not keen on confined spaces - this cave was 82m below ground level. I donned my hard hat, grabbed my torch and off we went. It was a bit claustrophobic but I did it and felt so triumphant I had achieved and overcome my fear of being underground!

We then had a long drive to Perth - our final desintation - my final journey is about to end. We all met up at Rosie O'Grady's for a final dinner, which was absolutely fantastic. Everyone was on a high, the adrenalin was pumping, we got absolutely intoxicated!!! a good end to a fantastic trip.

Well this has taken me almost two weeks to publish, but I hope that once you've read it you will think it was worth it. This has been one of the most exciting and rewarding trips so far and I know that Brian was there with me, looking out for me when I was alone and when I attempted anything dangerous. I would also like to thank all the people on the trip who made it so special - it was a team effort which made it what it was.

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Photos

How beautiful!
This is one of the photos that turned out from underwater camera!

Christmas Eve
Me getting on my camel!!

Christmas Eve
Me and Karen on our camel

Chritmas Eve in Port Augustus
Busy Town?

Christmas Day
This is Craig & Jo Haslam's farm

Christmas Day
Me Sharon & Karen ready to swim with the Dolphins

Baird Bay
Me watching the seals

Wild Dolphin
What a beautiful sight

Snorkelling with the Dolphins
I'm the first one at the bottom!!

Me
Chuffed that I'd mastered the snorkelling bit!!

Baird Bay
Two seals "kissing"

Christmas Day
"The Thinker"

Murphy's Haystacks
Karen trying to hide in her xmas hat!!

"The Bus"
In the outback

Footprints in the Sand
My footprints on one of my walks

"Viewing Window"
Karen and I on our way to visit a winery!!

Kangaroo on Lucky Bay Beach
Eating a blow fish

Lucky Bay
My view from my tent!! priceless

Pit Stop
In the outback

Fruit Wedges
At a gas station in the middle of nowhere

"The Nullabor"
The vastness of it all

Long Stretch ahead
Our bus and trailer

The Truck is Coming
we did put our hands back up - but not for long!

Sunset
Our tents at night

Ngilgi Cave
The "Gang" ready to go down 82m bgl!!

Comments

[karenbrad]

So glad to have shared this journey with you hun, it was special. Keep up the photography you're great at it! K xx