They paint a different picture of Burke here, he offended the aborigines the first time his party came through, so they were unwilling to feed him a second time, when he most needed the help. King ultimately got help from a local tribe but it was too late for Burke and Wills.
Next we decided to go down the wrong road and get BOGGED good and proper. After some progress further into the bog Justin tried reversing. This was going well for a short distance, but we kept sliding to the right where there was more water, and therefore sludge. By this stage the mud was up to the side steps of our poor car. At the time I couldn't believe the road was still open, who could get through this mess? Ultimately Justin did the manly thing and got muddy, I drove the car back and forward trying to get some purchase on the branches and bark he was laying down for grip. Eventually we were stuck forward or back, so Justin got the "Mike Prior Angel Wings Manual Winch" out and with my help driving got us out after 20 minutes of hard yakka. What a hero.
Once we were back on the correct road, we realised we still had time to go to the Dig Tree, also know as Depot 65. In QLD, this is where Burke's party spli up so four of the party could race ahead to the Gulf of Carpentaria, leaving half the group to wait for their return for four months if the supplies lasted. This base group left supplies dug under the tree, with a message carved into the tree where to find them.
Only seven hours after they broke camp, Burke and Wills returned to Depot 65. They found the supplies, but thought they had no chance of catching them, so headed to the west along Cooper's Creek towards a station they knew of. Over the next three weeks or so a disastrous lack of communication ensued between the two parties, resulting in the death of Burke then Wills.
We had fantastic showers at $2 for three minutes, then back to camp for angel hair pasta with Matriciana sauce. Yummo!
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Wow, who's washing the car! Agh!
ReplyDeleteYours truly and the girls, but washing isn't the right word. We used sticks and a screwdriver to knock the dirt off the wheels and out of the brakes!
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