Hawker (Again)

Tuesday 3/6/02

Absolutely everything is booked out in Marree and has been for many months due to the fact that this is the Year of The Outback and "The Great Australian Cattle Drive" is proceeding along the Birdsville Track to Marree.

We are staying in the overflow area, a 5 acre block beside the Caravan Park. There is no power or water but we can carry bore water from the Caravan Park.

We have set up our annex as we are staying here for a week.  It is pretty warm during the day and pretty cool at night (26C/12C). It is a dirt paddock and once you break the crust it turns to bulldust so we are expecting lots of dust once the area is full.

4/6/02

We were up early today (6am) probably as we were in bed at 7.30pm last night. After breakfast we did a load of washing (in the bore water) and then went into Marree to refuel the jeep and pick up some food items.

We drove out along the Birdsville Track. It was 38km when we reached the cattle drive. We could see the mob in the distance as we came over a rise just east of Lake Harry ruins (approx 138.3º E x 29.3º S). It was a fantastic sight.

A few minutes after we stopped on the track with the mob about 100 metres off the southern side, the drovers pulled the mob up to rest. It was about 11am and they were starting a 2hour lunch break. Odette began filming all that was happening and she beckoned to one of the drovers to take the camera and get a close up of the action. The drover was Liz, the only female drover, and she took Odette over to the mob. We also got to meet Eric Oldfield the boss drover, and spoke to many others as well. It really was a once in a lifetime experience and a great thrill to see a large herd on the move (1,000 head).

Another character we met was Betty White, a 77 year old from Adelaide. She was on the last of her 3 day leg of the drove although she was not riding a horse but travelling in the horse drawn bugy.

There was a Swiss couple who had flown in to join the drive and return to Switzerland tomorrow. There have also been lots of rumours that Slim Dusty had had a stoke, died or was otherwise sick and would not be appearing at the concert. We were assured however that all was well with Slim.

They (organizers) are erecting a "tent city" in Marree and it will cost $95.00 a person, shared accommodation. Not sure what is included in the price. Reports from tourist on the drove tell us the accommodation and catering as well as showers etc have all been 5 star.

We went into Marree late afternoon as the supply truck had been into town and we needed to pick up some meat. The meat does not look like it is top of the range but the prices are right up there. From the general store we got the news that rain is expected Thursday/Friday. We would be here for awhile if that's the case!

Lots of "Cattle Drive" souvenirs are for sale in the General Store. Tea towels, T-shirts, caps, etc. It is pretty disappointing to see all this stuff is made in China so we give it all a miss and buy a carton of West End cans for $39.instead.

5/5/02

Odette went out to see the cattle drive again this morning with Jane who is in the van next to us. They were after some film of the sunrise. They arrived back about 10.30 well and truly ready for breakfast. They did get some very good video and photos and had a really great time. As we expected, as more arrive, the paddocks are turning into a dust bowl.

6/6/02

Lots and lots of vans, campervans, tents, swags are everywhere now. There are people camping in any accessible  area of the town and surrounds. The dust is getting much worse. The nights have been cool, still and cloudless but as the sun rises the breeze picks up and the light, cloud cover forms. Have had a look about the town today to see how things are progressing. There is a "carnival" or side show set up and "tent city" looks ready for the influx.

Cattle Arrive in Marree
The cattle are only a couple of km up the track this morning. About 9.30am we went to see the "Horse Tailors" bring in the mob of horses that were not being ridden that day. The cattle are in the distance and the main street of Marree has a traffic jam with everyone trying to find the best spot to see the cattle come into town. When the cattle finally arrive they decide to change the route as it is easier than trying to control the traffic. The cattle are hearded around the northern end of the town and into the cattle yards. The stockmen then split them into different groups depending on the Station they originated from, so they are ready for auction.

8/6/02

After breakfast we went to the cattle yards to take a gander at the cattle auction. The number of 4 x 4 at the cattle yards was amazing. The auction was pretty interesting with detail given of the breed, station of origin and if the sale proceeds were going to charity. At the end of the sale the average price per head worked out at $405.00. Total sale $243,000.

Following the cattle auction the flag of the Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive, which consisted of a stockman riding a kangaroo on a blue over ochre background with the Southern Cross in the background, was auctioned off. The flag auction raised $700.00.  Next the saddles that were made for the drive were auctioned. The saddles were made in India and were not the best quality or leather but each one had a metal badge, about belt buckle size and were numbered 1 to 75. They sold for prices in the range of $495 to $620.

After the auction we returned to the van for lunch. Next we went out to the Marree Races. Once again there were thousands of 4 x 4's and you needed a 4 x 4 to get into the car park with the soft dusty surface. We only stayed for a couple of races.

Of course the big event to celebrate the end of the cattle drive is the Slim Dusty Concert. We had dinner early (4pm) which was a steak burger. It is about 4.40pm when we began the walk to the concert venue carrying our chairs. We were fortunate to get close to the front of the queue which ended up being very, very long. After an hour wait we finally got in and great seats about 6 rows back in the centre of the stage area. By the time the concert started the crowd would have been about 8,000 to 10,000. The show was great but we were all pretty darn cold by the time it ended. We sat by the fire with Jean, Gavin and Michael and the 2 guys camped the other side of us. Had coffee before heading off to bed.

9/6/02

We had a bit of sleep in today (8am), then we said goodbye to our neighbours Jean, Gavin and Michael and also Jan and Peter. We had our normal Sunday breakfast of bacon and eggs. The exodus from Marree has begun although there is still the Gymkhana on down at the race track. Odette asked for the Sunday Mail while she was in the general store but it doesn't arrive into Marree until Wednesday. The public phone is still broken.

10/6/02

After breakfast we decided to go out to Lake Eyre. By about 10am most of the people had vacated the caravan park and when we returned from Lake Eyre there was only our van and a camper trailer left in the overflow and perhaps 6 vans in the park itself. 

The road out to Lake Eyre passes through a Station called Muloorina. It is 46km to the information area on the edge of the lake. A couple of km from the homestead there is camping area on the edge of a water-hole that is fed by a bore put in by the station. The camping area looks quite comfortable with plenty of shade and good toilets. The road (PAR) is fairly rough and corrugated with bulldust patches marked by red flags. The second section from the homestead to the edge of the lake is quite bad and we needed to sit on 60 km. Any slower and the vehicle would have shaken to bits.

The road first passes along the edge of Lake Eyre South and ends at an information stand on the edge of Lake Eyre North. Lake Eyre South had a cover of salt on the surface but there didn't appear to be any salt on Lake Eyre North, as far as we could see. The lake is 15 metre below sea level and has a depth of about 3 metre when full. It looks vast and would be some sight to see when full. 

After arriving back at the van we brushed down the annex to get it reasonably clean of dust and packed it away. We had pasta for dinner and Odette built a fire. Went for a shower, the 2nd for nearly a week.

PS We bought a block of chocolate and took it to the Slim Dusty concert. We only ate a very small portion of it and brought the remainder back to the van. We had a coffee by the fire and when we got back into the van we discovered that Jack (The Wonder Dog) had a nice time and dined on the remainder of the chocolate. He survived.

Hawker (Again)