Why Do It?

 Dammed good question!

Why go to Paris? Why climb a mountain?

We really don’t know other than we do.

We are not sure if we can make it all the way around, we are not sure if the carts will be up to the task or if we can carry enough water through the vast deserts we must cross.

What we do know is that we are going to have a good try.

 It started a number of years ago when Cindy and I found ourselves in an empty nest and we wondered what next. “Just get on with life” was the immediate answer, but I craved more. We both love travel and we both love to walk. The idea began to take root and grow in the dark and deep recesses of my mind. I started to search the Internet for Around Australia trips and stumbled on the journals of Andrew and Joanna Hooker. These nuts were riding around Australia on single recumbent bikes! I followed their journals and got lost in their experiences, good and bad. Half way into their travels they were joined for a while by Bill and Julia Young, also riding (a tandem recumbent) around Australia. This was too good, 2 journals to read!

I convinced Cindy to buy a bike and we started to ride instead of walk. It soon became obvious Cindy hated the bike. This was not going to work!

Life then took us to a place where we left work and packed up our car and tented our way around the bottom half of Australia. During the early part of the trip we met and spent a great night with Bill and Julia, who were on their last night before completing their lap of Australia.

The 4 month trip around was great but in no way fulfilled my desires.

Not long after settling back at Warwick in Queensland I started following the online journals of Deborah De Williams who was walking around Australia with a support van. Not only did she complete the lap, she broke a whole lot of records in doing so. Well done Deborah.

Life in Queensland was not going anywhere and it was so dry, so we moved to Scottsdale in Tasmania where I took up a position managing 5 Online Access centres in the region. During this time I struggled to put the walk out of my mind. Then I found the online diary of Colin Ricketts who was walking around Australia un-supported with his cart “Wilson”. This did not help put the walk to rest. I was enthralled by his experiences and could not stop reading them. Then one night Cindy approached me with “I know you have to do this walk and I am willing to do it as well”. What a person I married, my life all of a sudden picked up, I had a purpose. I still worried about the immense task Cindy was taking on for me and I privately decided that if things got tough for her, I would kill the walk.

Doing the walk unassisted meant no support vehicle, we needed something to carry our gear. I put my mind to work and, well Cindy’s diary tells the story well.

Today is the 11^th of March. Several weeks ago Bernie designed a three wheeled cart big enough to carry all our camping needs for a couple of days on the road.

Adam, our son, did a computer graphic design on his computer so we could see what it was going to look like when it was finished. Bernie then did the precise measurements and then tried to find someone to build it to his specifications.

We met a husband and wife team (Rose and John Daniel) who build campervans. They said that they would love to be involved in our project.

Hence Rommie was conceived. Bernie has named her Rommie because he is a fan of the sci-fi series Andromeda who had an avatar called Rommie.

We purchased the three wheels first and then waited for the steel to arrive. Two weeks after the steel arrived John arrived with the bare frame of Rommie strapped to the roof of his campervan.

The wood for the floor and lid were purchased along with the metal mesh for Rommie’s sides. Our next door neighbor, Ken, helped Bernie cut out the floor and lid.

John and Rose rocked up on the Friday and John welded the mesh onto Rommie.

During the week John came around and tidied up the welds ready for us to paint. Bernie decided that because there is a chance that Rommie will get wet he painted an undercoat that will rust proof her as well. He put two coats on and also painted the floor and lid white.

Bernie then purchased the brake. During the next week John welded the brake mounts onto Rommie and Bernie also decided that he wanted some orange safety flags so John welded on some flag mounts.

The next thing that Bernie did was to take Rommie around to the bike shop so that the brake cable could be cut to size and fitted. The man at the bike shop was shown the plans initially when we purchased the wheels, and when he saw Rommie he was taken aback on how well she had come up, to the point where he just had to try her and stood leaning against the handle bar while Bernie talked about what we are going to do. He fitted the cable free of charge.

Because we will not be taking our fold-up table we had to devise a way of having one with the lid. So Bernie and John came up with the idea that the lid should have a stronger frame and fit it onto Rommie with hinges so that when it lifts open it can be used as a table as well. John set about making it and then Bernie painted it white.

We then walked the whole length of the town trying to find a rear vision mirror so that we could put it on the handle bar as a side mirror so that we can see if anything is coming up behind us. We finally found one in the motor bike shop, Bernie then fitted it and it works a treat.

It was time to give Rommie her final paint job, so we purchased the paint, which we were hoping was going to be a bright yellow florescent colour, but we were unable to buy it in a non spray can and at $19.95 a can we felt that it was too expensive. We eventually went with the brightest yellow we could find in an outdoor gloss. Bernie borrowed John’s compressor and gave Rommie two coats of the yellow paint.

On the day that Bernie was painting Rommie, Adam’s friend Tommy had been into Launceston and purchased the two flags for us and he arrived back and delivered them to us that same afternoon. Bernie realized that they had their own axle mounts so he decided to fit them on the front wheel. The reason we wanted the flags is for two reasons. The first is for the safety aspect and the other being to sight the front wheel.

Bernie then left Rommie for a few days so that she could dry properly before he reattached all the bits and pieces he had taken off before he painted her.

The next stage is for us to make Rommie a waterproof skirt. We have found the material that is needed but as it is very expensive we have bought some calico so that we can make up a pattern first to make sure it will fit her properly.

That is where we are up to as of this day. Now you might be asking yourself why then did we start the diary on this particular date. Well the answer is simple! Today was the first time that we packed equipment into Rommie and took her for her very first official walk.

How did it go?

Better than we could ever have hoped.

Why?

The brake kept her under control downhill.

Uphill was easier than we expected and walking on the flat was better than not pushing. She ran true, we were able to steer without lifting the front wheel and the feeling of not having to carry anything was great. But the best thing of all was when we stopped for a break under a lovely tree, we were able to pull out our chairs and sit in the shade and rest comfortably.  

The feeling of self containment and independence was exhilarating. Although Rommie still isn’t finished, it was a special day for Bernie and I as we have a dream and today we felt that our dream had become just a little bit closer to being realised.

We took Rommie out for a number of walks, testing her performance on different road surfaces and carrying different weights. What we found was:

• Road surface did not bother her, she tracked true through holes, slopes and corrugations.
• She needed at least 15 kilograms of weight behind the back wheels to lighten up the front wheel.
• One brake was not enough when going down hill with weight onboard.

After the prototyping, Rommie was broken down to her chassis, the second brake fitted, the handle bar padding fitted, repainted and had her waterproof skirt made and fitted.

We had Tim from the bike shop make up and fit her name tags.

We took Rommie out for a few more walks and she was as good as before but with the second brake, she handled down hills with ease.

A new thing we noticed was how people we were passing were taking notice. Rommie was turning heads and people were asking questions. This of course brought up the walk. We are not quite ready to admit to all what we are planning. So we answered with “we love to walk to our campsites”. Lame…

One thing still bothered us, will the wheels take the constant weight that Rommie will carry? We asked many so called professionals and received as many answers. They ranged from “easy” to “you won’t make it to Hobart”.  So one fateful day we loaded Rommie with 45 litres of water, the tent, the cooker, the gas bottle and the chairs. As we pushed her along the first impression was “wow this is easier than we expected, but what was that noise?” The spokes were creaking! We had purchased standard 16” wheels without any thought to what they would carry. A mistake!

We had originally planned to build 2 carts to share the load, but Rommie had performed so well we were considering just using her. Time to think again!

We went back to Tim at our bike shop and explained our problems. He contacted his suppliers and a new set of “stunt wheels” were ordered. More spokes and stronger hubs.

We decided the second cart was necessary and Steve was born, but what wheels do we put on him? He would never carry the weight Rommie was expected to so decided to use Rommie’s originals. If they were not good enough, well could fit new “stunt wheels” to Steve, easy.

Cindy wanted Steve to be smaller in height and length than Rommie, so after working out how much smaller, we drew up new plans and gave them to John who started work in our garage. Steve started to come alive.

Rommie’s new wheels arrived but they wouldn’t fit into the original mounts. The extra tuff stuff made them wider! So much for easily fitting new stunt wheels to Steve! We contacted John and asked if he would come and have a look at Rommie’s new problems. Dark days were approaching.

John informed us the obvious, we would have to cut and extend all of Rommie’s wheel mounts. This was done, but during the welding, holes were burnt into Rommie's very new and very expensive skirt. Large scuff marks were also ground into the skirt opposite to the holes. We felt like weeping.

Rommie was now on her new wheels but damaged. I patched the hole and further inspection showed the scuff marks were surface only. They both stood out like a sore thumbs, so a quick trip to trusty Tim provided us with stick on feet which walked up the side of Rommie and hide the scuff and patch. Rommie was pretty again.

John eventually finished Steve’s chassis and Cindy and I began work on the floor, lids weather shield and skirt. Things didn’t go well, the chassis was not as true as Rommie’s, the wheels floated about in the mounts and were not straight. The skirt was cut but we sewed the lid locking buckles on the wrong side. Time to stop for awhile.

Cindy had been offered a new job that saw us move from Scottsdale to Ulverstone. This meant me leaving my job and setting up my own computer repair business. We moved with Rommie and Steve carrying our video, book and CD collections.

During the move I damaged my right knee to the point where I couldn’t walk. I have had trouble with the knee all my life and had strained it a month earlier on a walk, but this was different.

After settling into the new house, Cindy in her new job and me getting the business started, I began working on Steve and Rommie again. My knee was sore but computer repairs were scarce, so I had time to spare.

Both carts were no where near capable of going to the end of the street, yet alone around Australia. Steve’s wheels pointed in all directions and twisted out of the mounts when you tried to tighten the wheels, he needed his lids fitting, brakes mounted, rear view mirror mounted and the skirt completed. He also needed his name tags applied and feet applied to the sides. Rommie’s new wheel mounts were not much better and in fact her front wheel fell off when we unloaded her from the removal truck. To add to this, both carts needed waterproofing and the skirt stitching sealed against rot.

I started with Rommie, I purchased a few tubes of clear silicon sealant and went to work. I stuffed it up. Sealant everywhere.  The next day I started to remove the excess sealant with a knife and while leaning into Rommie, one of my ribs moved. It felt oh so wrong. The pain was missing, I could breath fine, but I knew ribs were not supposed to do that. The next morning the missing pain was found, I could still breath fine, so I knew there was no lung damage, but it hurt to move. I was now hobbling and holding my side. Great!

After 2 days I was back at Rommie removing the excess sealant, this time successfully. The next job was to ensure the waterproofing was tight, which after doing a far more professional job, it was.

What to do with Rommie’s wheels? We needed the wheels to be easy to remove and replace. There are many thorns out there with Steve and Rommie’s name on them. The alignment of the cart’s wheels underpinned their good performance. Who would want to push a Woolworth's shopping trolley around Australia. Not me for one. So after some thought I bought a rat tail file, grabbed my level and set square and filed neat vertical slots at the end of the horizontal wheel mounts. What a change, the wheels can now be removed, replaced and tightened by hand and finally dropped off the jack where they locate themselves in the correct toe-in and camber position. Adding larger washers ensured the wheels did not move when they were tightened. Excited, I took Rommie outside, lined her up on a plant at the back of the garden and pushed. Smack in the middle of the plant. I took her back in, removed the wheels, put them back on and aimed for the plant again. Poor plant, another bulls-eye. I was ecstatic.

The table/lid design saw us originally fitting table legs that run from chrome locating cups on the lid to 2 locating pins welded on the side of Rommie. This did not work well as the angle stopped the neat locating of the legs at either end. We decided to make legs that located in the table cups and went straight to the ground. The down fall here was that if the ground was uneven, the legs had a tendency to fall out. Still, I am sure we can find something at every camp to pack up any uneven leg. The next problem was that Rommie’s wheels were so free, she tended to roll off her table legs. This was beaten by Cindy sewing 2 lengths of Velcro back to back, which we use to lock the brake on. Problem solvered.

I purchased and applied wood grain vinyl to the inside surfaces of the lids. This will protect the wood work and make keeping them clean much easier.

The next day we bought black gaffer tape and sealed all of Rommie’s skirt stitching.

Over the next 2 weeks I hobbled around Steve, holding my side and:

• Fitted his lids
• Fitted the rest of his skirt
• Weatherproofed him
• Slotted and aligned his wheels
• Mounted his brakes
• Mounted his rear view mirror
• Made and fitted table legs
• Fitted day pack mounts
• Applied vinyl to the inside surfaces of the lids
• Fitted his handle bar padding

Cindy then applied his name tags.

Finally I sealed his skirt stitching.

I took Steve’s wheels off the next day, refitted them and went looking for that now recovering plant. Another bulls-eye! I will now allow the plant to recover and enjoy the rest of it’s life without the annoyance of having a cart rearrange its parts.

The final accessory made for Steve and Rommie was a protector for the floor. This will allow us to remove it to clean out the bits we will definitely collect as we go around Australia.

As we stand there looking at Steve and Rommie, after 100’s upon 100’s of hours and money we could not really afford, it was hard to believe that minus 2 trip computers, they were finished. We kept on looking for the next job, but there was none. It was time to test them, the first time for Steve and again for Rommie after her rebuild.

My side is improving nicely but my knee continues to heal way too slowly. I need that knee to be solid, so I made an appointment with the local Osteopath who assures me he “does knees”. I arrive on Wednesday at 2.30pm as the appointment card states, but he is closed! The sign on the door proudly states that they close on Wednesdays at 12 noon. What the….. So off I go to the local doctor’s surgery and make an appointment to see a doctor the next morning. I arrive next morning to find the doctor unable to believe I have come to see him about my knee. “What is the real reason you have come?” and “Is there anything you want to ask me?” he asks. “Yeah, my knee hurts and it won’t go away” I state. He eventually examines my knee (which by now is not hurting too much anyway) and states that it maybe ligament or cartilage problems. He then goes on to state that I should think twice about invasive treatments because at my age we must consider infections and deep vein thrombosis! Get a life, I am 52, not 102! He eventually books me in for a MRI and an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon. I leave shaking my head and seek advice from the best source I know of, Cindy. We decide that seeing it is improving and the walk is still a long way off, let’s see how it heals itself. Good thinking.

A week later I receive a letter from the orthopaedic surgeon stating that I have been given an appointment to see him, in 4 months time. I will cancel that, what a joke!

Saturday 14^th October 2006

Well, it’s here, the first test day. The plan is to load Steve and Rommie with near walk weight and walk to the nearby town of Turners Beach. There we will camp over night and return on the 15^th. It is a day of firsts, the first time:

• Steve hits the road
• Rommie hits the road after her rebuild
• Cindy and I try to push near walk weight
• Steve and Rommie take in and carry the equipment we need to take for the walk
• Cindy and I walk to another town let alone walk back the next day. With the move and my injuries, we haven’t had the opportunity to keep up our walking regime’.
• Cindy and I do a multiple day walk

The equipment we plan to take are:

• 10 litres of water
• Tent
• 2 x fold up chairs
• 2 x pillows
• Blow up mattress
• Pump for the blow up mattress
• Spare tent pegs
• Spare ropes
• Tyre pump
• Tool kit
• Food for 2 days
• 2 x sleeping bags
• 1 Double bed quilt
• Quilt
• 2 x tarps
• 3 burner cooker
• Gas bottle
• 1 bottle scotch
• 1 bottle brandy
• 2 litres coke
• Chain and lock
• 2 x day packs
• 2 x bottles of water
• Dish washing gear
• Bucket
• Cutlery
• 2 x saucepans
• 1 x frying pan
• Torch
• Coffee and sugar
• 2 x coffee cups
• 2 x glasses for drinks
• Hurricane lamp
• 1 bottle citronella lamp oil

We piled all the above around Steve and Rommie and wondered how the hell this was going to fit? We started packing taking into account weight distribution, what we would need on the road and how it would come out when we were setting up camp.

Before we knew it, it was all loaded with room to spare!

We said our goodbyes to Adam, did our stretches and rolled out of our steep driveway. I will admit to feeling sick with nerves and excitement. Given what we have gone through to get here, no wonder!

The day was forecast to be windy with rain developing, which did not overly concern us. We knew that on the road, exposed to the weather, you just accept what is thrown at you and deal with it.

Turners Beach is just under 10 kilometres away, long enough to test us and the carts, but short enough to get home if we needed to.

We were soon rolling out of Ulverstone with a gusty tail wind. We were following a side road that runs parallel to the Bass highway, so there were plenty of cars whizzing around us. All drivers were being courteous and giving us plenty of room, good one Tassie!

About 4 kilometres into the walk, I turned around to see how Cindy was faring, when I noticed we were on top of quite a long hill! I didn’t even notice we were going up hill! Cindy was equally surprised when I told her to look around.

Steve and Rommie were running smoothly and apart for a small tendency for Steve to run left, they were running true. We stopped and I adjusted Steve’s front wheel, had a breather and after a few minutes set off again.

Cindy reported that Steve was a lot better, but still wanted to run slightly left. I added more adjustment to Steve’s front wheel and set off again. To our surprise, the Turners Beach overpass loomed up in front of us. We were both disappointed, this was fun.

We crossed the over pass holding onto our hats which the wind was trying to send into the middle of the Bass highway below us, and rolled into Turners Beach. We stopped at the local petrol station to top up the gas cylinder and were confronted by our first experience of genuine interest that Steve and Rommie were creating around us. The proprietor of the petrol station was enthralled by the carts design and purpose. “I have to say I have not ever seen anything like them and I also must say they are fantastic”. We were as proud as punch!

As we rolled towards the caravan park the rain started to fall. We arrived at the vacant caravan park office with pools of water collected on the top of Steve and Rommie. We will now see how well the waterproofing was done! The thought of a cold wet bed did not excite me.

The manager finally arrived and seeing Steve and Rommie allowed us to setup near the BBQ area which afforded some protection from the wind and rain.

We sat down at the BBQ bench, looked at each other and knew that the first part of the test was a massive success.

We soon started to celebrate even though it was only just past noon. I was so happy, all the work in creating these 2 carts at that point was well worth it. We had independence and comfort! If you are reading this John, well done mate!

During the afternoon many people came up to talk with us and find out about the carts and us. Kindness was showered upon us from people we did not know, offers of sharing their homes, food and company came from all directions. What was it about Steve and Rommie that brought this out? We travelled for months in the car, using much the same equipment and never received this much kindness during the whole times.

During a break in the rain and visits, we setup the tent and everything was perfectly dry.

The evening was spent with 2 sisters and their husbands, sitting at the BBQ bench, discussing our plans and their travel experiences. We were told that when we start the walk, we must start from that spot and they will ensure that the national media would be there to record it! A bit much for us, but a nice thought never the less.

The night was a little cold in the tent but the scotch certainly help insulate me.

We chained Steve and Rommie under the BBQ area roof even though we were assured they would be safe. We couldn’t stand to lose them now, so they were chained to a large support post.

The next morning we woke to the twin of the day before. After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, we cleaned up and set about breaking camp. The morning was filled with more people asking questions and us repacking the carts.

Before we knew it, we were packed, said our goodbyes to our new friends and were rolling out of the caravan park. As we approached the over pass, we both said we should turn left towards Devonport instead of right to Ulverstone and home. “Tea in Devonport and Breakfast in Melbourne” I joked. It felt hollow, I did want to start, right there and then!

We pushed on and soon the rain and wind picked up, this time in our faces. The safety flags were flapping madly about and to my surprise, Rommie hardly felt it!

We continued on and soon we were entering Ulverstone, where we walked to our local take away to get chips and a hamburger. After throwing away most of the greasy mess we were served up, we headed home.

At the top of our driveway I stopped and waited for Cindy and Steve, we started together and we will finish together.

We were soon in our garage, sitting on the work bench where most of the last rebuilds were completed, talking to Adam our son. We were bubbly and oh so happy. Steve and Rommie were a huge success, they were easy to push, they easily carried what we needed, wind and road surface did not bother them and they were weatherproof. Cindy my love, we did well!

We are now talking openly of a start date. Next October, the four of us will have tea at Devonport and breakfast in Melbourne.

Tuesday 17^th October 2006

We both pulled up well after the walk. No real soreness and happily my knee caused me no trouble.

We are planning our next walk, the other way this time to Penguin. Further than the Turners Beach walk, I cannot wait.

Tuesday 24^th October 2006

It has been a quiet week, with the weekend devoted to entertaining Cindy’s brother and his wife.

We have been quiet and deep in thought since the Turners Beach walk. We both want to go, but finances will not allow us. My computer business is not happening fast enough and so I need to look for a full time job.

We still want to leave no later than the 12^th of October next year, but I can’t see us having the money required. It is time to seriously consider trying to raise sponsorship money and equipment.

The knee continues to heal.

Only 4 more sleeps before the next walk to Penguin.

Saturday  28^th October 2006

The walk to Penguin is off.

Cindy has woken with all the symptoms of a cold coming on and the forecast predicts near zero nights. It would be silly to take Cindy out in that!

Saturday  4^th November 2006

As Andrew Hooker wrote in his book about his and Joanna's trip "Some days are diamonds and some days are gravel". Today was our first gravel day.

We woke fairly late and started to pack Steve and Rommie for our walk to Penguin. It was 10am before we actually started out of our driveway.

There are 3 ways (that I knew of) to get to Penguin from our house:

1. Head for the Bass highway entrance near our house and turn against the traffic, thus heading west and going onto the Penguin turn off.

2. Walk through town and up a fair hill to the Burnie access point to the Bass Highway, turn against the traffic and head for the Penguin turn off.

3. Head through town and take the coast side road. This is relatively flat but very narrow and has a number of blind corners.

I decided that we should go for option 2 as it was the safest.

We both were lethargic and found just keeping the carts moving a chore. As we walked through town we raised the now familiar level of interest in the local residents.

We were soon slogging our way up the hill out of town and looking for the Bass Highway entrance.

When we reached the round about that gives you access to the highway, I noticed a 4th route to Penguin and it was a side road. "Penguin 7 kilometres" read the sign. Easy I thought and turned to Cindy and said "How about that route?"

Cindy had that look on her face that said "It will be hilly and longer". I knew she is invariably always right about these things but, "If it is bad, it is only 7 kilometres". Cindy shrugged and we headed off into another lesson in the always listen to Cindy class.

The road went up and down, sometimes we could see the nice and flat Bass highway heading straight for Penguin, other times we were taken far away in a meandering route through the hills.

We stopped under a tree around 1pm for lunch, the highlight being 1 spoon, 1 jar of peaches and 2 hungry walkers.

The going was getting real tough, Cindy was lagging behind and for awhile I thought this was how she wanted the gap to be. I kept on waiting for her when the gap got too large but even though I waited for her to rest before setting off, I was getting far more rest than her. Just once, I wondered what the hell we were doing here.

By 2.30pm we were slogging up yet another long hill which thankfully ended in a "T" junction. To the right was the sea and the Penguin overpass.

After stopping for a yummy ice block we rolled into the Penguin caravan park around 3.30pm.

7 kilometres my arse!! and I will prove it with the Silver Lady.

After booking in, we opened Steve and Rommie, removed the brandy, scotch, coke and glasses and set about applying pain killers to our bodies.

We setup camp later that afternoon and it was just only dark when we retired to bed.

Sunday 5^th November 2006

I woke and got out of bed early after a fitful nights sleep. I had gotten sunburn on my face and arms and they gave me curry all night.

While Cindy slept in, I set about doing a little maintenance on Steve and Rommie. Rommie was a little harder to push yesterday (taking into account all those rotten hills) and she tended to float a little. The problem turned out to be under inflated rear tyres. Cindy had lost the left brake on Steve late yesterday, so after a quick re-adjustment to it, it was back. I decided to add a little more pressure to the right brake and while doing so, noticed that a pivot pin in the brake caliper was about to fall out. Steve's brakes are a different make than Rommie's and they seem unnecessarily complicated. I re-located the pin and tightened the brake. I will replace those pins with locked bolts to ensure they will hold for the distance.

Cindy rose around 9am, looked at the grey sky and I knew it was time to head back home. After a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast, we cleaned up, packed up and headed off.

We decided that we would take the coast road home, while it was more dangerous, it was far more direct and had only 2 medium sized hills to climb.

Cindy wore her yellow safety top and me my yellow safety pants. We were as bright as the sun so nobody would miss seeing us on the side of the road.

We decided yesterday that Cindy and Steve should go first, so with Steve's flags flapping, we left the caravan park and headed for the main street of Penguin.

As we were leaving Penguin, 2 gentlemen who were gas bagging on the footpath stopped us and wondered if we were European. I guess they figured you needed to be from Europe to be this mad. After the usual questions and answers I asked how far back they saw us. "Before you rounded the corner way back there". Great, we were visible.

We plodded on along the coast, the drivers were being very thoughtful and we kept off the road as much as possible. We actually got the "Thumbs Up" from 2 passing police cars, which gave us a little confidence that we were doing the right thing.

After 2 hours, we were rolling into the outskirts of Ulverstone and headed for a break in a bus shelter to wait out a small rain shower that had decided to come ashore.

We had lunch at a local take away and were soon rolling back into our driveway.

The Penguin trip was over, the longest and by far the most demanding. We had walked 35 kilometres traversing some large hills along the way.

We both felt that today was if not a diamond day, then at least a ruby day. I am sure the trip will be full of highs and lows. It is all part of the experience that our adventure will serve up to us.

We were sore but not overly sore. My knee is a little worrying in that it is clicking a lot and is slightly swollen. The next few days will tell.

We have decided not to continue taking Steve and Rommie out on our walks. This adventure has proven again that the carts are fine, the weak points are our own fitness. We will find more interesting and challenging walks around Tassie and leave Steve and Rommie at home, resting up for the big one.

Tuesday 7^th November 2006

We both pulled up well after the walk. My knee has recovered and if anything is better than before the walk. The problem seems to be in the muscles surrounding the knee, which I feel is improving day by day.

Friday 17^th November 2006

Received an email from Stuart Foster, the Divisional PR Officer for the Salvation Army today. I had contacted him to see if they would like us to raise awareness for their 2006 Drought Appeal during our walk. It seems to be going well as he is having a meeting with the General Manager and the Communications Manager on Monday and he is raising our proposal during the meeting. I hope it goes well as it seems right that we combine this wonderful walk with raising monies for the struggling families of our farmers.

The knee is almost completely healed! For the first time in many weeks it is pain free and it bodes well for the walk.

Oh.. only 10 months to go, I can't wait.

Saturday 7^th April 2007

Things seem to be struggling with the Salvation Army. Stuart seems to be totally behind our involvement, but it seems there are some worries in the management of the Salvation Army. We only want to collect funds for them, we want nothing, it all seems so silly.

We have purchased a new tent for the walk and Cindy found a wind up torch in a camping shop in Melbourne last month.

We are in the process of finding the best foot wear for the task ahead and soon we will purchase the trip computer for Rommie.

Oh... it is now 5 months, 27 days, 13 hours, 37 minutes and 17 seconds till we start the walk. Not that I am counting.

We have had contact from Colin Ricketts and Deborah De Williams giving us support and advice for the walk ahead. Colin's email was an inspiration and contained a lot of useful information. Thanks Colin!

Both Cindy and I are having wild swinging emotions ranging from impatience to fear for what lays ahead. I guess it is to be expected, but one underlining fact remains, we want to get this thing started! Colin stated that the trip has already started for us, and I guess he is right, we just want the new horizons to begin.

Our fitness has improved and my knee is still not fully healed. One thing I have found is that it responds better to exercise than inactivity. That, I feel, is a good thing.

Steve and Rommie's only maintenance needs are the occasional dusting.

Oh... it is now 5 months, 27 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes and 50seconds till we start the walk. We I guess time is moving after all.

Sunday 15^th April 2007

Its been a good week. Cindy and I have visited the local Sports Power people and after explaining what we required, have purchased 2 pairs of walking shoes. They were expensive, but feel great.

Rommie now has the trip computer fitted and I have successfully repaired my first puncture in one of her rear tyres.

I would also like to say hi to Bianca and Libby, who gave me great support and encouragement during the week.

Still no news from Stuart and the Salvation Army, time is growing short and a decision is going to have to be made soon.

Another week closer. Yes!!!!

Sunday 13^th May 2007

Plans continue to progress. We are currently purchasing the spare wheels, tyres and tubes from Tim in Scottsdale. We are also having Tim create the extra stickers for Steve and Rommie.

We hope to start sending out the sponsorship requests next week. Fingers crossed there are some generous people out there as there are a few items yet to be sourced that will drain the funds set aside for the walk.

The Salvation Army has backed out of the walk as they feel that adventures like ours have let them down in the past. This I still find hard to understand as we promised no expectations and required nothing from them but to receive and apply any monies received to the Drought Appeal. Cindy and I still feel this worthy appeal should gain from our walk and therefore we will try and raise awareness where ever we can. We cannot and will not collect monies on the appeal's behalf and we will not imply that we represent the Salvation Army in any way, but when generous people reach into their pockets, we will ask them to donate at the official collection points.

Time is slowly marching on and soon D1 (day 1) will be here. Bring it on baby!

Saturday 4^th August 2007

Today Adam our son, joined the walk. He will attempt to walk around Australia with us. A great day as we do love our son and having him along side with us will be a pleasure.

Steve and Rommie are totally complete with the fitting of the walk map and web site advertising decals. The state and national flags have been purchased and fitted.

With Adam joining us, we are madly organising the construction of a third cart. This will be required to carry Adam's tent and bedding as well as the extra water required for the remote crossings. The construction of Telemachus will be difficult, but with the experience of building Steve and Rommie, we feel we can have a strong third cart by D1.

Equipment we require continues to be purchased.

It is now 8 weeks 5 days and 15 hours from starting, we are getting extremely nervous and excited.

Soon we can start.

Monday 3^rd September 2007

John and Rose have come and gone. Telemachus is a rolling frame and is over half way to completion. We are tired and have worked some crazy hours to get Telemachus to this point. The construction is going well and the cart is a good one.

The media and friends are starting to notice what we are doing and the excitement level is rising.

We are now supporting Brian and Nerida Egan's Aussie Helpers. This pleases us immensely as they are helping our farmers stay on the land.

D1 is approaching oh so fast now. So much to do and so little time.

We will get there I am sure, with the help of our friends.

Here is some pictures of Telemachus being built.

Friday 7^th September 2007

Friday at last.

It has been a hard week with working 9 to 5 plus coming home and working into the small hours of the morning on Telemachus. Unfortunately I haven't taken any pictures of the different stages of the construction. I do have an excuse though, by the time I had finished working on Telemachus, I have just gone to bed, too tired to worry about any photos. Sorry.

The construction has gone well and Telemachus is a good cart.

This weekend we are having a garage sale to dispose of much of our unwanted furniture. The house is already looking like a squatters camp in some places. Libby has kindly offered storage space for our wanted stuff, so that is a huge load off our minds.

We are so busy at the moment we are not having time to think about the trip, which is a weird feeling.

John and Rose are coming back to Ulverstone next weekend and we are taking Telemachus and Rommie to Turners Beach as a shake down trial for Telemachus. Adam and Cindy will put their feet up and have a well earned rest for a while.

Well it is off to the garage for me and continue working on Telemachus. I will post some pictures tomorrow of our new friend Telemachus.

 Saturday 8^th September 2007

The garage sale is over for today and it went fairly well..

We managed some time to work on Telemachus and below are the pictures I promised. Not too much more to do to on Telemachus and he will be ready. Tomorrow maybe.

Just a couple of  hellos today.

Hi to Jody, Chris, Brayden and Ashley. We will see you soon. Love you guys.

Hi to Heather and Bodge. Looking forward to the dinner at your place. There seems to be a shortage of chairs here, so your place sounds like a good idea.

Hi to Colin. See you in Adelaide.

Sunday 9^th September 2007

Another full day spent on Telemachus.

Adam sealed all the exposed edges with sealant and we then started on the wheel alignment. Goodness me John, that was solid wheel mounts you fitted. We started on the back wheels and after 3 hours of painful and painstaking effort, the camber and toe in/out of the back wheels was perfect. The vertical slots at the end of the horizontal ones located the wheels in the exact positioning every time. We then spent 2 hours filing the front wheel mounts. When we thought we had it, we would refit the front wheel, I would walk to the end of the driveway, Adam would line me up (I thinking he was enjoying that part way too much) and let go. Slowly but surely Telemachus got closer and closer, until finally he hit me without veering one centimeter.

I now know how that poor plant felt when I was aligning Rommie and Steve's wheels.

We then fitted the mounts for Telemachus's tool bag.

All that is left is to replace the cruddy table leg hooks that tear up the taping on the table legs and to cut and fit the protective mat for the floor.

Not much more to go, maybe another hour and then he is finished. We should have Telemachus ready for his shake down trial next weekend with John and Rose.

I keep saying but I will say it again, I cant wait for the walk to start so I can have a rest.

Time for me to put my feet up as there is work tomorrow.

Tuesday 11^th September 2007

Telemachus is finally finished!

We still have our sponsor's logos and the Aussie Helpers banner it fit to the carts, but they have not yet arrived from Tim.

It is a great feeling to have all the carts ready for the walk. Now I can concentrate on the other aspects of the preparations.

We have Telemachus's shake down trial this weekend.

We have modified our route to take in Charleville so we can meet Nerida and Brian from Aussie Helpers. This change has brought the total walk distance down from 16,480 to 15,825 kilometers. Sounds too easy, maybe we should walk around Tassie twice. NOT.

Only 3 weeks, 13 hours, 2 minutes and 18 seconds to go.

Monday 17^th September 2007

Telemachus shake down trial is over successfully.

John, Rose and I started to pack Telemachus and Rommie on Friday night, leaving only the food and some of the camping gear for the next morning.

Saturday dawned sunny and we had breakfast and packed the carts for the walk. Cindy wanted to come with us, which I thought was a great idea. It would be wonderful to have her with us but she had had a wisdom tooth removed only a day ago and I was worried about her getting a chill or infection in the large hole in her mouth. After a discussion, Cindy wisely decided to stay home.

9.30am saw us outside the house ready to walk to Turners Beach.

We headed off into Ulverstone, John pushing Telemachus in front, Rose beside him and me with my trusty Rommie. As usual, we were turning heads where ever we went. As we passed through Ulverstone I noticed John was for ever adjusting Telemachus's direction. I suggested we swap for a while and I quickly noticed that Telemachus was pulling heavily to the right.

We stopped for a breather at the 5 kilometre mark, pulled out the chairs, made a cupper and had a rest. Before leaving, I took out the file and added more bias on the left side of Telemachus's front wheel mount. After the break, we headed off and I continued to push Telemachus. Instead of heading to the left, he was now viscously pulling to the right. I was pushing a bad shopping cart! Not wanting to make any more adjustments until we had a good look at what was happening, we pushed on.

The next 5 kilometres was a nightmare, every few meters I had to lift Telemachus's front wheel and put him back on course. This was doing bad things to my knee and shoulders. What made it worse was John enjoying Rommie behind me. Rommie was carrying a huge amount of weight and tracking true as a thirsty horse to water.

During the walk to Turners Beach, I noticed a car leave the road ahead of me and start driving in the shoulder towards me! What the heck was going on here? Had I upset someone or had I encountered someone who wanted to put me and Telemachus out of our misery? No, it was Michael Burk and his wife Kaylene, stopping to say hi and to give me a donation for Aussie Helpers. What a pleasant surprise, thanks goes out to the Burks, the first to donate to this great cause, Aussie Helpers.

It is strange that where I currently work, TransTrain, we have 2 Michael Burks working there. More about that later.

Eventually we crossed the Turners Beach overpass and headed into the caravan park. The manager remembered me from the last walk to Turners Beach and cheerfully booked us in and headed us to the BBQ area where we last enjoyed this lovely caravan park.

Rose, John and I settled down to rest and after an hour of chatting, setup our camps. Night came soon after and we headed off to bed to recuperate after the walk.

Sunday dawned overcast and threatened rain.

Rose and John emerged refreshed while I had spent a cold and sleepless night, although John insists I had snored. This must mean I slept sometime during the night.

I rustled up a breakfast of bacon and eggs on toast.

The night left a heavy dew on everything so we removed the fly from our tents and stretched them out to dry.

John and I then looked at Telemachus's front wheel mounts. We soon found out that the front wheel was not locating in the vertical slots when the wheel was being fitted. This meant we had filed out the left mount too far! John and I forced the wheel axle back to the end of the horizontal slots, tightened the wheel and tried Telemachus. Telemachus tracked heavily to the right.

We spent the next 3 hours filing back the horizontal slots back to where the wheel easily located back to where its should. We then re-established the vertical slots to ensure the camber was correct. After another hour, Telemachus seemed to track straight.

By this time, everything had dried so we repacked the carts, returned the amenities key and headed out of the caravan park.

I was pushing my Rommie while John led pushing Telemachus. Within minutes it became obvious we had rectified the tracking problem and we soon made it to David and Christine Maine's house to say hello.

As we headed towards the overpass I looked down the on ramp heading towards Devonport. The next time we are here with the carts we will be having tea in Devonport and breakfast in Melbourne.

The walk back to Ulverstone passed quickly and with a nice tail wind, Rommie was actually leaving my hands and traveling by herself. This was a strange and wonderful feeling as I had added the flat rear of the carts in the hope of catching tail winds, while the front was tapered to reduce the effects of a head wind. It was great to see the design working.

We stopped at the half way mark for a sit down and a drink.

Not long after heading off again we were moving through Ulverstone and crossing the bridge over the river.

As we exited the walk way over the bridge, I heard someone abuse me from a car parked over the other side of the road. I again wondered what I had done when I noticed the man had a huge grin on his face. I soon realised that the grin was on the face of the other Michael Bourke that I work with. The encouragement our friends are giving us is magnificent! What wonderful people live in this town! No wonder we want to come back here. Ulverstone. Home.

The rain started to fall so we quickly headed home.

Telemachus was great on the homeward walk. John reported that he tracked well and was a pleasure to push. The shakedown was a success and Telemachus is ready for the walk. He is now ready as is Steve and Rommie.

After checking that Cindy was well and a rest, we unpacked Rommie and Telemachus. John and Rose headed home and I headed to bed for a long overdue sleep.

Tomorrow David and I will be pushing Steve and Rommie to Mainesafe where they will be on display to raise money for Aussie Helpers. I worry about letting them leave our sight, they mean so much to us but the cause is worthy.

Only 2 weeks, 3 days, 11 hours, 31 minutes and 10 seconds to go.

Sunday 23rd September 2007

Another week has passed and preparations continue on track. It has been a busy week with Steve and Rommie being on display at Mainesafe in a hope of raising money for Aussie Helpers.

We now have a few members of the Rommie and Steve Pushers Club. See the pages for the new members.

Cindy was interviewed by Tas Country magazine on Friday and the reporter seemed genuinely interested in the walk and knew of Brian and Nerida Egan and their great charity, Aussie Helpers. The interview is being published this Friday.

A big thanks to Heather and Bodge for the wonderful night we had last Friday. The meal was awesome and the company even better.

Yesterday, Cindy, Adam and I went into Devonport and purchased the last of what we need for the walk.

This morning Cindy and I took Steve out and re-visited his front wheel mounts as we noticed he was pulling badly to the right when we brought him home from Mainesafe. The problem turned out to be that I had forgotten to file a vertical slot on the left hand side mount! How I managed that bemuses me. After rectifying the omission and with a a few more left and right adjustments, Steve is tracking beautifully.

This next week will see us concentrating on getting the house ready to put our gear into storage next Sunday.

Be fore I sign off today, I would like to say a huge hi and thank you to Michelle and Geoff Harwood. They own and run TransTrain where I work. They have been patient with me and Adam as we go through the pre walk jitters and continue to give us encouragement in this nervous time. Michelle especially has been awesome and we will miss you guys while we are away.

The last hi today goes to our good friend Andrew in Adelaide. Keep on keeping mate. We will see you in Adelaide.

Saturday 29th September 2007

This is our last pre walk diary entry.

Tomorrow all our furniture, including our computers, go into storage.

The countdown clock reads 0 weeks 5days 10 hours 48 minutes and 10 seconds. It is almost time to go.

We are nearly ready.

It is raining outside, it has been for days. We are sick of it and we shouldn't be. Rain is precious, we need every drop, but tomorrow we have to load the truck. How fickle we are. I wish it was raining everywhere, raining on the parched farms, farmers and their families standing in it laughing. Every time we think of taking the carts out, it rains. Maybe our walk will break the drought. How cool would that be?

We all just want the walk to start. We have spent way too much time preparing. It is time to go before we go mad.

It has been a hard week, emotions have been running in all directions and we are not in the mind space we expected to be just a short week ago. We will get there I am sure.

What has happened this week?

Tim has supplied the new set of decals for the carts.

We have purchased blister kits. Those will be handy I am sure.

TransTrain held a Farmers day and raised some much needed funds for Aussie Helpers.

The good people of TransTrain raised to the occasion and showed without reservation they were behind our country cousins. Well done guys and gals. You are champions!

Wednesday night saw us out in the rain for a photo shoot for the local paper. The article in the Advocate was awesome. Well done Kate. Aussie Helpers will be pleased.

Friday saw Mainesafe throw a going away party for Cindy and a good night was had by all.

Saturday, today, saw us complete the inventory for the walk. Tomorrow we put our lives on hold and head towards the unknown.

That is it. Talk to you from the road.