Day 10 - Warburton to Mt Fanny - Wed 21 Oct 2015
Time is irrelevant. We have become nomadic. We slip from town to town, trak to trak, we go eastward, towards the sun. We leave Warburton and slip through time zones without relevance to us. At Giles they launch a balloon to measure the atmosphere based on a time that someone has set in London. We care and see the results but don’t connect to our life guided by the sun.
As the sun rises and sets the communities that we travel through rise and fall. As we travel we see things in these manufactured communities that confound us, surprise us, confuse us. Who is in control? Who supports this? We struggle with this conundrum as we sit around the campfire at Mt Fanny. Who is right, who is wrong? Who sets up the structures that promote a lifestyle that we don’t relate to? We give them the things that we think are important, but are they important to them? Do we create the problem with our interaction, our interruption? Do the same things that physiologically appeal to us as white people appeal to the indigenous man or woman.
We consider these deep points in a discussion that engages us and while talked around our fire does not lead to answers. Over 300 years since the arrival of European man with Australia we have struggled with the question of ‘What do we do with the aboriginals?’ We encourage them to engage a western way of life but do we actually understand these indigenous occupants of Australia, the original owners, and where they are coming from? In the system of forming, storming, norming, performing which we understand very well in the teams of Trek The Trak and the teams that we are involved in outside what we do, where are we as a society?
None of us have an answer. We discuss recent cases of Adam Goodes and religion and what is right and what is wrong. It is a passionate and in some ways tormented discussion, challenging minds and opinions, digging at our basic beliefs. When you think that TTT is about motorbikes and fuel and burning across the country as fast as we can, then you would be wrong. We care about this country an all of the people in it, black, white, Asian, European. We should recognise that we are a nation with an indigenous base of thousands of years with layers of other cultures applied across the top. Forming, storming, norming, performing.
We are at this point having travelled from Warburton this morning after a wash and a clean-up of everything that we have; people, bikes, cars, electronics. We had a wrap-up around 9.30 Warburton time (we think). Scotty was awarded the Above Average Award for his enthusiasm and commitment to the team. He will wear the award with pride. On the road we pushed up to Warakurna Roadhouse and Giles. After a feed at the roadhouse we wandered up to the weather station at Giles; we had phoned ahead to promote an opportunity to visit the station. We had missed the balloon launch due to time changes but were eager to look at and understand some of the history and current functionality of the place. We were met by Koen Stevenson the OIC of the site who was an interesting and understanding chap and was very forthright and generous in his time and sharing of information with us. We looked at instruments that measure weather, time and space and that are used to predict what will happen in the future. We also had a quick look at some weather station and Len Beadell memorabilia including his grader which is on display in a huge cage outside the weather station. We were also happy to perhaps surprise some of the locals with time on their hands who had come into the car park area while we were away from the cars but who obviously had an appointment and had to slip[ away when we came out and they saw us.
Before we leave the weather station Brock and Carl spring a surprise on us. We aint going where we thought we were going. For many years we had tried to get a permit to go into APY lands across the top of South Australia. Unbeknown to most of the team the permit had been received before the trek to go into this area to see the Musgrove Ranges and to follow in reverse the true, original Gunbarrel highway. This was a major surprise and change to plans that was very well received. TTT will always come up with something different.
The unexpected trip south east towards the Surveyor Generals Corner was very well received. Even better received was the track that we rolled on to. For the bikes it was superb, with a solid base and a spread of sand that let the bike slip time a space as if driven by the devil himself. For one particular support car the track was smooth but the opportunity to explore a considerable supply of previously used (and abused) cars was priceless. From a lefthand drive Ford Galaxy, a number of HQ Holdens, the odd Ford, an FC sedan, wagons, panel vans, sedans , a Studebaker Lark, a laser, some HRs, an XB, any number of shitbox Ford XD/E/Fs, you could see just about anything you wanted to. This opportunity presented the chance to present, later after a meal of Scotty’s Mums burgers with onion and bacon gravy, mash and vegies, a special surprise to Brock and Carl goon cups from the plethora of machinery and glass. Under our southern stars, we argued and opinioned but remained formed and with the intent to perform. As Steve Miller sings, “Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future…”. Do not waste it with anger or regret as we all share this land as Australians. We have to make it work.
Time is irrelevant. We have become nomadic. We slip from town to town, trak to trak, we go eastward, towards the sun. We leave Warburton and slip through time zones without relevance to us. At Giles they launch a balloon to measure the atmosphere based on a time that someone has set in London. We care and see the results but don’t connect to our life guided by the sun.
As the sun rises and sets the communities that we travel through rise and fall. As we travel we see things in these manufactured communities that confound us, surprise us, confuse us. Who is in control? Who supports this? We struggle with this conundrum as we sit around the campfire at Mt Fanny. Who is right, who is wrong? Who sets up the structures that promote a lifestyle that we don’t relate to? We give them the things that we think are important, but are they important to them? Do we create the problem with our interaction, our interruption? Do the same things that physiologically appeal to us as white people appeal to the indigenous man or woman.
We consider these deep points in a discussion that engages us and while talked around our fire does not lead to answers. Over 300 years since the arrival of European man with Australia we have struggled with the question of ‘What do we do with the aboriginals?’ We encourage them to engage a western way of life but do we actually understand these indigenous occupants of Australia, the original owners, and where they are coming from? In the system of forming, storming, norming, performing which we understand very well in the teams of Trek The Trak and the teams that we are involved in outside what we do, where are we as a society?
None of us have an answer. We discuss recent cases of Adam Goodes and religion and what is right and what is wrong. It is a passionate and in some ways tormented discussion, challenging minds and opinions, digging at our basic beliefs. When you think that TTT is about motorbikes and fuel and burning across the country as fast as we can, then you would be wrong. We care about this country an all of the people in it, black, white, Asian, European. We should recognise that we are a nation with an indigenous base of thousands of years with layers of other cultures applied across the top. Forming, storming, norming, performing.
We are at this point having travelled from Warburton this morning after a wash and a clean-up of everything that we have; people, bikes, cars, electronics. We had a wrap-up around 9.30 Warburton time (we think). Scotty was awarded the Above Average Award for his enthusiasm and commitment to the team. He will wear the award with pride. On the road we pushed up to Warakurna Roadhouse and Giles. After a feed at the roadhouse we wandered up to the weather station at Giles; we had phoned ahead to promote an opportunity to visit the station. We had missed the balloon launch due to time changes but were eager to look at and understand some of the history and current functionality of the place. We were met by Koen Stevenson the OIC of the site who was an interesting and understanding chap and was very forthright and generous in his time and sharing of information with us. We looked at instruments that measure weather, time and space and that are used to predict what will happen in the future. We also had a quick look at some weather station and Len Beadell memorabilia including his grader which is on display in a huge cage outside the weather station. We were also happy to perhaps surprise some of the locals with time on their hands who had come into the car park area while we were away from the cars but who obviously had an appointment and had to slip[ away when we came out and they saw us.
Before we leave the weather station Brock and Carl spring a surprise on us. We aint going where we thought we were going. For many years we had tried to get a permit to go into APY lands across the top of South Australia. Unbeknown to most of the team the permit had been received before the trek to go into this area to see the Musgrove Ranges and to follow in reverse the true, original Gunbarrel highway. This was a major surprise and change to plans that was very well received. TTT will always come up with something different.
The unexpected trip south east towards the Surveyor Generals Corner was very well received. Even better received was the track that we rolled on to. For the bikes it was superb, with a solid base and a spread of sand that let the bike slip time a space as if driven by the devil himself. For one particular support car the track was smooth but the opportunity to explore a considerable supply of previously used (and abused) cars was priceless. From a lefthand drive Ford Galaxy, a number of HQ Holdens, the odd Ford, an FC sedan, wagons, panel vans, sedans , a Studebaker Lark, a laser, some HRs, an XB, any number of shitbox Ford XD/E/Fs, you could see just about anything you wanted to. This opportunity presented the chance to present, later after a meal of Scotty’s Mums burgers with onion and bacon gravy, mash and vegies, a special surprise to Brock and Carl goon cups from the plethora of machinery and glass. Under our southern stars, we argued and opinioned but remained formed and with the intent to perform. As Steve Miller sings, “Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future…”. Do not waste it with anger or regret as we all share this land as Australians. We have to make it work.
