Miraculously, John was able to get Arthur
unloaded and upright, and tether him branch
to branch as he coaxed him diagonally
forward. Struggling already for an hour, John
discovered both lead camels Ted and Arthur
had also fallen off the track as they attempted
to turn around.
It was a nightmare scenario, well beyond his
capability, so John used his GPS device to text
a friend who raised the alarm. Within hours,
emergency services and Jamieson locals
deployed to assist in the tricky recovery effort,
which, with ingenuity and manpower, was
finally completed in darkness with all men,
beasts and equipment safe.
It was not an anticipated part of John’s
adventure, and it left him shaken, cut and
bruised. Vets assessed the camels the
following day, and all were cleared of injury,
though Arthur, who had tumbled the farthest,
was ordered on light duties, and wasn’t to
wear a saddle or carry a load for a week.
When I heard about John’s plight, I felt
compelled to offer some assistance. I arrived
the day after his ordeal; John was in
remarkably good spirits. It was the calm after
the storm, knowing he was now safe and
grateful for the rescue effort.
We again sat around John’s fire, and over
dinner he told me it had been a good day
because a couple of things had gone horribly
wrong, but many more things had gone right. I
couldn’t argue with his stoic logic or help
admire his perspective.
THE CAMELS GO MISSING
With camel Arthur unable to carry his usual
load, and no solid plans for the week, I offered
my Troop Carrier as a beast of burden for
John’s next challenge: the journey over Mt
Skene into Licola.
Just walking the camels out on the steep 4x4
track leading to the Jamieson/Licola Rd, with
distant views of fresh snow on surrounding
mountain peaks, took a bit of encouragement.
With more snow predicted, we pressed on
toward the summit of Mt Skene, arriving late
afternoon, only to find a cameraman from The
Project awaiting our arrival to interview John.
With camel Arther on light duties, the
author, Stuart Grant, offered his Troop
Carrier as a beast of burden.