Tim Wills Walks Across the Simpson Desert

Hello Wayne - funny when you're young you are invincible. I careered all around outback Queensland in a Morris 1100 - pulled up and slept in the car where I stopped, never worried about anything, had a wonderful time. If ever I was stuck someone always came along and helped - never gave a thought to druggies, pervert, deviates, rapists - probably didn't know what they were. Sounds foolish and reckless now - but was am amazing time for an 18 year old. I also thinks times were different.I grew up that as soon as the sun started shining you were expected to get outside and play after your chores were done. The only thing I can really remember worrying about was riding too far out on my horse with my ittle back pack and not getting back before dark! You ate (everything on your plate)two meals a day (lunch was hit and miss in our house - my Mother said she married Dad for better and for worse, but not for lunch) and if hungry in between you ate oranges from the tree. Tough life.

Oh Willem, doesn't it make you envious though. I get envious that for a start they've got that invincible confidence that they can do anything they want; then there is their stamina - like you with your stick to make it up for cappaccino - once 'arthur' gets in your knees and ankles and back etc. and walking gets slower and slower and sitting down longer and longer. Oooh, cruel world.

I sent Tim an email and received a reply this morning. He didn't remember me but remembered my friends as they took a photo of him.....sigh!

Disabilities aside, I am still invincible, though I have to drive there. :o)

Next year I am going to disappear in to the western deserts for a few months on a slow trip.

Willem - I forgot that you ran into Tim (not literally thank goodness). Feeling bit better now we've had a rest - "arthur" seems to have set in everywhere!

Eric, they come in here also and whilst I think some of them are 'loco' I envy them but I also look at them from a mother's point of view because I have one son who does things like that - I don't know about most of his adventures - you never want your parents to know these things - but all parents have had adventures usually too!

Yes I say there should be more of it. There is nothing wrong woith travelling alone as far as I am concerned, so long as you are willing to deal with what may happen.

Re. Mums's...Ruth my Mum is only just beginning to reveal the level of concern she had with me, but never spoke of it when I was a child/teenager/young adult.

I travelled to Nicaragua as a 22 year old, who had never been mpre than 400 k from home. My mum was rightly concerned at the time ( i wanted to be a war correspondent). My reply to her was- " it can't be too unsafe, people live there!"

I too did my share of solo treks, though not as adventurous as walking the Simpson. I rode my bike around New Zealand alone, carried it to the top of a 10000 ft high mountain on my back, cariied it 250 k by foot across alpine national park.

When I was a boy, at 11 years tp 13 years of age, I would pack my fishing gear on my bike in the morning, call out to my mum to say that I was off to the creek to fish, and she would say "OK be back by 6pm". The creek was 10 kilometres away, so a 20k return journey. She never said no. Times were different then, and I so wish they were the same now. I dont have kids, but if I did, I'd live somewhere like Birdsville at least in their primary school years, just to encourage a sense of adventure and independence.

Dave O