Our kind overnight hosts at King Sounds Resort had served us a delicious breakfast to fuel us on our journey. Thank you all so much, we loved staying with you and meeting all the fantastic and friendly staff!
After listening to the pouring rain all night it was so good to awake to a fine day ...
On the way out we came across Darren Simmons, who had been awarded a Torch-Bearer Award but had been unable to come to the ceremony last night ...
... we were all so happy to meet Darren and have him hold the Peace Torch. Darren was nominated for his amazing solo run between Broome and Derby, raising over $5,000 for leukaemia research.
Our next event was the visit to Derby District High School where we met with the lovely block 2 students ...
... Principal Kevin Hogg and all the children were so welcoming and cheerful! It was great to see so many smiles and laughter during our presentation ...
... they were also fantastic at the ‘guess which country I come from’ game ...
... Ben and Charlotte accepted the Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the school ...
... we went out to the oval where everyone ran together with the Peace Torch and we were really impressed by how considerate the kids were in staying together and passing the Torch around, and also by how athletic they all were ...
... thank you so much to Kevin and all the students for a wonderful start to our day.
Waving goodbye to Derby District High, our girls team hit the road and began our leg towards Fitzroy Crossing. On the way we had several adventures, such as ...
... finding a massive Boab tree ...
... so big you can climb inside the hollow trunk!
Emily had fun exploring inside. She’d never seen the inside of a tree before ...
... perhaps this fellow will one day also grow big enough for people to explore inside ...
... some mysterious footprints leading into the bush ... what elusive creature could possibly have left these tracks?
... it must have been this rare and unusual beast!
Plant life thrives ...
... and the runners are happy because it’s overcast and slightly cooler than yesterday!
Yesterday we had cattle wandering all over the road, today it was horses ...
... meanwhile, our smaller boys team of four runners made a comfortable ride in the camper van to our designated starting point some‚ 102 km out of Derby. Though the day was overcast with huge rain clouds, which seemed to follow us northwards towards Fitzroy Crossing, there was a real calmness in the atmosphere ...
... as we continued running through the day the traffic eased ...
... giving us a chance to appreciate the beauty of the landscape. The Kimberley region is a special place, the uniqueness of the red earth, rugged outcrops of rocks, boab trees and termite mounds make it a place to remember fondly ...
We spotted the Australian Flag up a gum tree ...
... and met Michael, who trained at the Australian Institute of Sport as a runner and is working at a cattle station nearby. Thinking we were bogged, he stopped to see if we were OK; instead he got to hold the Peace Torch and we got to meet him!
While our other two teams were enjoying overcast, lovely running conditions with rain clouds hovering in the distance, our 2nd boys team was in that very distance, under those very rain clouds!
There was no avoiding the rain today, though it offered a pleasant relief from the mounting heat ...
... this was one of the most remote stretches of road we have come across, which is really saying something ...
Some days it is harder to get going than others: perhaps because of the rain, or the daunting distance to cover, today was one of those days. But after a few km on the open road through the unique landscape, the inspiration returned ...
Today we met some teachers from Yiramalay/Wesley Studio School ...
... Marte, Kaylene, Laughlan and Rita met us alongside the road near the turn-off to their Studio School ...
It was about now that our girls team realised we had 124km to drive and the fuel gauge was showing nearly empty ... and the nearest petrol station was 88km away in the wrong direction!! Crossing our fingers we drove on toward Fitzroy Crossing ...
It was near to Fitzroy Crossing the van began to slow ... slow ... and finally ... stop! Run dry right beside the Fitzroy Crossing Sign. Well, at least we made it to “town”!!
Luckily we were only 900m out of town so Prabuddha and Amalendu cheerfully came to the rescue with the jerry can. Phew! Thanks guys ☺
Saved, just in time to make it ...
... to the Fitzroy Crossing Tourist Bureau ...
... we had all been looking forward to meeting Belinda Bonfield (pictured here with her family) who has been extremely active and generous in spreading the word about the Peace Run to the town of Fitzroy Crossing ...
... there were several wonderful people of the community nominated to receive the Peace Run Torch-Bearer Award ...
... Mary Aiken, a traditional owner of the land, welcomed the Peace Runners to Fitzroy Crossing ...
Awards were presented to Mary Aiken, Bree Wagner, Victoria Mack, Colleen Garner, Joelene Cotterill, Rayleen Pindan, Helen Ockerby, Marmingee and Geoff Hand, Jasmine Bedford and Janice Peterson ...
... it was so fantastic to see so many of the community attend the Torch-Bearer Award ceremony ...
... the town provided a delicious dinner for everyone ...
... and a surprise entertainment in the form of Indigenous Hip Hop Movement was a real treat. We loved watching the local kids bust out some amazing dance moves!
... at the end of the evening every runner was given a special Fitzroy Crossing teddy bear ...
... thank you so much to everyone, we will always treasure the memory of this special time together!
Many thanks to Ryan and John for putting us up at the campground of the Fitzroy River Lodge, a popular destination near the great Fitzroy River ...
... we had arrived earlier in the afternoon and set up our mini-UN campsite ...
Next to us in the campground was the Heritage Tour group, members of whom took the opportunity to hold the Torch before we all took to our tents to prepare for tomorrow ...
