The town of Julia Creek is part of the McKinlay Shire, which covers several towns in an area of 43,000 square kilometres. With some 400 people, Julia Creek is the largest of these towns.
Outside Julia Creek State School, we were met by Linda McNab from the Shire Council, who had organised what turned out to be one of the most memorable events of our entire journey around Australia (so far) ...
... we started by meeting with almost all of the town’s 40 children. After we were introduced by the acting Principal, Sharon, we gave our presentation, led with gusto by Abhinabha ...
Toby, the school captain, accepted the Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the school.
Representing the Mayor was Council CEO, Mark Kelleher, who spoke warmly in welcoming the team to Julia Creek.
Next, the children were issued with their "passports" in prepration for the "Continents" game ...
... each continent is represented by a "station" around the oval, the idea being that all the children must have their passports stamped at each of the continents to then prove they have run right around the world ...
After the run, there were many proud passport holders, displaying stamps on all of the continents visited ...
This was followed by a generous morning tea buffet for all – runners, community members, teachers and students – which was so good that we assumed the Council had called in professional caterers ...
... in fact, it was all lovingly made by a member of the community, Corrina Sollit, who will happily whip up an eclectic feast – miniature quiches, creamy cakes, deep-fried Asian spring rolls – for any special function. She will then quietly disappear, leaving everyone to enjoy her handiwork ...
This was one occasion when absolutely everyone got to hold the Peace Torch and make their wish for peace.
“I made a wish for harmony in the world,” said one little boy. “I’m going to change the world with that wish.”
The event was a real coming together, with a tremendous spirit of sharing and oneness typical of smaller country communities. We all stayed for nearly two hours, mingling with young and old ...
Roos chats with Mark Kelleher, the Council CEO.
Margaret Hughes, who is now aged 81, has been corresponding with a pen-pal – Theo Sonneveld who lives in Zoetermeer, Holland – since she was 12. She was delighted to meet with our Dutch runner, Abhinabha.
Linda's kids were there, as they are students at the school.
These kids are brushing up on their Mongolian ...
Tenneil Cody and Linda McNab from the Shire Council, who organised everything for this wonderful occasion. As Linda pointed out, it was the Mayor, who could not be there today, who insisted that no stone be left unturned to ensure this was a memorable event for all of Julia Creek..
Thank you, Linda!
... and thank you, Julia Creek!!
The Julia Creek reception was a great start to the day, which continued its excellence as we ran ...
... after the challenge of yesterday, when two teams had to run 120 and 100 kilometres respectively, the teams now had an easy 50 kilometres each to conquer. The conditions were mild, with everyone running an average of 10 kilometres, it was practically a day off!
Which way?
The landscape was definitely less scenic than the previous days, one could even say boring, with endless miles of flat land covered by dry yellow grass and the occasional tree ...
... but it does provide some great horizons to gaze out upon when running and running and running some more.
Very meditative indeed, this cattle country.
Alongside the road for much of today was the railway line, and since it was heading in the same direction ...
... it seemed like a good alternative to try for a while.
Since we had only 50 km to cover for each team, it was an easy day for all of us, which was a very welcome occasion after yesterday’s big mileage day. We all finished our running pretty soon and then drove the remaining distance to Richmond.
Arriving into Richmond, we did have a bit of a scare. All of our vans passed by the speed check without incident ...
... but we'll have to wait and see whether our runner gets a speeding ticket in the mail ...
All three teams arrived in Richmond nearly simultaneously. We gathered at the fearsome looking statue perched outside Kronosaurus Korner, a local museum dedicated to dinosaur fossils that were found in the area of Richmond. The statue was a lifelike representation of a Kronosaurus Queenslandicus, one of the most deadly maritime creatures the world has ever seen. Of course it provided for a great photo opportunity for the whole team ...
We met a few travellers here who, it turned out, would be camping at the same campground with us later this evening ...
The museum was kind enough to give all of our team members a free pass and we browsed around inside, immersing ourselves in the awesome animal life of the dinosaur era, dating back 110 million years ...
... a lot of dinosaur fossils have been found in the Richmond area, since this was once an inland sea where all these fearsome creatures thrived. I guess the crocodile is the only remaining (and distant) family member. Seeing what we might have encountered, we're glad we're running through this area this year, and not 110 million years ago!
Thanks to Jules at Lakeview Caravan Park for providing us with a place to pitch our tents at Richmond, with all the facilities we need, plus great views of the lake (as the name suggests).
While Abhinabha set about preparing the evening meal, some of us headed for the lake for a swim and to meet the locals ...
