Dingos howling under the full moon lulled our Peace Run team to sleep last night ...
As we awoke to another day on the road, the simplicity of the landscape on the Nullarbor naturally drew our eyes to the sky. It seems the Nullarbor was showing us the beauty and majesty of the sky that is sometimes hidden by the landscape around us.
The full moon also wanted to stayed with us this morning, shinning brightly, awaiting the sun to appear.
Today marks the first month the team has been running around Australia and what a perfect place to quietly celebrate this occasion.
As our girls team didn't get a chance to see the whales at Head of Bight yesterday, the other teams picked up some of our km today so we could backtrack slightly to catch up with the whales this morning.
We were warmly greeted by the managers who were happy to have the rest of the team visiting today.
They told us there were a couple of whales near the shore that had been there all morning ....
... and when we got there ...
... they were still floating by. A seal even popped up in the waves for a feed.
Driving – or running – along the highway across the Nullarbor Plain, it is easy to be oblivious to the stunning coastscape which is sometimes as close as 50 metres from the road ...
... The Great Australian Bight – according to folklore so named because on a map it looks as though someone has taken a big bite out of the southern coastline of Australia – is a massive limestone cliff face extending 800 kilometres ...
The whole Nullarbor Plain sits atop this mass of limestone, formed over 25 million years ago when this whole area lay under the sea.
Our team paused to admire the dramatic cliffs just metres from the Eyre Highway.
We stood in awe atop these wondrous cliffs ...
... 80 metres aloft from the crashing sea ...
... faced only with the Southern Ocean – extending from here to Antarctica –
– and its partner in silent might, the Southern Sky.
Although we had not yet commenced our running for the day, this arresting scene demanded our delay.
This is the rugged edge of an inhospitable continent (our tiny torch-holder gives you a sense of the dimension of these cliffs) ...
Early explorers who came by ship were perplexed and immensely frustrated by their inability to find any way ashore for days and weeks on end, leaving them perilously short of fresh water ...
... had they been able to make land, their spirits might have sunk even lower when confronted with this confounding expanse of featureless, waterless 'nothingness.'
In fairness, the British colonists were searching for, and expecting to find, arable land for the farming practices they were used to, harbours for trade and constant fresh water for the needs of their towns and villages. Nothing of the sort could they find: they might as well have found themselves on Mars. So confounded were they, that the best they could come up with for a name for this area of astonishing beauty, power and inspiration, was a negative: "Nullarbor", a compound of the Latin "Nullus Arbor" – "No Trees."
The sky here is as vast as it gets. There may be other places on earth as flat as this, but there can be none flatter ...
... Here the sky is everywhere – bending down. Like the end of a rainbow, it seems you could run just over there, reach and touch it ...
... If you love the sky, then here is your heaven.
Some find crossing the Nullarbor a numbing, boring, exasperating torture, which they vow never to repeat ...
... others discover in its vastness, stillness and silence a sanctity that seeps into their very core, and find themselves drawn inexorably back again and again.
Love it or loath it, the Nullarbor is quintessential Australia …
... beauty everywhere ... if you look.
Our girls team had by now started our running back at our accommodation in Nullarbor, and our route was pretty easy today ...
... Go straight: if you turn left or right at all you are going in the wrong direction ...
... Straight, straight, straight for as long as the eye can see.
Many a motorist pulled over today to wish us well on our journey and to ask more about the Peace Run – including Karleen. She had already seen the teams ahead and when she saw us – the final team – she instructed her husband to pull over, so she could hold the torch. She is a keen runner and runs for Oxfam as well as running in marathons and loved the message of our Run.
There were no school visits today, not only because it was Sunday but also we were running on the Nullarbor and running for 197 km to get from one petrol station to another ...
... and nothing ...
... well, almost nothing, perhaps ...
... in between ...
... but the beauty of Nature ...
... and the ever changing tapestry of clouds to amaze us on our journey.
After we finished our running for the day, we had some time to enjoy our last few hours in South Australia. So we too, pulled off the road to view the spectacular cliffs of the Great Australian Bight.
Nothing like this in Mongolia!
Meanwhile, beginning their running some distance out of Nullarbor, the boys team 'A' really felt the punishing effect of the 2 mile races from yesterday in their legs today ...
... It was tough going and no one felt much energy ...
Along the way we met someone else who was doing it tough ...
... British cyclist James Desmond. He had cycled from London and will finish his journey in Sydney.
Still, considering the overall distance he has cycled, his goal is in sight! His story can be found here.
Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for James, the wind has changed direction, aiding our team but hindering James who has dropped from 170 km/day to 105 km/day. He was finding the Nullarbor tough going, due to the powerful head wind as well as missing the comfort of staying in a proper bed.
Up ahead, our boys 'B' Team started running from here today – you guessed it, we are just 50 km from the South Australia/Western Australia border ...
... and never far from the Southern Ocean.
Even though we were supposed to be running, there were still some photo opps that we just couldn't allow to pass us by ...
The community here is almost entirely travellers – those who are "crossing the Nullarbor", either from East to West, or from West to East. Most of these are motorists, truckers and caravan or motorhome owners, as well as a few brave cyclists – and VERY few runners!
Whereas in most places we visit, we come in contact with only a small portion of the population – the students in a school, those we meet in a ceremony or see along the road – here we encounter virtually the whole community, as everyone here is using the road, and there is only one road! Hence everyone we meet at a roadhouse or camping ground, has most probably already seen us on the road, or else they will the next day.
Here everyone waves, honks and acknowledges us. There is a strong bond between fellow-travellers across the Nullarbor, as among members of an esoteric society. We are all sharing a special experience, all living – at least for a few days – in a world apart.
At one of our scenic stops along the way, we meet Kerry and Steven, who are on their way home to Perth, and had already passed our other teams earlier in the day.
Is that a tree I see?
'Silent Sentinels' – by Salil ...
As you run along the Eyre Highway at about 10 km an hour you notice lots of little things that you would inevitably miss if you were speeding along at 110km/hour.
One thing that comes to mind is the inconspicuous kilometre numbers that announce the distance in decreasing order to the SA/ WA border. These punctuate my run at semi-regular intervals. Semi-regular because my pace can vary from just under 6 mins per km to well over 7 mins. I don't think I've gone over 8 mins per km but there's a lot of running left until I reach Perth!
Anyway these markers are always welcome and I feel somewhat priviledged to notice these anonymous and silent sentinels standing quietly and announcing their distance from the WA border for anyone who cares to notice - and I definitely care!
At the border between South Australia and Western Australia, we must stop for our van to be inspected for fruit, vegetables and honey, all of which must not be carried across the border, to help protect Western Australia's agricultural crops from exotic diseases.
Kerry-Ann, our friendly quarantine inspector, was happy to become the first Western Australian to hold the Torch!
At the border, we cross into a little-known time zone. "Central Western" time is 45 minutes behind Central Australian time (where we have just come from) and 45 minutes ahead of Western Australian time. This unique time enclave is home to only 50 people, yet is the size of Belgium! We will join these 50 folk for the next two days ...
From the border, it is just 12 km to Eucla, the first settlement in WA and our stopping place for the night.
At this juncture, with almost of our running covered for the day, let us see what our Peace Run coordinators have been up to today in Perth, capital of Western Australia and now less than 2 weeks away on our schedule ... Prabuddha Nicol reports ...
Today local Peace Runners carried the Peace Torch in the Perth, HBF ‘Run for a Reason’ 12km event. It’s one of the largest Fun Runs in the city, hosting this year 29,484 participants! It follows a very scenic route around the city centre, taking in spectacular views of the Swan River.
Passing the Torch around before the run.
We were interviewed by the announcer at the start of the race.
Perth, like other Australian cities, has a very multicultural population, and this was very evident as runners from many countries took the opportunity to carry the torch a short distance. Some were very familiar with Sri Chinmoy’s other peace activities.
The Peace Torch goes airborne ...
Coming out of the Northbridge Tunnel.
Towards the end ...
Local Peace Runners Anubha Baird (WA Co-ordinator) and Prabuddha Nicol run with a local torch-bearer nearing the finish.
The event was very well organised: good marshalling, regular drink stations and at points along the course there was live entertainment, such as drumming troops, team gymnastics and cheer squads. At the finish arena replacement drinks and fruit were handed out.
The Peace runners mingled with the crowd afterwards, many groups and children having their picture taking holding the torch. Here's Jarrad from Forestville.
Happy mum and son at the finish ...
Meanwhile, our torch relay team, having all crossed the border, have now reached their destination for the day ... Our sincere gratitude to Amanda of the Eucla Hotel Motel, who organised our acommodation this evening for the entire team, and to her assistant Bec, who kindly agreed to hold the Torch with some members of our team. Amanda remembered us as the World Harmony Run from 2008, when she organised our accommodation in Norseman!
Before settling in for the night, some of us headed first to check out the Old Telegraph Station, which has been conquered and occupied by the sand dunes ...
Who would have thought such lovely, innocent sand dunes could be so deadly?
From there it was a further walk down to the beach for some fooling around ...
After yet another spellbinding sunset ...
... we retire for another night ...
... under yet another luminous moon.
