Nearly 3000km later, with Qld, NSW and the
ACT behind him, not to mention drought and
bushfires, John was hoping to head to
Tasmania, but border closures meant a detour
was in order, so he decided to aim for Lakes
Entrance, Vic, where friends ran Camel
Connection, a specialty camel trek, beach ride
and camel training operation. It was the place
John had initially learnt his craft almost two
years before.
His shortcut would mean taking his camels
through country befitting the Man from
Snowy River, and traversing the snowsprinkled,
1540m-high Mt Skene to arrive on
the Gippsland side of the High Country
ranges in Licola.
However, the next chapter in John’s story
became memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Nearly 6in of rainfall and snow over the next
few days meant he had to stay in a High
Country hut until conditions improved. But
things went pear-shaped soon after when
Arthur, his number three camel, stood on and
broke a log supporting the outside edge of the
track they were attempting to walk on.
Cutting Arthur free from the line as he began
to fall, John was catapulted over the edge
with the camel, tumbling through blackberries
until he stopped, while Arthur, with all of his
packs on, careened a further 15m down the
steep slope, coming to rest against trees 10m
short of the raging Jamieson River.
DISASTER STRIKES
Walking through the main street of Jamieson
with his camels, Ted, Jackson, Arthur, Bill and
baby Charlie, John’s caravan brought out lots
of curious locals. For the mostly quiet town
and its residents, it was a brief reprieve from
restrictions keeping folk housebound, and a
memorable day in the story of the community.
Wherever he went, John and his camels
brought out curious locals.