In 1902, Richard Thelwell Maurice (pronounced Morris) set of with 4 men and 14 camels to cross the harsh, arid interior of Australia from south to north. Maurice funded the expedition himself and despite the harshest of conditions, he didn't lose a man, he shot no indigenous people, and he didn't need rescuing; as a result, his efforts went largely unnoticed. Our aim is to change this and recognise the man and his achievements by retracing his epic 2,800 km (2000 mile) journey across the harshest country our wide brown land has to offer.
Quite a few years have been spent collecting and collating records now 114 years old to enable us to retrace Maurice's original route using modern tools like google earth. As a result we hope to find features and places named but not seen since Maurice's visit all those years ago.
In 2016, camels have been replace by Arctic Cats, but the difficulties remain the same, a misstep means serious trouble. There is no recourse out here and no easy repatriation. A snake bite or serious injury means certain death so vigilance, common sense and caution are paramount...just like the days of 1902 really!.
Any way, please enjoy the exploits of Larry, Johnno and myself on the first leg of our Maurice retracing expedition aboard our diesel cats! We didn't plan this until we were out there so it's been done largely on the fly.
P.S. Better grab a beer. It's long but worth the watching
[video=vimeo;191929735]https://vimeo.com/191929735[/video]
This video is dedicated to the memory of our mate and partner in adventuring John William Whithorn (15/3/1945 - 25/3/2017) - Affectionately known as JayDub - No finer or more loyal friend will a man find. RIP mate. Mick
Quite a few years have been spent collecting and collating records now 114 years old to enable us to retrace Maurice's original route using modern tools like google earth. As a result we hope to find features and places named but not seen since Maurice's visit all those years ago.
In 2016, camels have been replace by Arctic Cats, but the difficulties remain the same, a misstep means serious trouble. There is no recourse out here and no easy repatriation. A snake bite or serious injury means certain death so vigilance, common sense and caution are paramount...just like the days of 1902 really!.
Any way, please enjoy the exploits of Larry, Johnno and myself on the first leg of our Maurice retracing expedition aboard our diesel cats! We didn't plan this until we were out there so it's been done largely on the fly.
P.S. Better grab a beer. It's long but worth the watching
[video=vimeo;191929735]https://vimeo.com/191929735[/video]
This video is dedicated to the memory of our mate and partner in adventuring John William Whithorn (15/3/1945 - 25/3/2017) - Affectionately known as JayDub - No finer or more loyal friend will a man find. RIP mate. Mick
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