Actually, his new nickname is Rabbit, not Tiger

I assume that joke has already been declared by someone in the media world but I just came up with it then, and I think it is quite funny, if I do say so myself. Having not seen a newspaper or a TV since the beginning of his downfall, you must have faith in my denial of plagiarism.

Two nights ago in the town of Murray Bridge, I was given my first plug by a politician. As luck would have it, my arrival in town coincided with the annual christmas drinks and “nibblies” put on by the local and federal MPs. Before Adrian Pederick (Member for Hammond) presented his account of the happenings of 2009 I diverted his attention to let him know about my mission and possibility of making a two minute speech promoting my cause. He declined but said he would give me a minor plug, and then I could pass out flyers for sponsorship. I did so very reluctantly, not wanting to rain down on someone else’s gathering.

Why does the end have to be so difficult. Two days of 40-plus heat, followed by rain and 30 knots of wind the day after. Not to mention back spasms, kayaking “elbow” (if there is such a thing), buttox pain and a disheveled appearance deterring people as I resemble a cave man.  Then we come to Lake Alexandrina, the body of water which has claimed many of lives through its erratic weather. We sit and we wait for a weather window otherwise the list of its victims will surely grow. Months ago I heard it was 11 hours across in a kayak, however the pro I have been liaising with says its 26 kms from Point Pomanda to Point Sturt, which would take me 4 hours in flat water with no wind. There is a high pressure system moving in and may have to wait until Sunday but hopefully that is not the case.

It surely is sad and depressing, the state of the river past lock one. Many “For Sale” signs and banks falling away signal the state of play as we know it. Worse catastrophes have occurred worldwide in our time, and many of those were unavoidable, but this has happened because of mismanagement and state power. (let alone many other influences which would take hours to list here.) I hope and pray for the water levels to be replenished by better allocation.

76 kms to go, I think. The level of aych two owe (agua) has meant that an extra 20 kms of paddling is in store. No big deal, especially after 2200 kms, or thereabouts. Mundoo Channel as we know it, is no longer a channel hence, around Hindmarsh Island I will paddle.

This is far from being my last blog but would like to take this time to say thank you to all who have read these posts, and hopefully you have not been too confused by my prose. It has been most pleasurable to give everyone a little insight into my life of the last 6 weeks. Thanks again, and keep watching this space to discover what happens next!!

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