...we will be lucky if we make it to the finish line, 3000km and a week later down the Stuart Highway…
Northern Territory and South Australian officials don’t mince words when it comes to laying down the law for competitors in the inaugural Global Green Challenge.
At a safety briefing for all team drivers in Darwin, the constabulary gave advanced warning they know we are coming and will be watching seeming from behind every boulder and should any competitor creep over the speed limit out on the highway or in the dozen or so local settlements on the route severe penalties will be enforced with wallets opened and cash removed – or worse your licence and car confiscated .
There are warnings about traffic hazards, like desert dwellers who wander the highway and we should keep an eye out for the bloke with two camels and half a red car in tow, who has was spotted a few days ago.
The warning about giant eagles feeding on road kill, fresh from the road trains the night before, gets our attention. The sound advice is to go around them because – like a Mexican standoff – they won’t give up their free tucker for any car. Same goes for wandering cattle, emus, kangaroos and camels that should be given right of way unless you want a mess.
Oh, then there’s the road trains – 50m giants long travelling at 110km/h ‘so don’t park in the middle of the road’. As if.
There’s also the warning about having to dodge the trucks carrying half a house – apparently a common sight on the highway.Welcome to motoring in the Top End. We can’t wait for the start.
I’ll have one eye on the speedo and one on the fuel gauge, while my co driver can be the camel-spotter. I reckon we won’t miss the bloke with half a red car though.
Meanwhile teams are talking tactics – windows up with air conditioning on, best speeds to conserve fuel, how not to get lost on the first stage from Darwin to Katherine.
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