Team A

 

First thing this morning our team was fortunate enough to visit the Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural Centre in Tennant Creek.

Ross Williams Jakamarra, the Men’s Cultural Officer of the Centre, gave us an impromptu tour and explained the history of the Cultural Centre and of his people. Ross told us that the Centre was completed only four years ago and the design of everything in it, including buildings and landscaping, was planned over a period of nine years in close consultation with the local elders. As a result, the Centre beautifully reflects the Warramangu country, with its gum trees, bush foods, creeks, red soil, and traditional dance preparation areas that are separate for men and women dancers. The sacred site of Nyinkka (the spiky-tailed goanna), is also a feature of the grounds…

The elders play an important role in the management of the Centre. Tennant Creek High School students and even the mayor assisted with getting Nyinkka Nyunyu ready. The Centre supports many indigenous artists and has a permanent exhibition as well as temporary artworks. The museum section contains important sacred artefacts, which were taken away from the area in the 1800s and only recently returned. There were also impressive displays of bush medicines and bush foods, including native carrots, beans, oranges, tomatoes, nuts, coconuts and potatoes – all native Australian plants. Visitors are not permitted to take photographs inside the museum itself.

The Warramangu people were renowned as a very fierce tribe, so much so that even a Royal Australian Naval Frigate was named after them. They continue to participate in annual ANZAC gatherings each April.

One of the Centre workers, Paumea, held the World Harmony Run Torch…

After Nyinkka Nyunyu we drove 25 km to Threeways to commence our running in an easterly direction along the Barkly Highway. This road will take us to the border of Queensland tomorrow if all goes according to plan.

We ran 63 km in total. It was hot today, but one blessing was that there was noticeably less heavy traffic than on the Stuart Highway. The landscape continues to feature termite mounds, low shrubs and dry grasses.

– Bernice Matthews (Australia)

Team B

If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then today we didn’t run any further than we had to! The Barkly Highway is very straight and pretty flat, although there is the occasional undulation and more than the occasional fly.

Amalendu Edelsten sought refuge from these ever-present constantly-orbiting miniature buzzing satellites. The lads in today’s team quietly proceeded straight ahead with their running – in no time we had finished and were cooling off in the surprisingly chilly but revitalising water of the Barkly Homestead swimming pool.

– Nigel Webber (Australia)

Team C

Today we left the bright lights of Tennant Creek behind and drove back to Threeways. We turned right and motored 126 km down the Barkly Highway, then commenced our running.

Team captain for today was Runar Gigja from Iceland.

The road was very flat and straight, with scrubby bush on either side, dotted with termite mounds and low trees.

The day, like most others, was clear and bright, without a cloud in sight. It was pleasantly warm, in the mid 20s, with a slight breeze. When it was my turn to run, I appreciated the vast stillness and silence of the surroundings. Only occasionally did I share the space with a fellow traveller, passing by in a vehicle. I waved, and they waved back. After they had passed, once again the only sounds to be heard were the crackle of the Torch, the pounding of my feet on bitumen, and my own breath.

Nick File, our New Zealand team member, covered a couple of 6 km stretches.

Waiting for Sandro to finish his run, we threw the Frisbee around for a bit. Nick showed us that he possessed a pretty mean forehand throw. The Frisbee is getting a little battered now.

Noivedya Juddery finished off the day, running into Barkly Homestead Wayside Inn, where we are staying tonight. Due to the presence of water, here the area is a haven for birds.

Out the front of the main building is an amazing collection of old, rusting farm equipment, including some steam engines, which I can only imagine once served as tractors. Many of these outback roadside stations or highway stops become littered with many things left behind or no longer able to proceed. In this case, these engines have found themselves in a museum of sorts for us modern travellers to appreciate.

Further in the back was a collection of less interesting memorabilia.

Thanks to the Tennant Creek Caravan Park for their kindness in accommodating the team last night.

– Rathin Boulton (Australia)

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Team Members:
Amalendu Edelsten (Australia), Anastasia Aleksejeva (Latvia), Nigel Webber (Australia), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Edi Serban (Romania), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Bernice Matthews (Australia), Nick File (New Zealand), Noivedya Juddery (Australia), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic), Prabuddha Nicol (Australia), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Elke Lindner (Germany), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Angela Muhs (Germany), Rathin Boulton (Australia), Misha Kulagin (Russia)

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