Yesterday was a very emotional day.

We always went to the Swan Cafe at Ascot for lunch on a Wednesday and Friday. Nikki loved the outing and having a meal.

Farewell Nikki

Thursday morning 7.00am. Nikki barked to tell me it’s time to get up. She doesn’t usually do that, she is usually asleep when I get up but I was 10 minutes late waking. Within minutes I was putting my socks on and like usual she was pushing her head into my legs and wanting me to itch her back. She was excited to go for her morning walk. She doesn’t hurry anymore because of her bad leg, fused foot and because she is a little on the old side, but she was happy as her tail was wagging and her tongue was hanging out of her smiling mouth.

I reversed the car out of the garage and she jumped in. We were on our way to Bayswater Riverside Gardens where we go walking. Since she broke her leg about 8 years ago whilst getting washed at a grooming place we haven’t been able to walk her from home or on concrete paths as with the fused foot she likes softer services. With an open window in the car she was able to poke her nose out and feel the fresh air and all the things going on out there. She loved it.

At Riverside Gardens she walks slowly to the river smelling everything that takes her fancy. She was content and loving to explore at her own pace. We stopped briefly next to a couple of guys that we have been saying hello to for years. Surprisingly the guy on the three wheeler mobility scooter shook my hand and introduced himself as Fred. In all that time we didn’t know each other’s  names until today.

Nikki heads for the beach but before she goes down she chews on some long grass. She then ambles down the beach and enters the water and lies down, her head moving from side to side and just looking around  and enjoying her dip like she does every day, summer or winter. Her ears pop up and a face glows and I look behind and she has seen another dog she has taken a fancy to walking along the path. Usually the glow, the popped up ears and the stare means that she has seen a greyhound or a similar dog.  

Nikki loved to sit in the water and chill out, summer and winter.

Other mornings Jenny would be there pacing up and down the beach getting some extra exercise whilst Nikki is taking her time out, but for the last two weeks she has been in England visiting her 73 year old mother. 

Nikki eventually stood up, had a shake and started walking along the beach sniffing her way as she went. Many mornings she will go back in the water for another lay but this morning she sniffed the grass edges of the bank in no particular hurry. It’s her time, so I wait. She decided to head back towards the car over the field instead of walking back along the beach to where we usually walk down. In doing so we met Terri Budge and her two small dogs and they have a few sniffs of each other. As Terri and I talked a greyhound stopped to say hello. Nikki’s tail wagged and I could see her enjoyment of the day heightened as they both started sniffing each other. She loves other greyhounds. Her face always lights up. They were happy spending a few moments together before the other greyhound took off to follow its owner. 

We left Terri and walked very slowly across the field, Nikki sniffing and looking around to see if she can see other dogs. Sometimes she will stand there and gaze towards a direction and when we look there is no-one around. We always wondered what she was looking at and what she was thinking. 

She loved sniffing the grass.

She loved meeting other greyhounds.

As she checks the surroundings or sees another dog she likes, she stands favouring her good right leg.

I stand there waiting letting her make her way to the car at her own pace. After a very slow walk back she was ready to go home. The last few metres she walks along the white line on the bitumen that separates the cars. Why she follows the line is a mystery, but that is Nikki, she does things that are a mystery. Her fused foot and plated leg quivers as she walks on the hard bitumen. It’s not a nice sight, but she doesn’t indicate any pain.  

She readied herself to jump back in the car like usual. I shouted ‘up’ and she leaped in but her back legs slipped off the platform and she tumbled to one side and yelped. I thought she had hurt her back left leg as it looked like an awkward fall on that side. She laid down and wasting no time I drove straight to the Ascot vet hospital to get her checked out. When James our vet looked her over, he said, her front right leg was broken, which surprised me having seen how she tumbled.

I suddenly got a hot flush, I started sweating all over and my head started getting light headed. The hormone treatment was kicking in. The nurse brought me a glass of water like you see in the films. I was thinking why do I need water, but I drank it anyway. Although I thought her tumble could be serious at the time it happened, it didn’t hit me until hearing it from James.

James said, her leg can be repaired, but it will need a plate in her leg so I would need to take her to a vet surgeon as he couldn’t do it here. My first thought was how would she be able to cope with a freshly broken right leg when the other front leg with the fused foot had also been broken and plated. She was still unable to put a lot of weight on that leg as it was. 

I became so hot I had to leave the room and strip off some clothes and try to cool down. Jenny was in England so to make any decision I needed to call her, but I would have to wait another 5 hours to do that. James said he would keep Nikki there at the vet and make her comfortable until Jenny and I made a decision. I said goodbye to Nikki and walked out in tears finding it hard just to say thank you.

I arrived home just as an older lady pushing a wheeled frame was passing. I usually talk to her so I crossed the road for a chat and as soon as she spoke and asked how I was, I broke down in tears and it was a while before I could say a word. She put her hands on my shoulders to comfort me. It would have been a shock for her as we are always happy and joking and have good conversations. Now I was on the pavement in tears. A few minutes later, after sharing my news she was telling me she was out earlier than usual because the carpet layers were at her home. She had been waiting for days for them to arrive. Then she said, they had brought the wrong colour carpet and she was furious, but it was just a dream she had the night before. By the time she had left, we were both laughing.

I had a couple of hours to spare before going off to have radiation, but I was at a loss to what to do as I was in no mood to finish the newsletter. I contacted Julie, a greyhound expert and she said that a greyhound’s life span is 10-13. Nikki was nearly 12. She said if you have been able to get a greyhound to 10, you’ve done a marvellous job. You may find that Nicky’s newly broken leg is due to Osteo Sarcoma (doggie bone cancer) which is very prevalent in greyhounds. Her words helped me to confirm my decision I had to make. 

At 11.45 Robby came around to buy two bird books. I hadn’t seen Robby for some time so I was pleased to see him, but when he said, how are you keeping, then the flood gates opened again. He must have wondered what the hell had happened as it took me a while to be able to talk.  By then he was giving me a hug. I was thinking, was it the hormone therapy that was making me more emotional than usual. It was said to be one of the side effects.  As Robby was leaving and I was about to go for radiation I noticed I had a flat tyre on the Rav 4. Luckily I had my landcruiser to get going straight away.

As I was driving down Guildford Road in Bayswater I thought about Nikki and that was it, tears were running down my face. It was strange, I had never experienced anything like this before I was crying at the drop of a hat. But I suppose I haven’t lost anyone so close to me before. 

By the time I got to my appointment and done a bit of reading in the waiting room I felt a lot better. When the nurse came out to ask me in, she said, how has your day been? I couldn’t tell her because I knew that I would break down so I just said, I won’t tell you or I will be in tears. I was proud of myself as I managed to get through radiation and leave without shedding any tears despite thinking about Nikki whilst under the machine.

In the car park I was able to get hold of Jenny in England on facetime. It took me some time to tell her what had happened as I was so emotional. Jenny was also in tears, so for the first few minutes nothing was said. Nikki was Jenny’s baby and I knew she was going to be devastated and it was especially worse because she was so far away. 

We talked between our emotional outbreaks and we couldn’t see how Nikki was going to be able to get through another broken leg ordeal at her age and if she did her other bad leg wouldn’t support her. Although we didn’t want her to leave us so suddenly we knew the best thing for Nikki was for her to have a long sleep. We had another cry.

Back at home I facetimed Jenny again to see if she had changed her mind, as she would have had 40 minutes to think about Nikki.  She was being comforted by her mother. We agreed that letting her have a long sleep would be the best thing for her so I rang the vet to tell James of our decision. I was at the vets 30 minutes later. Jenny was happy knowing James was there as he had been Nikki’s vet for over 9 years and was very caring.

Nikki was hooked up to a machine giving her fluids and pain killers when I arrived. She was lying down with a blanket over her, partially asleep, just like she was at home on the sofa. I had a few minutes talking, stroking and comforting her. Then it was time to let her go. 

I didn’t quite get to tell James how thankful I was before I broke down again, but he knew. I left Nikki’s room with her collar in my hand and a face full of tears passing another customer who was waiting in the waiting room. I drove home wondering how many tears can a person shed in one day! Surely it was my hormones.

I entered the empty house and looked at the 2 beds and the sofa that Nikki sleeps on most of the day. She wasn’t there. And she wasn’t going to be there ever again. It was time to have another cry. 

I was a little late getting up the next morning, but there was no bark!    

Nikki was loving.

Time to wake up Nikki I have to go paddling.

You knew when she had that look in her eye she was either going to be mischievous or she wondered if it was time to go to the Swan Cafe.

Having jellyfish join her she didn't worry.

She loved tit-bits.

And when she doesn't get a tit-bit and she thinks she should, she tells me so.

Nikki loved the water and Jenny adored her.

Jenny said Nikki changed her life for the better.

She also changed my life and it was more evident when she wasn't there.

Nikki was a lot more frisky when she was younger and didn't have the broken leg. 
I told her Epic was a good brand but she didn't think so!

Chris Watson blending in with the sun set.

Back L-R Andrew Crothers, Sarah Major, Abbey Major, Sammy Lourey, Sam Meyers, Zen Salisbury, Ramon Anderrson
Front L-R Taya Cassidy, Belle McBennett, Stella Dark, Claudia Ketteringham, Connor Jacob, Finn Caruana

With No Kayak Race This Weekend

What do I do?

Enter a SUP race of course

Once a month SUP WA put on a Paddle Loop SUP Social Race at Ascot Kayak Club for beginners or the more experienced. The winner is the person who guesses what time they are going to paddle the 4 km course or 2 km course. It's a fun race for many, but there are a few of us who take it a little more serious. I try to be there if there isn't a kayak race on.

This week there were four others from the Progressive Racing Group there, Izzy, Sharon, Kate and Sue. 

We lined up for the 4km race.

Sue, Kate and Sharon did the 2km race. Kate got the pineapple because she was closest to her time. 

We line up to do races around the pole.

The two experts Taska & Darren.

Over 200 enthusiastic young paddlers, 

aged between nine to 14, took part in 19 thrilling events.

To add to the familial atmosphere, 36 pairs of parents and their children took to the water in double sit-on-top kayaks for the parent-child 200m race.

Above and below:- The excitement commenced with the Inter-Tertiary Canoe Sprint Championships (ITCC) on 20 April, with 170 current and former students from 11 tertiary institutions across Singapore, participating in 22 events comprising distances of 200m to 1000m.

Flying to South Australia

for the marathon champs

If it's not dark I love having the window seat so I can check out the scenery below. With WA having clear skies it helps. The only downside with longer flights is going to the toilet and being penned in by two other people that you don't want to disturb.

One of the salt lakes in WA and there are many.

At times I could see the coastline and cliffs of the Great Australian Bight and South Australian coastline.

I have always been interested in paddling from Perth to Adelaide so it is always interesting seeing if I could see places to land. 

Murray River Descent

When I flew to Victor Harbour for the Australian Marathon Championships it reminded me of the trip I did down the entire 2500km Murray River. Not far away from Victor Harbour was Goolwa where the river enters the ocean and where I finished my paddle trip. 

After the marathon champs Dave Berglund and I drove to Goolwa for a visit and to see if I could view the Murray River Inland Rivers National Marathon Register which had the details of my trip in it. 

Unfortunately the museum was closed so we weren't able to see it.

In the records found on-line it says:--

On February 15, 1991 Terry paddled into Goolwa after a splendid 21 day, 4 hour and 48 minute voyage down the Murray from Tom Groggin, starting out on January 25, 1991. His land support man was well known adventurer, Tim Fry.

Terry was an experienced paddler of thousands of kilometres, when he set off to cross Australia from Perth, W.A. via Geraldton, the Great Sandy Desert, Tanami Track, walked up the Birdsville track through Mt Isa, Cloncurry and Townsville and up to the tip of Cape York, then back down the East coast arriving at Tom Groggin to set out to paddle the Murray to the sea at Goolwa. Truly a marathon of national significance. Frank Tuckwell. 

Frank Tuckwell writes down the details of my trip down the Murray River.

He is still meeting paddlers who paddle the entire river.

The trip started above the grade 3 & 4 rapids at Tom Groggin.

The Murray Gates Rapids.

After paddling the rapids I changed from a white water kayak to a 5.2 kayak.

I have posted the start of the trip in the newsletter before which started above the rapids. See newsletter 25th January 2024 CDU Newsletter 832
Below is a brief summary of parts of the river trip downstream of the rapids.  

Murray River Descent

Part One

Inspired By The Moon

As the days flew by, the moon became my only friend on the river. It rose like a giant guardian, brightening my world and giving me a glimpse of the river outside of my imagination. This new insight made me feel happy and content, as I watched the huge glowing sphere move slowly across the sky. But every time I glanced up, wanting to observe its mysterious craters some 384,400 kilometres distant, my balance became shaky. Since beginning my trip 8 months earlier, the moon had become a very special companion, and the full moon became one of the highlights of the month. Eventually its reflected light would finally fade or merge into the day, leaving me inspired and eager for its return.

I soon realised that to achieve my goal of paddling the Murray River in record time I had to paddle into the night. This didn’t seem too much of a problem at first, but when I started averaging 3-4 hours sleep a day it was difficult to keep awake. By 11.00pm my eyelids were beginning to falter. The strain of looking into the darkness was overwhelming, as the river snaked and slithered across the country. Trees that had crashed down on bends were like giant antlers rising up out of the muddy waters, creating dangerous hazards and difficult to see. At every twist in the river, I chanced being speared by the snags if I ever took a short cut.

So night paddling without the moon was hazardous. As well as all the snags protruding from the water, I couldn’t prevent myself from dozing off. Then there were the shadows! Trees created shadows. Shadows created problems, extra problems I didn’t need. I saw shadows as objects; objects that I thought were logs, trees and rocks. Startled, I would flinch and my heart would leap into my mouth, when I thought I was going to collide with these imaginary solid things in front of me.

At times paddling became a nightmare. As I couldn’t prevent myself from dozing off I often woke up with a wet arm after automatically doing a support stroke to prevent myself from falling into the water! Many times, tiredness forced me to stop for catnaps. I would run my kayak up the bank or reeds or into a place that would support it. Then I would slump forward on the deck, clutching my paddle in one hand and using the other hand as a pillow. This uncomfortable position didn’t allow me to sleep for long, maybe a minute or two or three, I never really knew, but it was enough to allow me to continue for a while longer.

In the day, I would relax my whole body and fade into my own dream world. The warmth of the sun would make me feel content, secure and drug me into a feeling that I could paddle for ever. It was my way of meditating and it was such a beautiful feeling. But as the hot summer days dragged on, the hot sun also became my enemy. The glare and heat made me drowsy, weary and often forced my eye lids to close.

My methods of keeping awake were not entirely successful. I carried several pieces of fruit and ‘vegies’ that I ate continually and I sang all the songs that I knew at the top of my voice, so I repeated three songs all day. When this failed, I would wet my head and face, but even that didn’t meet with much success.

Tim Was My Lifeline

Tim was my life line to the outside world. I would meet him every two to four hours to take a short break and replenish my larder and water supply. Tim informed me of the latest news, which was mainly the Iraqi war. I took away with me horrific stories; the bombings, the killings and the destruction. I had plenty of time to think about it all as I meandered down the river locked between two banks and a barrier of trees. But within my timber walls I was feeling a little guilty. I didn’t really know what was going on in the world; should I be trying to help out with the war, or at least be home with my wife Jenny! The more I thought about the war, the sadder I became which affected my paddling, so I tried to think positive and hoped that some miracle would solve the crisis.

So my journey continued; passing pumping stations, the occasional bridge, a few houses, some river boats, and people who witnessed my passing only briefly. At night, when I became too drowsy to be safe, I had no choice but to sleep wherever tiredness smothered me. I carried nothing more than a tent fly sheet, food and an extra jumper, and slept anywhere, except in the long grass, I had seen several snakes in and around the river. I used the tent fly as a ground sheet, my buoyancy aid as my pillow, my jumper as my sleeping bag and the cold mornings as my alarm clock. I slept on nothing but the hard ground, and by 4.30 am without fail the cold would wake me and force me to rise and paddle on to get warm again.

Never before had I seen so many days and nights blend into one. I was paddling at sunset, I watched the stars ease across the sky throughout the night, I saw shooting stars by the dozens and I experienced the coming of dawn and eventually another perfect sunrise. Not only was I trying to beat a record, I was experiencing continual changes of the day and learning so much about myself. I was in a world of my own, and only Tim had a vague idea what I was going through.

When I was able to meet Tim I would have a hot drink and doze for a few minutes before getting back on the river. After paddling most of the day and night it was so nice to doze.

Lost

On the eleventh night after averaging 140 kilometres a day since leaving Tom Groggin, I left Tim at 1.05am and planned to meet him 30 kilometres further downstream in the Hattah Lakes National Park. I left, knowing that I would meet him again in less than 3 hours and have a chance of putting my head down for a time. Within a few kilometres I was feeling drowsy. This made me uncertain of the speed I was travelling down the meandering river. I was also unsure whether I had taken the old river route, which would have added another 5 kilometres to my journey. Anyway, I kept pushing on, eating fruit and singing those familiar songs to keep me alert. Finally I established my position, and shortly afterwards arrived at our rendezvous point. Tim was nowhere to be seen. Had he gone to sleep forgetting to switch the light on, or was he lost somewhere in the forest? I was in no mood to go searching, but I had to make some attempt to locate him. I fumbled around in the dark, the light from my torch doing nothing to help me climb the steep slippery embankment. Once in the forest, I headed south to where I thought he may be, and found a dirt track that had obviously not been used recently. With no sign of Tim, I returned to my boat and carried on downstream, in the hope that I would find his camp further down.

The miles and the hours ticked by and the mystery deepened. Sunrise arrived and I hadn’t slept. My objective was to continue until I reached the small village of Coligman, 40 kilometres from our rendezvous point, where I hoped to find a telephone. I was pretty whacked by the time I arrived, and to top it off I had no money for calls or refreshments. We had agreed that if we ever became separated, we would ring my wife, Jenny, in Perth, to establish each others position. It was 5am in Perth when I rang and Jenny hadn’t heard from Tim, so I called the local police. Had Tim broken down or had an accident in the forest? I could do nothing but wait next to the phone.

I questioned every motorist stopping at the shop, and after 3 hours I met a man who had talked to Tim on the edge of the forest. At least now I could relax. Taking up the man’s invitation to look for Tim, I jumped into his people carrier and headed for the national park. He was a really friendly geezer, and within minutes he asked me if I liked grapes. After I’d said yes, he stopped the van next to some old grape vines and took off on foot across the paddock to find some. I followed reluctantly. I didn’t really want to be traipsing across a paddock when I had to find Tim and had a record to break, but my concern didn’t prompt him to forget our goose chase. Eventually we were on the move again, and arrived at his home on the edge of the park, where he asked me if I liked water melon. I couldn’t bear to go walkabout again so I firmly said, ‘no’!

At this point we changed over to a roofless landrover and he charged through the forest. His dog sat behind, dribbling over me and the front seat, and when it felt the urge, it jumped off to follow the scent of some distant animal. Vehicle tracks intersected the park like a jigsaw puzzle and finally my guide admitted that it would be impossible to find Tim, so we headed out of the park again. I hung on, my greasy hair trailing in the wind and the dust infiltrating my strained eyes. I just couldn’t believe this was happening. I was trying to break a record and now I was being raced around like some yahoo, speeding through a forest, clipping trees and bumping over deep wheel ruts, and half expecting to be thrust into oblivion at any moment.

More Sleepless Nights

We eventually left the National Park in one piece. Soon after Tim arrived. He had accidentally camped on a big billabong thinking it was the river, and hadn’t realised for some time, that it wasn’t the correct position. He’d then decided to search for me, before ringing Jenny in Perth.

I was just pleased the drama was over and I could get back on the river and paddle towards Mildura. Although I’d had a sleepless night and had lost time I was still ahead of schedule. However, I decided to push on without sleep through the following night, and arrived at Mildura ski club at 6.30 am. Channel 9 had found out from the Echuca local paper that I was going for the record, so they were interested in a story. They rang us on Tim’s mobile phone at 8am to organise a time to meet. Getting little sleep again, I took off at 9am after having a rare quick wash at a water tap next to the club house.

That night, I couldn’t reach my rendezvous point at Moorna Homestead without having sleep, so I grabbed a 3 hour kip on the river bank and then continued paddling in the cool of the early morning. I arrived at Moorna Homestead in the dark, to find Tim missing again. The magnificent homestead stood peacefully overlooking the river, but I didn’t have the courage to disturb the station owners so early in the morning to find out where Tim was. I paced up and down wasting more time and praying that someone would soon rise, but eventually I could wait no longer. I started knocking on the doors, and one by one the household woke up. They were very friendly and invited me for breakfast and to my relief, informed me that Tim had camped a little upstream of the house. I gave him a call, and he realised that he had again camped on another billabong. This time, when he knew we had lost each other he’d given Jenny a phone call at 4am, which she later told me had worried her considerably, as she feared that I may have drowned.

Moorna Homestead

Chased By Channel Nine

As I portaged lock 9, 53 kilometres from Moorna Station, I heard a voice shouting to me through the reeds as I was about to move off. It was the lock master informing me that he had received a call from Channel 9 asking him to tell me to wait. They had just flown to Mildura from Melbourne and were about to hire a car to come out to film me. I was now in a bit of a dilemma. It meant another delay of 2 to 3 hours if I waited around.

I pulled my kayak out of the water and walked back to the beautiful grassed area of the lock grounds. I lay under the shade of a tree, convincing myself that the publicity was more important than the record. The more people that knew of my trip, the more people would buy my book. True or false it seemed convincing enough to stop me paddling and take an hours kip on the lawn. 
I was woken by Nick apologising for the delay. He was enthused with my adventure and wasted no time starting the interview. The cameraman taped a small camera on my kayak and I paddled a few circuits of the river. Unfortunately it wasn’t working so I had to repeat the process. More filming and another interview followed before I was free to continue my journey, with the knowledge that I had lost another two hours.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

Birds Along The Way 

An Osprey at South Guildford

A male Darter just finished mating. 

Little Pied Cormorant.

Register Double Barkers:

Afternoon Saturday 11th May, Check in at 11.00am

Race start 12.15pm

https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=349530

Wild Water Race #1 & 2

Sunday 19th May 2024

The Ramon Race

26th May 2024