"Alice Springs." "Last stop" "Alice Springs, Central Australia 1975" "Dear Sir." "I am planning to walk across the... australian desert from Alice Springs... to the Indian Ocean, a distance of 2000 miles." "The trip will take 6 to 7 months." "Idiots!" "I arrived in Alice Springs over a year ago... there are herds of feral camels roaming freely throughout Central Australia..." "And my idea was to capture ... a few, and train them to carry my gear." "Diggity, stay!" "The trip wasn't conceived as... an adventure, in the sense of something to be... proved or conquered." "And when people asked me why I'm... doing it, my ususual answer is, why not?" "I was wandering, if you had any work?" " What kind of work?" " Behind the bar, anything." "Ask the Mrs. She's at the back." "Got a place to stay?" "I was planning of camping somewhere." " Got a tent?" " No." "One meal per shift is provided, rent is deducted... from first weeks pay." "The loo is down the hall." "Great, thanks." "I have a dog." "I'd always been drawn to the purity of the desert." " It's hot wind and wide open spaces." " Alone?" " Yeah, well, I'll need to train some camels to carry my gear." "And... then there's Diggity, of course." " You go right ahead, go right ahead." " But mainly I was bored of... life in the city." "With its repetitions, my half finished, half hearted attempts... at jobs and various studies." "And I was sick of carrying around the self indulgent... negativity that was so much the malaise of my generation, my sex and my class." "Come on!" "The decision to act, was in itself, the beginning of the journey." "POSEL CAMEL FARM THE BEST EXPERIENCE IN THE ALICE" "I believe, when you've been stuck too long... in one spot, its best to throw a grenade where you're standing and jump," "and pray." "POSEL CAMEL FARM" " Hey!" "We are closed today." "Your plan is ridiculous." " My father crossed the Kalahari in 1935, that wasn't so ridiculous." " Nothing's in the blood." " I'm a hard worker." " You can work for me, for 8 months, for free." "I'll show you how to train them." "After that I'll give you two wild camels." "And that will be that." " So...do we sign a contract?" " I'm good to my word." " You can stay here." "I'll clean out one of the sheds." " That's ok." "I'll find my own place." "Thanks!" " Mishmish, Toon, Ali, Honey and Abba." "And these are my new wild bulls, Dookie and Bub." " What's wrong with him?" " Nothing's wrong with him." "He's in rut." "He's a bull." "Those other males are bullocks." "These are still bulls." "Sie haben Eier." "In rut season, they... become extremely agressive." "Very dangerous!" " He doesn't look very dangerous." " He's young." "He will learn." " Hey Dookie." "Hey Dookie..." "Hello!" "Hey..." "Come on." " So you want to play with the camels?" "Always watch the animal." "Watch how he thinks..." "Let him know who's boss!" "Come on." "Try it again." "Carefully." "Hurry up." "We open soon." "Are you finished?" " Yepp." " What's that?" " Sorry." " Take off those shoes." "You must toughen the feet." " There are two species of camel." "Neither is native to Australia." "Some of the first camels brought into... the country, were for the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860." " Louder." " Today..." " More effort!" " there are over 50.000 feral camels across Australia." "Hey, Goldie..." "Come on." "Hold it." "Stay." "If my trip was inspired by anyone, it would be my father." "He trecked across East Africa, in his youth, and was happiest on his own out in the bush." "Hello Dookie." "When I was young, he showed me a tree... on our property, marked with the letter "L"." "by the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, in 1848, he attempted to cross Australia, to... theocean,withseven horses and 20 mules." "He disappeared and was never found." "I remember imagining Ludwig alone... in the desert with the animals." "And it sounded like a dream." " Yeah?" " Can we talk about my trip?" "My camels." " Your camels?" " Yeah, our deal." "I've tried to talk to you about it already twice." " I need you to get up early tomorrow." "I want the camels in by five." " I've been here for over 8 months now." "I don't need to do shit for you!" " You're fired." " I'm gonna talk to Gladdy about it." " Gladdy is gone." "And I want you gone to." "I want all bitches gone from my side." "The early settlers needed beasts of burden better suited to the harsh climate of the outback." "So they imported camels." "When trains and cars came along, and there was no longer any use for them, the camels were set free." "But instead of perishing, they flourished." "Now Australia has the largest feral camel population in the world." "I just needed three of them." "Hey, what do you think Dig?" "Home, sweet home, hey?" " You must be mad girlie." "You know, that's about 2.000 miles." "Six months of hard walking." "Huh." "And it gets tougher if you get an injury." "It's serious enough if you get lost, running out of water, food." "You don't have to be unlucky to die out there." " I just want to be by myself." " We aren't training these camels for kiddy rides." "Mmm." "We catch them, we sell 'em." " So, you'll help me out?" " I can teach you how to brake one." " The rest of it, you do on your own time." " You'll hire me?" " Anyone who can put up with Kurt Posel, for 8 months, deserves a chance." "Come back tomorrow, see how you go." "I went to work for a camel wrangler... named Sallay Mahomet." "He came from a long line of Afghan camelliers." " Robyn, arms up, you gotta look tall." "Stand tall, arms up." "He offered me one wild camel... for a months work at half pay." " Robyn, shut the gate." "You'll have to brake her." " Thanks." " You earned it." "You're an odd girl, Robyn Davidson." " Anybody here?" "You can run, but you can't hide!" " What are you doing here?" "How did you find me?" " I asked around." "There's not too many camel ladies in this town." " I hate that." "Makes me sound like a crazy woman." " Hey, come on." " Hi!" " How're you going, Robby." " This is Peter, Bernard, Annie and Annies mate Rick." " I love your place." "I didn't realize how big camels are." "Its like a cow and a giraffe, mixed." "They're beautiful." " Gonna invite us in?" " Yeah, come in." "That's what I have, that's what I don't have." "Plus I need two more camels." "Mostly I just need money." "Money, money, money." " The eternal explorer's dilemma." " Why don't you just shorten the trip?" "To the rock and back." "I mean we can come with you" "We can chip in." " Yeah, why not?" " Have you looked into sponsorship?" "Like a magazine." " Rick knows a lot of editors." " Yeah, I know a lot of editors, I could put in... a good word for you." "I think they'd think it was fascinating." "I think its fascinating." "So I know they would." "He he." " Oh, its Ok." "I'll do it myself." "Hm." "Hey Zely." "Hey girl." "Hey!" " Kanguroo." " Hey, do you mind?" " Sorry, bad habit." " Oh, I..." "I made you this." " You're a darling." "Thank you." " You know, your room is still available, Rob." "Yeah..." "Bye Rob." "Love you." "Don't die out there!" "I know you well enough never to ask... why you're doing this." "Or why you wanna do it alone." "But I guess, if the reason is... good enough for you, its good enough for me." "Anyway, I made you a tape for your trip." "That old record of your mother's." "The one you used to play to death." "Whatever it is you're looking for Robyn, find it and come home again." "In case you change your mind." "Mr. Jack Ficher, National Geographic Magazine." " Girlie, I reckon you've got yourself a pregnant cow." " What?" "Pregnant?" "Is that good or bad?" " You've got a calf tied up for camp overnight, none of the others are gonna stray very far." " So that's good." "A few weeks later, I heard that Kurt Posel, sold his ranch." " Like I said, its not possible." "The new owner had little... experience with camels." " One camel." "That's all I want." "The bastard owed me two." " Sorry, he never mentioned that to me." " Hey, do you even know what you're doing?" "I wouldn't use a nose line." "Settle in, you bastard!" " Get out of there!" "Shut the gate." "Hey Dookie." "Easy." "That's good." "Come on Dookie." "Push Dookie." "Push." " Do they do that often?" " The bulls?" " Yeah!" " Hell yeah." "All the time" "You wanna keep your kids away from them, for sure." "Come on Digg!" "And so, I'm writing to you, in the hope that your magazine will sponsor my trip." "I believe National Geographic to be... of the highest international repute." "the trip will take me through some of the most beautiful and barren country, the desert can show." "I'm enclosing a map of my proposed route... from Alice Springs, to Ayer's Rock... then on through the Western Desert, to the Indian Ocean." "I have three camels and one small calf trained and ready to go." "They are perfectly reliable beasts." "Their names are Dookie," "Bub." "Zely and baby Goliath." "I am well aware of the hardship I will be facing." "and the first to admit, I'm remarkably... unqualified for such a hazardous undertaking." "But this is precisely the point of my journey..." "I'd like to think, an ordinary person is... capable of anything." "I look forward to hearing from you in the near future." "Your's faithfully, Robyn Davidson." " There!" " Sorry Dookie." " Grab that!" "A bull in rut will do anything to get his way." "He'll bite, kick or kill whatever gets in his way..." "And that includes you." "You see, what happens when one of these bull camels... gets his lovely set on something." "there's no stopping him." "Rule nr. 1, protect your camels." "If you're out there on your own and a wild bull is coming at you... you shoot it." "Don't think, you shoot." "You understand?" "Right!" "Oh, I forgot." "These packages came for you." "And there's a letter too." " I got it!" "I got the money!" "As a condition of the sponsorship, we will be sending a photographer." "His name is," " Rick Smolan." " I think they'd think it was fascinating." "I think its fascinating." "So I know they would." " Hi Robyn." " We came to say goodby." " How are you doing?" "Hey come here." "Look at you." "Hi sis!" " You look well." " Thanks for coming." "Hi pop." " Hey Diggity!" " Good doggie." "I'm riding with the camel." " Wow!" "Ahh." "Its freezing in here." " Hi." "This is Rick, the photographer." " Hi." "You must be her father?" "Sister?" "I don't know who you are!" "This is obviously for me." "This was surprizingly expensive." "Inflatable raft." "For flash floods." "And..." " And why would I need an excercise bike?" " Oh, its not an exercise bike, its a... backup generator for the radio, in case the batteries fail." " I'm not taking a radio." " Please Robyn, just take the radio." " You wanna die out there or something?" " Take the radio." "In case." " Ok, I'll take the radio, but I,m not taking the bike." " You know, its really reassuring to know that my sister won't be alone out there." " Well, I'm only meeting up with her 4 or 5 times." " 2 or 3 times." "2 or 3." " No, I don't want a gun." " But you will." " Hi." "Hi." "Hello." "9th of April 1977" "Take care Pop." "Thanks!" " If you get in trouble, there's no shame in turning back." "Ok?" " Ok?" " Ok." " Bye darling!" " Bye Robyn!" "Bye Robyn!" " Call us from Ayer's Rock." " Bye Diggity!" "Diggity, come on!" "DAY 1" "You got to be kidding me!" "He-Hey!" " That's great!" "And keep back looking at me?" "Alright." "Good, good." "And smile!" "Great, great, that's great." "Ok." "Great." "Hold, let me get this other stuff from here." "Everybody I keep telling about this, really can't believe it." "2000 miles." "Is she crazy or something?" "He-he!" "Refine your line a little bit." "Face a little..." "That's great!" "Hey, what's the camel's name?" "Bub, hey." "Everybody smile!" "How do you feel?" " Are we done?" " Yeah, I think its good." "See you in a month." "DAY 29" "NATIONAL PARK" " Hey, lady, can we get a photo?" "Hey, over here!" " Sorry, camp ground's full." " It would just be for one night." " Sorry, camels aren't allowed on park's grounds." " Why?" " This is a sacred site." " Hey, camel lady!" " Figuring 20 miles per day, that's how fast you're... travelling, determines how long it takes to... get to the next town with a mail-plane service." "And if I divide that by 20, and I should more or less be able to figure out when you're gonna be arriving." "I ran into a group of aboriginals, who were able to point me in the right direction." "They just knew where you were." "I just said camel lady, and..." "I guess, there is not really a lot of camel ladies." "Before I get on any kind of plane, I have this ritual," "I've been doing for the past 5 years, where I eat an orange, before... and after when I get off the flight." "And this time I was going to do it, but I didn't." "'Cause I ran out of time." "And I got back late and my deli was closed." "Wow, I love lentils!" "Maybe try some with the... with the hat." "The white really pops against the red of the rock." "And don't worry, I'm shooting on a long lens... so it compresses the distance." "It looks like you're standing right in front of it." "Great!" "Ok, maybe a tiny smile?" " What about honest journalism?" " Hey, camel lady!" " A friend of mine, David Brunet, he says, the greatest photographs are motivated by human feeling." " Are we done?" " Almost." "Oh, no, I thought the hat was good!" "See you tomorrow." " Embarassing!" "Go away!" " So your father was an explorer, huh?" " Not really." " Oh, I thought you said he was." " I said he walked around East Africa, harpooning crocodiles and looking for gold." " What about your Mom?" " I don't really remember her." " What happened to her?" " She hung herself." "Jesus!" " I'm gonna grab all this." "Put the stuff in the back of the truck..." " Leave that, get the food." "Push!" "Diggity!" " Robyn!" " Fuck off!" " Could have been worse, we could have been in a small plane, flying through a Typhoon." "That's something you don't want to experience." "I was in Iran Jaya, covering the riots for Time," "Burnett was there, he won the Capra medal in '73, he's a good friend of mine." "And we were trying to land the plane on this narrow strip on the side... of the mountain, and the wind kept blowing the wings back and forth..." " I just can't stand it any more." "This whole thing is just some ludicrous, pointless farce." "Every day, I load a pile of junk," "I walk 20 miles, I unload a pile of junk." "And you just stand around like some idiot, taking pictures of me!" "I can't do it anymore!" " It's Ok." "Dookie, leave him alone!" " Good morning." " Good morning." "You don't have to do that." " So, I figured, I was thinking about staying on a few days." " Why?" " Wanted just to..." "I guess I'll see you in 5 weeks." " Good." "Come on girl, come back here." "Hey..." "Hey." "DAY 61" "Where are they Dig?" "Dookie!" "Zely!" "Bub!" "Dookie!" "Hey, you stay here, Ok?" "Good girl." "Dookie!" "?" "Don't you ever leave me!" "Hey." "Hey." " Hi." " Hi." " How are you?" " Good, how are you?" " I missed you." " So I get, you are the camel lady." " Hi." "Thanks for having us here" " You're welcome." " Sorry, can I get you guys to shake hands again?" "Great, thank you." " Hello there." " The old fellas can be a bit stand-offish with strangers." " Hi, mate!" " Takes a while for them to warm up." " Would you mind, not taking pictures?" " A man has to do his job." " That's exactly the reason, blacks were dumped in missions." "Men just doing their job." " 11 million readers will see these photographs." "I'd like to think that what I'm doing is a service." " A couple of pictures in a magazine?" "You think that's really gonna make a difference?" " Yeah, I do." "You know, if it wasn't for the magazine... you wouldn't be on this trip." " You didn't, did you?" " Nobody saw me." "It was great images." "Some kind of grieving ceremony" " That was secret business." "Get it?" "Secret." " After Malasia, I will shoot in Tasmania." "I'll check in on this number for messages." " Ok." "I should be in Warburton in about 6 weeks." " I'll be there." " Can I sit here?" " Husband no good." " He is not my husband." "There's an adviser, named Glendal, living outside Pipalyatjara." " Now he's the last white fella you'll see until Warburton." " Ok." "Look, this is the most direct route though right?" " Yeah, but its dotted with sacred sites." "So its forbidden to women I'm afraid." "You'd need an old fella to guide you through." " But the other way is 160 miles out of my way." " If you like, I can ask around, see if... there's an elder who'd travel with you." "Seems your boyfriend was seen taking photos of "secret business"." " He's not my boyfriend." " Sorry, can't help you." "Their answer is no." " Just tell them I'm sorry." "Looks like we're taking the long way Bub." "If you're out there on your own and a wild bull's coming at you..." "You shoot it." "Don't think, you shoot." "You understand?" " Where you go?" " West, to the ocean." " Orobulga?" "Big Lake?" "Yeah Oropulka." " Too long way." "Too long way for you." "You got paperjalla?" " Yeah." " Which way?" " Along the road." " Too far." "Too many slips that way." " Milmil, sacred country." " Need old fella!" "DAY 84 00:54:18,000 -- 00:54:28,000" " Speaks Aborigenese " " Glendall?" "I know he helped me get the money, but....." "he doesn't understand that he's part of the problem" "He's a nice person, but I don't want him and his... cameras and his hopeless romantic notions... along with my trip, you know?" "I can deal with pigs really easily, but nice people confound me." "You know, how can you tell a nice person... that you just wish they'd crawl into a hole and die?" "Sorry." "Its been a while since I've had anybody to talk to." " You had Eddie." "He's one of the most respected elders in the comunity." " Yeah." "I wish I could." " Yeah." "Words are overrated." "Hey, it's been real nice having you around." "Hope you can stick around for a bit." " Thanks." "Will you walk to Warburton with me, Eddie?" "To Warburton." "Will you walk with me?" " Long way Warburton." "A little bit long way." " Long way." " Yeah." "Long way." "My shoes, no good." " Ok." "Hmm." " Looks good in new shoes, huh?" " Do you think he's up for this?" "Its over 200 miles." " Him?" "He'll outwalk the two of us." " Don't forget my telegram." "Ok." "Thanks." "See ya." "Bye." "Come on Dig." "Come on Goliath." "Come on Goly." "The ground's too hot." "Come on." "That's the way." "You got new shoes." "What is it?" "Should I eat it?" "Push." "That's the way." "How was it Eddie?" " White fellas." " Where?" "Come on Bub." "Stand up." "Come on." "Come on Bub!" "Come on." "Stand up." "Come on." "Get up." "Come on Bub." "Come on." " We made a stop, so we can take photos." "Come on Eddie." " Hold up there love!" "Please, can I take your photo?" "Can you stop, so we can take a photo?" "Please." " Where are you heading?" " Thanks love!" " How far are you going?" " I'm going to the ocean." " To the ocean?" "You're dreaming?" " Hey, get your photo with the camel boy." "Take a picture hey?" " Hey Jack!" "You're a prick!" " What is her problem?" "Bloody swine!" " Hey, hey, hey, hey." "Gimme money, gimme money!" " He wants money?" " Take it." " Don't give him too much." " I don't understand." "Ok." "I won't, I won't." "Only men do the cutting." "I understand." "Ok." "Mya comolpa, Rick." " Hi." " Hi." "This is Mr. Eddie." "Eddie, Rick." " I got your telegram." " Thanks." " You're welcome." " This is for you." "Diggity, stay close." "What happened to this place?" " Nobody here." "Everybody all gone." " So..." "Eddie is very insistent, that you take along an elder" " Yeah." "I prefer to do this stretch on my own." " Yeah, but its better to do this stretch with company." " No, I'll be fine." " You won't find a drop of water." "You'll be 2 months travelling... a dead straight track through empty desert." "Its lucky to get 6 cars a year along it." " I'll be fine." " Would it make any difference if I told you, I didn't want you to go alone?" " What do you think?" " I think you have a problem with people." "You know, I'm sorry, but I'm driving ahead and dropping water drums along the track." " That's almost a 1000 miles out of your way." " Yeah, yeah, I know how far it is." " Are you shure?" " 100%" "I'll mark the drop points on your map." " Ok." "Thanks." " Gol by." " Thank you." "Come on." "Steady." "The compass, Digg!" "Fuck!" "Come on Digg." " Hey!" "Your mother gave me that." " Thanks Pop." " You'll be shure, you'll look after it?" " I will." "Where are we Digg ?" "Diggity, hey, go home!" "Go on." "Go home!" "Home Diggity!" "Go home!" "Go home!" "Go on, go home Digg." "Diggity, go home!" "Diggity, good girl!" "Hi!" "We're back!" "Did you miss me?" "Come on girl!" "Hello." "Hi." "Come on girl." "Give it to me." "Go away!" "Go away!" "DAY 124" " Hey!" "Is it the camel lady?" "Ahh." "Hey." "Ahh, fire is nice hey." "I've been following your tracks since..." "Warburton." "I'm going for the overland record." "Flat out of Wonderburg, straight shot to Ningalu." "Non-stop mate." "Reckon I'm the first!" "You're nearly famous." "Suzuki TS 400. (?" ")" "Fuck me, its cold out here!" "You like bikes?" "No, no, you like camels." "Yeah, nice,nice." "Gives you a chance to see the scenery hey?" "Me all alone, I say this is a fuckin' blur you know?" "He-he!" "Swosh!" " Hello Dear!" "Nice to see you!" "Will you come in for tea?" " Where are you from?" " A group on a cattle station near Darling Downs." " Queensland right?" " What you run?" " Herreford." " Hard country that." " ?" " 7 years." " Muster through it, did you?" " We went broke." " Your mother is dead darlin'." "You will have to live with your aunt Jillian from now on." "Is Goldie coming with me?" "No darlin', there's no room for her there." " Will I be able to visit her?" " No Darling." "We're gonna have to put her down." " After that, you'll join up with the (?" ") at well 10." "Follow this track here." "I'll reckon, you're 3 weeks, or so out of (?" ")." " A little something to keep you going." " Thank you, both." " Bye." " Bye." " Good luck." "Bye." "Hey!" "Uru, uru." "Hey, good girl." "You found dinner." "01:24:07,354 -- 01:24:15,662" " Uuu, Wendy, Wendy,Wendy!" "Woman never brake the law!" "Come on Diggity, come on." "That's my girl." "That's all there is." "No more." "Hey Digg?" "Digg?" "Digg?" "Digg?" "Come here girl!" "Diggity?" "Diggity?" "Digg?" "Come here girl!" "Digg?" "Diggity!" "Diggity!" "Diggity!" "Hey Diggity!" "Diggity!" "Come here, come here!" "There." "Come on girl!" "Come on!" "Come on girl!" "Spit out!" "." "No, no, no, no!" "Come on Diggity!" "Come on!" "Diggity, Diggity, Diggity, come on!" "Hey!" "Come on Diggity!" "Diggity, come on!" "Diggity!" "No!" " Go away!" " Stay!" "Hello, hello." "Is anybody there?" "DAY 157" "Stay where you are!" "Hang on!" " You Ok?" "Hey, you Ok?" "You alright?" "I've been trying to find you for over a week." " Leave me alone!" "Go away!" "Go away!" " Where is Digg?" " She's gone." "Poisoned." " Here's one from London, another from New York." "Paris, Saigon, Singapore." "Wow!" "I can't even read where that's from." " It doesn't matter anyway." " What doesn't matter?" " This trip." "I never should have started it." "They're gone." " Yeah." "For now." " Au." " I'm sorry." " Rick?" "I'm so alone." " We all are." " I miss her so much." " Hey!" " Come on, wave high!" " Right!" "Smile!" "Good, good." "Hazards on lone desert crossing" "Camel love led to desert trek" "The camel lady and her black dog" " I've been thinking..." " Yeah?" " I wanna finish what I started." "You know, but I can't face those reporters again." " Oh, I can go ahead of you into town and... and say that one of your camels is sick." "That it won't be better for six weeks." "Trust me, none of them will be able to stay there for 6 weeks" " You think they'll go?" " No, they'll be waiting for you at Canarvon." " But I'm not going to Canarvon." " I know." "DAY 195" " Come on!" " Hey Bub." " Come on!" "Come on!"