Did I ever mention my crazy mate, ‘Doctor Bentree’*, from Mutitjulu? Legend of a bloke. Used to help out at the community bicycle workshops, hitch-hike to work with his clothes inside-out, smoke oodles of fish (cod?), feed, clothe and tend to the elderly Aboriginal people, drive ‘unwell’ Rangers around in the health clinic bus, dance like a champion, photographic memory, make art etc, etc.. but as to his velo-centric claim to fame? The Doc was hit by lighting whilst pedaling through the desert in the midst of a massive thunder storm..! Said it felt like “touching a big electric fence“, haha. Gold.
Anyway, the Doc bailed on Centralia a few months back to head down to Wollongong for a full medical scholarship at the local uni there.. Think there must have been some scholarship coin left over ’cause a short-time later the Doc leaves me a drunken voice msg at 2am mumbling something about “going to Africa” and a week later a photo of a Rhino with an erection pops up on his Facebook account.
So now he’s got my interest.. What the fk? Is he actually in Africa or at the Dubbo Plains Zoo?? Had to find out so I moused over and clicked on the album. This is what I find..
Aw man, he’s bikepackin’ in AFRICA! That’s radical!! So next I write to him, “Doc what’s the story?”. His reply is as follows:
Rented this beast of a bike with a rock hard plank of wood seat and rode around this national park – nicely titled ” Hells gate”.
Awesome 2 day ride, wicked scenery and the only park you can get out of a vehicle, so was nice to ride amongst the buffalo, water hoggs girafffes zebras and the african animals (thankfully no lions). Decided that i wanted to go bush and get dirty. Headed out to pick up a tent from a dodgey corner store in the nearby village, so by the time i arrived to the camp site its dark – i find out that the tent is hmm fcked to say the least and i realised i was camping once again without a torch. This was the start of me african adventures.
So after sitting down to me can of beans dinner, i realise, that being bush in afro is different then being bush in aus- as i had now entered the food chain. (insert noise of zebras rooting in the background) All is good, untill those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up for no reason, and you feel eyes watching you. Hienas… buffalos… hmmm… the unknown. Decided then at that stage to stay awake all night and watch the stars and wait for the sun to come up. Ended up falling asleep sitting up and this is me welcoming the daylight the next day after a “night in Hell” (near the gate) or Hells gate national park (no pun intended). Nah it was awesome.
Awesome eh? Another BnC radventure! Top shit Doc!
*(name changed to protect the ‘un tarnished and very clean’ reputation of the incumbent)
