
Team A had an earlier morning start today to take advantage of the cooler weather the locals are saying we are having up North…..we from the South certainly haven’t noticed!

We had a lovely surprise stopover at the Roper Gulf shire office in Mataranka where we introduced the shire admin officer Karen and her team to the Peace Run.

Karen kindly offered an impromptu meeting at the shires newly built elderly citizens houses on the property and we were able to share the message of the Peace Run with some of the residents who were very happy to hear about the Peace Run and hold the torch. Karen was a great source of local knowledge like how many people in the towns….about 300 in Mataranka and only 15 in Larrimah!

Thank you for such a warm welcome to Roper Gulf which extends all the way to Daly Waters where we will spend the night.

The day began to warm up as we now expect but we had a very good day along the Stuart Highway today because it seemed that many people were either aware of the Peace Run or were feeling joyful enough to offer toots and waves…..even the drivers of the huge cattle trucks who are always happy to see the runners being appreciative of the driving conditons here and stepping well off the road to make it safer for everyone were giving us encouragement with toots and waves as they flew past.

There still appear to be a few bush fires along the roadside and into the encroaching bush grasses on the verges. When we notice smouldering patches we always run without the torch lit knowing how remote these places are and how few and far between are the water services in the dry season.

Some of the newcomers starting their journey with the peace run. Between them Bayarkhuu from Mongolia, Deveshu from Austria, Michal from Slovakia and pictured here Pasha from New Zealand/Canada.

Newcomers brought freshness, newness and energy while primordial runners brought experience and inspiration. All very needed for the whole team.

Today we ended up in Daly Waters, which is half way on our journey through the Northern Territory of Australia.
Camp ready!