Saturday 9 November 2024 Maffra to Stratford
While Maffra was not included in our walk schedule, we decided to walk the distance to make up for the short fall that had occurred because of weather conditions and other reasons. Vishal went ahead of me as was the case most of the time with every member of the support crew. The van has to be slightly ahead of me because flashing hazard lights and the banners on the van draw the attention of the oncoming traffic that I am to face as I walk on the right side of the road. The drivers are alerted before they approach me.
Instead of following the road C105, I decided to follow the walking trail on the erstwhile rail track. It was fairly hot and muggy that made it ideal for snakes to come out. I was watching out for snakes while walking briskly. This bushy trail was parallel to the road but at times had overgrown bushes and trees that made it scary. This area had lots of flies, and they all wanted to get into your mouth and nose. It is much worse if you are already sweating from the heat and walk. The flies stick to the area you are perspiring and that is very annoying to say the least. Suddenly, a young woman appears walking towards me. She was wearing a fly-net over her face. I asked her where she got it from and I started telling her about the walk to support the McGrath Foundation. I reached into my backpack to give her the leaflets about the walk. Before I knew it, she had taken the fly-net off her face and placed it over my head. She said that I needed more than she did. Besides, she said that she had another four at home. To me, she was God sent and I am so indebted to this unknown young woman from Maffra. A big thank you!
Vishal and I met on the corner Princes Hwy and C105 and we continued to walk to Stratford until finished. This was the day we completed the actual walk to this town. I was glad that we had made up for the short fall from yesterday. Vishal had some business to attend to. I went to the Badger and Hare Cafe to meet the incredible Chris Dixon the local and national hero who ran 1,000 Kms from Sydney to Melbourne in ten days. It was such a great feeling and positive vibes meeting this amazing youngman from Stratford. I could not contain my excitement. We shared common thinking and exchanged our experiences during these extraordinary journeys. I was so grateful that Chris had disrupted his training routine to come and meet up. Chris, mate you are a true champion!
Vishal and I had late lunch at the A Taste of Avon. We then drove back to Sale to stay at a motel. We had vegetarian pizza and freshly made bread for dinner in the middle of the town. This was Vishal’s last night supporting us on the walk. Tomorrow being Sunday, he would be going back to Melbourne. Vishal had delivered on his commitment. Hats off to Vishal bhayia and a big thank you!
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