Team A

Starting from Broome this morning, our run across the Top End commenced in earnest. The expansive open spaces have given way to tall grass, the termite mounds have changed in shape and size, and an extraordinary tree has made it appearance.

The camel of the plant world, the Boab tree, is a distinctive character of the Kimberley region – its large bulbous trunk serving as a water storage to last through the long dry season.

The Boabs, never likely to win an arboreal beauty contest, amass sometimes stupendous girths in their zeal to conserve water.

We have found the road to be an extraordinarily busy social hub. Every day we are meeting wonderful people – cyclists, travellers and holiday-makers from all around Australia and the world – on the road. Sometimes they are drawn to us by our Torch or our vans; other times we are drawn to them.

A stand-out amongst our fellow travellers today was Jon Pfeffer, who with his father Steve has been riding since 4 May for charity from Brisbane to Broome.

Having just cycled the length of the Gibb River Road through the Kimberley and about to conclude his journey, both the effort and exhilaration were strong and clear in Jon's face and voice.

Bush fires are all too common in Australia. Smoke on the horizon in winter is often the result of a controlled burn-off to remove some undergrowth, thereby decreasing the risk of large fires developing in summer. We don't know what caused the smoke behind us today, but it provided a good photo opportunity.

Derby is renowned for having the largest tidal movements of any place in the southern hemisphere. Several of the team went to the jetty around sunset to observe King Sound, which borders the town on both sides.

After a few weeks of only camping, we are delighted to be pampered by the wonderful hospitality of Wayne and Belinda Holland, of the King Sound Resort Hotel here in Derby. Belinda and Abby were happy to receive the World Harmony Run Torch and our Certificate of Appreciation for their kindness. Thank you to all the staff, including Chad, who have made our stay here so comfortable and enjoyable.

– Prachar Stegemann (Australia)

Team B

It was an unusual start this morning. Our first stop was a auto mechanic. No worries, nothing serious, just cracks in the window screen from flying stones.

Our mascot 'Flocke' enjoyed the different scenery and showed a big interest in the toolbox.

Later we met Doris Kramer and Rainer Hager from Germany who had seen us days before, near Monkey Mia.

“We really love Australia, that’s why we are here now for the 5th time,” they told us.

Before we left beautiful Broome, we decided to go for one more swim at Cable Beach.

Marg Herring, a lady full of enthusiasm and dynamism from the Scarboro Surf Club approached us saying: “I love what you are doing. Keep going!”

When we eventually left town we drove past trees still smouldering from a fire. The smoke was still billowing up beside us.

– Elke Lindner (Germany)

Team C

We left our accommodation in Broome with some hesitation after two great nights at Roebuck Bay Caravan Park. We want to thank our sponsors Graeme Campbell and his wife, as well as all the staff, like Elaine who held the Torch on behalf of Roebuck Bay Caravan Park.

We all welcome Nigel Webber to our team who arrived yesterday, fresh from Brisbane, just in time for our day off – very smart indeed.

We came across many Boab trees with huge trunks – they looked strange to us growing in this way, until Nigel explained that this is their own water storage facility...

Here's one tree that even Misha couldn't hug!

Along the way we met a wonderful couple travelling around Australia, Joe and Sietske de Jong from New Zealand.

We only had to run 42 kilometres into Derby and straight to our accommodation – and easy day, as you can see.

– Runar Gigja (Iceland)

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Team Members:
Nigel Webber (Australia), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Elke Lindner (Germany), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Prachar Stegemann Australia), Misha Kulagin (Russia), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Prabuddha Nicol (Australia), Nishima Knowsley (New Zealand), Iva Nemcova (Czech Republic), Miro Pospisek (Czech Republic), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Angela Muhs (Germany), Edi Serban (Romania), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic), Veeraja Uppal (Australia)

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