Posted by : Russell Osborne

Hi Jen and thank you for your question. It's an interesting one and I hope my answer will satisfy your curiosity. The truth is it was just a decision but a decision that was made in the mode of a definite reality waiting to happen. I realised that if I went to my death bed, hopefully many years away, I would always wonder what such a journey and life changing event would have been like if I chose not to do it. I was not prepared or even going to entertain that thought. I wanted a life of absolutely no regrets and so I had no choice but to move towards completing the goal, step by step, mistake after mistake, hurdle after hurdle but so long as I moved forward. I knew only one thing and that was that it was possible. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about camels, camel trekking, the deserts of Australia, the organisational skills required, the skills I would need to complete the task and even what charity to support. There has always been one thing else which has helped me immensly in getting to where I am today. Now I quote a thought that has remained with me since the conception of the transcontinental trekking idea. "If you want to become a champion tennis player, don't listen to a swimmer. Find the best of the best tennis player and simply ask him / her to mentor you to follow in their footsteps, exactly". "Follow their advice to the letter and always been in the learning mode". I did this by finding Australia's foremost camel trekker, Phil Gee and I bacame his student. For many years, I lived in the learning mode, living in a tent and in a swag (bedroll) in the desert under Phils instruction, foregoing normal luxuries and mainstream lifestyle, wages and a regular lifestyle with friends etc. When I calculated the financial cost of getting to where I am today, I could have bought a house in Darwin, Australia, outright. That didn't matter so much. I was going to complete a dream that I truely believe is living a life worthwhile. There is a lot of wealth in todays modern world and the truth is that it is entirely unacceptable that the most vunerable members of our global society are still in desperate need for life changing and life saving medical attention when all of this wealth surrounds them. The kids in crisis just need an avenue to take, a pathway to follow, an extended hand of help offered to them to recieve this much needed, lifesaving medical assistance. As adults, I sincerely believe it is our moral obligation to ensure that this hand of help is extended to the kids in crisis and that the wealth of the world is distributed to allow these medical miricles to occur. I found Moira Kelly and the Children First Foundation quite by chance after contacting a number of children charities and told them of my dream to cross Australia's harshest deserts and then through the very middle of one of the largest cities in the southern hemisphere. Many charities pretty much treated me with contempt. Marg smith, the CEO of the Children First Foundation treated me with respect and said some words of pure magic. "Sounds like a terrific idea. Please keep us informed of your progress as you put this thing together". At the time I only had two camels, no trekking skills to speak of and absolutely no equipment, time, money for such a journey etc. I kept on chipping away at the project until my new partner by this stage, Ros and I were ready and about to take the first step on one of ther longest camel expedition Australia has ever seen. From there, it was routine with many hurdles and near disasters. It's not so much what has happened but what your reaction is that can make the difference between success and failure. FAILURE JUST WASN'T AN OPTION. For all of those years of planning and learning, I had a mental image in my mind of what a camel train of eight camels, dressed in camel jewellery, along with hundreds of Children First Foundation supporters, walking down the main road that goes through Melbourne City would look like. I even knew the exact date and the exact time when all of this would happen, ten years before the actual event. I had decided, nothing was going to stop me. Even when I had caught a wild camel for the expedition, trained him, loved him and spent many weeks with him and he died from a broken shoulder in a muster of camels, thus setting back the dream almost to the beginning point. (I still get a lump in my throat thinking of that beautiful, trusting young camel I had fallen in love with). On the 22/11/09 we walked eight camels with hundreds of Moira Kelly and the Children First Foundation Supporters, along the main street of Melbourne City, directly through the middle of the city, to the Royal Children's Hospital where Trishna and Krishna had just been successfuly separated to say thank you to Moira and the Children First Foundation for their work cahnging and saving children's lives. The image of the dream was on the right date at exactly the right time. Now, I am planning the Perth to Sydney Thank You Camel Expedition and the details will be available soon. Once again, I have a mental image of place, time and scene of this expedition, after covering on foot over 4000kms. Again, supporting Moira Kelly and the Children First Foundation. There is so much more I could tell you but that is all a part of my Keynote Speaking programme aiming to help others who have a dream but need assistance in planning and putting together the processes to complete dreams. Thanks for your question Jen. It has been an absolute pleasure answering your question. Live life like today is your last. One day it will be. Russell Osborne (Feel free to contact me at: dundeecamels@hotmail.com for any quiries regarding my Keynote Speaking Presentation Details)