Our journey from Marla to Moomba ended to the sound of clicking cameras and a Channel Nine News team who happened to be filming "Postcards" in the area at the time.

Behind us lay 805 kilometres of some of the most isolated areas in Australia. Across four deserts to raise the awareness of Type 1 diabetes in all Australian communities and to raise $50,000 for the Endocrine and Diabetes Unit at the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Twenty nine days earlier we (Richard Drogemuller and Mark Wellington) set out to walk from Marla to Moomba: a plan that would take us 650 kilometres across four deserts, roads and inhospitable terrain. We had spent the last 12 months planning the logistics, contacting leaseholders, raising funds, and training.

Little did we know that within 48 hours of starting we would have to throw much of our planning out the window and re route 60% of our journey to cover an extra 150 kilometres due to inaccessible terrain. It was only when we arrived that some landowners told us that the support vehicles would not be able to access some parts of the proposed route. Why they didn’t tell us when we asked permission to cross their land we do not know.

We felt that we might be able to walk through but we were not prepared to risk walking into territory where we could not be rescued in an emergency. We knew that our EPIRB would get us rescued wherever we were but we thought it prudent to use the support crew we had. The Flying Doctor Service has better things to do than save some out-of-depth amateurs. As it turned out we would have been alright but in the first days of the trek we were not to know that.

Setting out knowing that you will have to walk on average 30 kilometres a day for the next month with backpacks of around 20kg you start to wonder if all the training (or lack of it) will pay off. Could this be a total disaster that will end in embarrassment and defeat? How will our bodies, especially feet after doing this everyday for the next month in the heat?

Oh well, 1 kilometre down 804 to go!

Twelve months of planning to cover every single eventuality is impossible to do. From food to clothing, medical emergencies, communication, navigation, sponsors requirements and recognition, support crew food and logistics etc, the list goes on and on.

Our daily routine would be to wake at around 5.00 am, often below 0 degrees, pack all our gear and equipment and commence walking about 6.15 am, using a head torch to light the way. Some of the most spectacular sunrises where seen during the early morning sunrise that changed every few minutes until around 7.20 am. We walked ten kilometres before breakfast, rested for about 45 minutes and then another session of 10 kilometres before lunch at around midday. Here we rested for about an hour before commencing the afternoon session to do a minimum of 10 kilometres. This gave us 30 km per day and we managed up to 37 kilometres. This strict routine paid off in the end as we travelled the extra 150 kilometres and still arrived in Moomba 1.5 days earlier than planned.

Daytime temperatures hovered around the low to mid 20's in the shade while up to 48° was experienced directly in the sun. Some of the very high daytime temperatures made walking hard and the last 5 kilometres for the day seemed to go on and on. Both of us lost weight and Mark suffered from blistered feet for only a few days, which required 4 hourly painkillers to get through.

The heat didn't seem to worry the numerous small birds that survive quite easily with such small amounts of food and vegetation. A few dingoes or wild dogs became inquisitive to see if we were friend or foe and quickly disappeared as their inquisitiveness was fulfilled. We followed camel tracks for days and days, but only sighted half a dozen or so who glared at us passing through their territory.

The first week was spent walking to Oodnadatta. The landscape was mostly gibber rock broken by occasional patches of scrub trees. The Oodnadatta Track took as far as Welbourn Hill station where we were going to start cross-country walking. It was here, however, that we were first told that the support vehicles would not be able to support us. We were prepared to carry more than the usual three days' supply of food and water, but not for being stranded if things went wrong. As a consequence we followed what was left of the old Oodnadatta stock route. In most places it was a recognisable track, but in others navigation was required. The GPS proved invaluable as the 1:250 000 maps were very inaccurate and the 50 metre contours showed little of the terrain.

From Oodnadatta to Mungerannie took the next two weeks. The lower part of the Simpson Desert is quite a remarkable landscape, adjoining the top of Lake Eyre. The western side was very difficult to walk through, as the sand was soft. The crust had been broken by many cattle prints extending some 30 km into the desert. Eventually the prints disappeared and the walking was much easier. The firm crust was much easier to walk on than we expected. Eventually we made our way to the Warburton Creek that we were able to follow. Navigation was easier but the water was far too salty to drink (but it was great to get clean again!).

Every day had to become a routine. If it didn’t it would be a struggle both mentally and physically. Surprisingly we never seemed to get bored. There was always the navigation to do by using map and compass and verifying our position by a hand held GPS. We both carried a CD player and between us had around 25 CDs we would swap. Our singing didn't improve during the journey, but no one was there to hear us except each other. Except for seeing the support crew every few days we wouldn’t see any one for weeks at a time.

One of the highlights of the Simpson Desert was walking across a series of unnamed salt lakes. At one point we were about 2 km from any land trudging through a soft crust into which we sank only a cm or two. While we had to walk carefully, aware that if the crust broke we would get very muddy, the sense of solitude was amazing. It was absolutely quiet, and so desolate that even the flies did not go there.

It was in the Simpson that we began to appreciate the skills and dedication of our two-vehicle, 4 person, support crew. These wonderful people donated their time, and vehicles, for the only food and fuel in return. The leader of the team was Peter Baddams who had supported Rob Porcaro in two ventures across the Simpson (see www.lassothemoon.org for more details). Bryn Price, the president of the Southern Vales 4WD Club, drove the other vehicle. Peter and Bryn, were in turn, supported by Trevor Gotz and Bryan’s wife Georgina.

We waded knee deep across the quickly flowing, and still salty, Warburton at Kalamirina Station. This took us into the Tirari Desert. The Tirari was very pretty with firm, bright orange sand. The dunes were larger than in the Simpson, but still easier than we had feared. The other side of the Tirari was Sturt’s Stony Desert and the Mungerannie Hotel on the Birdsville Track. Our first shower in 2 weeks, to say nothing of the beer and counter meals!

We expected Sturt's Stony Desert to be very difficult to walk across. Fortunately in the section we traversed the gibber was fairly flat and we did not have to pick our way between large stones.

In the last week we entered the Strezlecki Desert that had large, pale yellow, dunes with large swales (flat areas) between them. Cooper Creek, that was a series of short water holes with long muddy patches between, bisected the desert.

Arriving at Moomba will always be a memorable experience. A complete city operating in the middle of nowhere. SANTOS really went out of their way. We each had individual rooms with our own bathroom, excellent food and cold beer.

That night the hat was passed around and we raised over $400.00. It was so nice to have a hot shower, knowing that when I wake up the next morning I didn't have to walk and realising that we had achieved the two goals we set out to achieve: To raise the awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and to raise $50,000 for the Women's and Children's Hospital.