As the Expedition Master Of Her Majesty's Royal Imperial Grand Outings Committee, I broke camp at dawn and proceeded to ignite the heating appliance, upon which successful endeavour I returned promptly to bed. The hyenas were keen to investigate the veldt however and after attending to the panther and domestic fowl we set forth, carrying our basic kit of spade, collection sack and the stereoscopic photomnemonic apparatus.
We rapidly espied a particularly curious stand of foliage next to a modest watercourse. "I say chaps!" I exclaimed to the hyenas. "I rather think these spiffing examples of nature's bounty will be most cordially welcomed to the conservatory, say what?" There was no need to command the hyenas to keep watch for any rogue members of the crocodilius species as I skilfully employed the spade in its intended purpose and extracted my botanical specimens. In accordance with official expedition regulations I immediately assigned appropriate appellations to the selected flora - "Johnson Johnsonii" and "Johnsonia Johnson-Johnsonicus" and quickly dashed off a brief telegram advising of my discovery to Her Majesty, attaching it posthaste to the expedition carrier pigeon.
Thus satisfied of yet another significant contribution to the annals of science, we continued our journey northwest, with fortune once again in our favour as we enjoyed yet another morning free of molestation by lions or deadly river hippotpotami.
As we ventured into the vast, unknown and timeless expanses of the searing veldt, I made several photoreplicationary plates; the lead hyena assisted in his usual fashion by diligently marking the coordinates of each visible landmark, while the smaller, supernumerary hyena maintained an alert silence, reassuring me that no cheetahs were evident in our vicinity.
We returned to base camp in great high spirits and celebrated with a culinary extravaganza of what the French are inclined to call an "omelette", concocted with eggs wrested from the squawking defences of the yard fowl and various ingredients obtained earlier from our trading encounters with local indigents at their quaintly-named "market". As always, our meagre consumables were protected in our absence from the ravages of mice and wild boars by Expedition Panther Smokey.
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| Heading out towards the tip |
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| The town water supply - my house out of sight on the right |
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| Meekatharra Hotel and the bakery where our bread comes from |
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| Heading back home |
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