Michael Keenan - Wild Horses Dont Swim

Telstra made the expedition possible. So remote was this area in the Kimberley any serious injury would have been life threatening without a satellite phone. Telstra also later loaned a satellite telephone to Peter Brooking unconditionally and for an indefinite period. The first safari, in May 2000, could not have left Derby without it. The possibility of a serious accident 300 kilometres east of Derby with no access to communications is unthinkable. I believe this was a genuine act of Reconciliation on the part of Telstra and it should be acknowledged.

Konica donated all the films used during the expedition. Thanks to the quality of their films we have a wonderful cover and picture section.

Qantas assisted with discounts and waived overweight charges when the packsaddles and all the sundry equipment hit the scales at the Sydney airport.

Michael Curr of Mornington Station assisted with invaluable advice from start to finish and donated meat when we were right out of tucker. Michael owns and operates the most successful wilderness tourist camp in the west Kimberley. Old Mornington Bush Camp can be contacted on 1800 631 946.

Joe Ross from Fitzroy Crossing provided the inspiration. He has never wavered from his conviction that the Fitzroy River can be saved. He gave me many contacts.

Pat Lowe and her husband Jimmy Pikes love of the land prompted me to inquire more and more about the complex ecology of the Kimberley. Pat wrote The Boab Tree and her research for that book provided fuel for an interesting hypothesis.

Maria Mann was always a stalwart support. She assisted me with research and her enthusiasm for Broome and the environment was an inspiration.

Reverend Glenice Gill and her husband Don provided a second home in Broome, at the Uniting Church Bed and Breakfast. Glenice provided something that is very elusive when I am away from home a desk to write on.

John Clegg , an archaeologist based at the University of Sydney, gave me a lot of assistance with my inquiries on prehistoric Australian rock art. Some of his conclusions may have triggered laser beams, as I call them in the book, but he always listened and was never afraid to give an opinion.

John McDonagh from Gunnedah was a living history book when it came to the Liverpool Plains, where he was born. My only regret was this book didnt have room for his fascinating accounts of the pioneer days.

Mick Horne , who was recovering from a black snake bite when I wrote my notes walking along the banks of the Mooki, captured for me the sadness on the Liverpool Plains at the turn of the century, yet his enthusiasm and his extraordinary art gave me hope for the future.

Hesperian Press I would like to give a special thanks to, for kindly allowing me to publish an extract from Northern Patrol and a handful of quotes from Frank Hanns diaries, Do Not Yield to Despair .

Peter Brooking provided the horses and the bush skills. Pat Hurst, a well known identity from Fitzroy Crossing, a veteran stockman and a successful gold prospector at the turn of the millennium, said to me one day: I doubt if it can be done. If the speargrass and jagged rock doesnt beat you, the running bands of cliff will. Peter Brooking did do it. Pathfinder and treasured friend, Peter is a man rare in the world today. He is mentor to so many young men he wouldnt know the count himself. Today (May 2000) he operates Millie Windie Packhorse Safaris and can be contacted by telephone (08) 9191 1358 or fax (08) 9193 1596.

Sam Lovell without Sams briefing we would not have been able to cross the Lady Forrest and Precipice ranges. Every day we would rein in somewhere and Peter would say, Now, Sam said to look for .

George Brooking told the campfire stories and shared with us life on the stations in the days of the Kings in Grass Castles.

Rob s knowledge of the wild fruits transformed the gorges into a lush supermarket. When Rob leaves to go bush at Millie Windie he doesnt even take a packet of flour.

Harold, Buddha, Lenny, Rachelle and Priscilla added a unique character to the expedition. To cross the mountains we had to part company and we missed them. When we met up again on the Adcock River the girls laughter once again infected our moods, and Harold and Buddha covered our campfire coals with fish.

John Sinclair , the storekeeper from the village of Iminji, provided valuable local knowledge, including Aboriginal place names.

Murray and Barbara Pipe own and operate Topless Rentals. They always had a 4wd for me and never asked where I was going. I have a feeling they never wanted to know in order to sleep well at night.

Last but definitely not least, Greg Kater guided me through the morass of geological landforms in the King Leopold Ranges. He made me very thankful I was searching for ancient art and not compiling a geological thesis.