Chapter 761: Chapter 103: A Land of Marshes
After storing the kangaroo meat, the group continued on their journey.
The road ahead wasn’t very dangerous.
Especially after Chen Wen volunteered to take on the scouting duties.
The group fearlessly passed through all sorts of bushes and grasslands.
But as they moved forward and were about to reach the second meeting point,
Chen Wen felt something was amiss.
"It seems quite damp here."
Looking at the patches of water on the ground, Chen Wen couldn’t help but speak.
"It just rained, it’s normal."
Dennis was unconcerned.
But Adam, with a darkened expression, said, "Normal? Have you not noticed? There’s a lot of standing water here? This isn’t just about rain; I think there’s flooding upstream!"
Chen Wen nodded, agreeing with Adam’s observation.
He also felt something was wrong upstream.
"If that’s the case."
Dennis realized the problem: "This season happens to be the flood season around here; river flooding isn’t unusual. Tsk, if there’s really a flood upstream, it’ll be much harder to enter the Kimberley Plateau! Not to mention the mud, but the humidity in the air is extremely high, making it both stuffy and hot."
The thought of trekking through the muddy marshes made Dennis shake his head continuously.
Adam grimaced, "Don’t jinx it!"
"Murphy’s Law, the more you fear something, the more likely it will happen."
Hua Yun, riding on a camel, gazed into the distance, "I feel there’s a high chance we’ll have to traverse the marshes to enter the Kimberley Plateau."
The words sank heavily into the hearts of the group.
And things didn’t deviate from their expectations.
When they arrived at the second gathering point, the situation here made everyone frown.
The gathering point set by the show had been relocated.
An official wearing rain boots stood near the gathering point, waving at the group.
"Jinx!"
Adam slapped Dennis’s shoulder angrily and walked over to the official.
Seeing the group arrive, the official first congratulated them on being the first team to reach the second gathering point.
Then, he said something that made everyone feel uncomfortable: "Unfortunately, about fifteen days before you arrived, a major disaster occurred at Fitzroy Crossing."
Chen Wen took the tablet the staff handed him and read the news to the group: "Local time, uh, fifteen days ago, the Kimberley Region experienced heavy rainfall, resulting in the worst flooding in Western Australia’s history, in quotes."
"Fitzroy Crossing is one of the towns worst affected by the flooding in the Kimberley Region."
"The peak water level of the Fitzroy River near the town reached a record 15.81 meters, whoa, this figure is precise to two decimal places."
"Massive floods cascaded down, creating an ’inland sea’ over 50 kilometers wide near the town, severely damaging a local bridge, submerging parts of it, destroying numerous homes, and leaving hundreds homeless."
After reading the news, Chen Wen couldn’t help but remark, "Speaking of the destruction of many homes, why are only hundreds homeless?"
The staff member nearby, looking slightly embarrassed, explained, "The permanent population of the town is only a few hundred."
Well, Australia has its unique circumstances.
Chen Wen didn’t dwell further on this issue but asked the staff, "Has the flood receded?"
"It has, but not completely."
The staff member spoke redundantly.
Seeing the group’s speechless expressions, he awkwardly directed, "Follow me, and you’ll see the new gathering point."
Under the staff member’s guidance, Chen Wen and the group walked for about an hour along a road to a high ground.
Looking down from the high ground, they could see their route clearly.
Chen Wen glanced down; the area below could only be described as a waterlogged land.
The staff member beside added, "The water level has dropped a lot; in the deepest areas, it might only reach your knees, and in others, perhaps your shoulders."
This metaphor appealed to Chen Wen.
"Meaning if we choose the right path, we can still cross it."
Chen Wen nodded, understanding the situation: "What’s the association’s stance? Are we supposed to cross this marshland?"
The staff member shook his head, "It’s not mandatory. Based on the discussions among associations, we’ve decided to provide maps from this area to the Kimberley Plateau to you, so you can choose your own route."
"A few days ago, we conducted an aerial survey, and you can fully trust the maps."
After giving these instructions, the staff member returned to the gathering point to begin registration.
Holding the maps, Chen Wen and the group felt a bit lost for the moment.
"How do we proceed?"
Dennis said glumly, "Choosing a different route might mean we take a lot of unnecessary detours."
"But without detouring, we can’t proceed either; the area is waterlogged, with mud beneath the water."
Adam was equally helpless.
The atmosphere of the team became gloomy.
Just when no one knew what to do, Chen Wen said, "Actually, I think we can try crossing directly here. I just checked the association’s statistics; the water level has been dropping recently, as long as someone experienced in crossing swamps leads the way, we should be able to stick to the original route."
On hearing this, the group looked at each other, unsure who had such experience.
Chen Wen spoke first, "I have a little; I crossed a red mangrove swamp before, in the rainforest."
Upon hearing this, Hua Yun was instantly reminded of painful memories on an island, she coughed lightly, "I have some too, but not much."
Dennis shook his head decisively, "I don’t have any."
Fred also shook his head, "I’m no good."
At this moment, Adam stood up: "I do, I’ll lead the way. I’ve survived in South America three times, all in rainforest and swamp areas. I’ve even participated in the Okavango Delta survival competition, so I have quite some experience in swamp regions."
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as someone leads!
But Fred raised another issue, "We’ll definitely have to abandon the camels, but what about the supplies? We have too many supplies, if we carry all of them, just the supplies can exhaust us!"
At these words, even Chen Wen felt a bit dizzy.
Indeed!
The staple foods obtained earlier, along with the large quantity of canned fruit gifted by Jens, had all been carried along the way.
With the camel herd, they didn’t seem so heavy.
But knowing that they’d have to leave the camels at the second gathering point and carry all supplies themselves this time.
The group felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Tsk, Fred raised a big issue!"
Chen Wen said helplessly, "If we don’t solve this problem, there’s no point discussing whether to detour."
Hua Yun briskly responded, "Let’s ditch some supplies, take only the essentials, travel light! Regarding food, only carry enough for three days!"
Hearing this, Dennis suggested, "But we’re not just heading in for survival, we’re searching for rescue on foot. If food can’t be obtained in time, it can exhaust us!"
Chen Wen nodded, "We definitely need to carry extra food; hunting is difficult after a flood, and we don’t have any fishing gear, unless I spear fish with a long spear, but that’s too much a matter of luck."
Adam proposed a second solution, "What about detouring while riding the camels?"
"That would only allow us to take two or three camels at most. We still have to cross the King Leopold Ridge, which camels can’t cross. Even if they do, once we reach the Kimberley Plateau, they will find it hard to move, as the terrain is very uneven with deep gorges everywhere."
Dennis opposed once more.
Chen Wen looked towards the camel leader; even this camel couldn’t be of help now.
Moreover, he was reluctant to lead the camel leader to an unsuitable environment.
Once on the Kimberley Plateau, the moist and stuffy environment could easily cause skin issues for the camel leader.
Once again, the group found themselves in a dilemma, silence fell as no one knew what to do.
