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[Page 121]
April 1916
25th – certain amount of bitterness over it, which is nothing unusual. Things may go anyhow.
[Note in margin:] Wednesday
26th – Hot wind blowing. Orders recv'd for us to go tomorrow. Got a sand tyre Amb. Cart for each section also two Maltese carts & another G. S. for each. Fancy the big Amb. will be replaced by lighter carts. Sand tyres about 6" in width. Wrote Mater. About 3.30pm orders received to move off tomorrow morning. Completed packing & struck camp after tea, shifting stuff to station.
[Note in margin:] Thursday
27th – Reveille 5 a.m. Remnant of equipment taken to Salhia Stn. All left by train at 10.15 am arriving Kantara about 12.30 pm. Here the camel-act started about 1.30 pm they turned up about 77 strong & it was 3.30 pm before we moved off. Sudanese camels & appeared to be wild, some showing a very strong objection to getting down to be loaded.
27th – Several spills when camels rising. Everybody highly amused. Two had to get on some of the camels & only pack saddles on them. Bob Carlyle shared my camel, he occupied the rear sharp nob of the saddle. Crossing Pontoon bridge over canal one of the pontoons were very rocky & camels doing the feet sliding act. Ours threatening to slip side-ways on, several times. However we managed it. Although very sore from the saddle, we had fun on the way out, the camels showing a strong objection to anything in the shape of a motor-car, bike etc. Had trotting competitions, we being handicapped by sharp edges etc but we lobbed or jig jogged home first. Arrived at the Otago M.R. camp about 6.15 pm & there unloaded & camped. Number of Tommy Engrs there. Heard of 5th capturing prisoners & bringing them in & report of our brigade capturing a M.G. section.