Stormplanet - The Cannibal RUN! Retracing the journey of convict cannibal Alexander Pearce

Just four years after he was transported to Van Diemen’s Land for stealing six pairs of shoes, Irishman Alexander Pearce (d.1824) was hanged for murder. In 1822, Pearce and seven other convicts escaped from the penal colony of Macquarie Harbour and headed east across the mountains toward Hobart. Three men dropped out. After 15 days without food, the remaining members of the party began to kill, and eat, each other. Pearce was the only survivor. He made his way to the Derwent River, where he joined some bushrangers. Pearce was later captured but the authorities did not believe his grisly story. He was sent back to Macquarie Harbour, escaped again and once more reverted to cannibalism. Again he was captured. This time he was sentenced to death.

The “Van Demons” are a Tasmanian bushwalking group with members from a diverse background of outdoor pursuits and other skills. We are all volunteers with the Tasmanian State Emergency Service, Northern Search & Rescue Team, and our common spirit of adventure has bonded us, and now we're embarking on The Cannibal - RUN! The aim of “The Cannibal-RUN!” is to retrace the route of Alex Pearce, the Cannibal convict who in 1822 escaped from Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour in Western Tasmania and travelled east to the settled area of Ouse. This route of approx. 150 km took Pearce 49 days to complete. This has to rank as one of the truly epic journeys in Australian history. A journey of endurance, survival, navigation (without maps / compass) betrayal, starvation, murder and ultimately..... cannibalism. Eight men set out - only one survived!

Please join us as we retrace this epic adventure ourselves by walking the same route as Pearce. We will be utilising the world's first satellite messenger system, SPOT and this will enable you to monitor our progress every 10 minutes unless we're under tree canopy or heavy cloud. The trek itself is through some of the most impenetrable bush and severest terrain this planet has to offer. This will severely challenge our endurance, survival and navigational skills both individually and as a team. We set off on November 17th and we hope to be home for Christmas! Every few days we will be phoning through updates via satellite phone to David who will post the updates here. If you have a question for any of the team during the expedition, go to the forum and post your query & David will put it to the team.

Daily map updates as well as a progress map for the entire course can be found on the Maps page and daily progress listed on this page.

Please join in the free discussion on our own web forum here. Click here enter The Cannibal RUN! forum.

Day	Date	Distance (km)	Day	Date	Distance (km)	Day	Date	Distance (km)
1	17/11/08	5.23	8	24-11-08	3.7	15	1-12-08	10.88
2	18/11/08	4.85	9	25-11-08	3.65	16
3	19/11/08	2.53	10	26-11-08	1.53	17
4	20/11/08	4.04	11	27-11-08	1.11	8
5	21/11/08	4.57	12	28-11-08	3.71	19
6	22/11/08	5.57	13	29-11-08	3.6	20
7	23/11/08	1.93	14	30-11-08	4.26

Date	Comments
December 7th	I just arrived back from Bradys Lake, the team were surprised and happy to see Molly (our dog) and I, they are all in pretty fair spirits given what they have endured, and they became cheerier when I started handing out the home-grown strawberries! Spent a couple of hours with them and everyone sends their love to all, they certainly seem thinner but I did a limb count and ended up with 6 sets of each, although they were eyeing Molly off in a most disconcerting way and were very keen to take Molly with them for some reason...? Anyway, SPOT is also well and I saw them all off on the boat to the other side, still aiming for a Tuesday afternoon finish, but they will phone me Monday evening to confirm. The plan is to all assemble at the Derwent Bridge Tavern/Hotel Tuesday evening, anyone wanting to stay will need to make their own arrangements. I have posted some photos from this morning on the photos page, more to post later.
December 6th 1950hrs	Had a nice clear conversation with the team tonight. The weather has been foul for the past 2 days, with snow, hail, torrential rain, today has been better. The terrain & views report has improved, they reached the treks highest point (Mt King William) which had snow half way down. They had some great views when the cloud broke, has been very steep, difficult climbing over fallen trees etc, very hard and slippery going. Group spirit is weary but determined. Feedback from Paul: Not getting any easier Simon - Taking one step at a time Su - Broken! Maureen - still loving it (you're nuts) Cynthia - He came he saw he MUST have gone around! Jason - slowing down. The equipment still taking a hammering, lots of tears, rips, breaks, leaky water bottles, ripped gaters etc.Su says ho to all, Jason says ho to Maria & Danielle, Simon says hi to Maggie as always xx, Cynthia says big hi we are carrying, Maureen & Paul are still married but counselling may be needed for the rest of the group! At this stage, they look like completing this epic journey on Tuesday afternoon, confirmation will come Monday evening.
December 5th	Each of the team sent a message home at the half way point, courtesy of Stretch, here 'tis: Simon The trek to date has been very difficult. Progress has been slow. Safely has been paramount. The terrain has been almost impenetrable with vertical ascents over vegetation and vertical descents down cliff faces. Thanks to Stretch for the amazing feast with every angle covered he provided for us at the resupply point. The pain of the trip to date has been greatly eased by Kathy, Maggie and Stretch's efforts. Paul We are at halfway point, re-supplying with food. We ran out of food last night and walked out to the highway this morning without eating. Our support crew (Stretch, Maggie and Kathy) certainly treated us to a feast at the highway and we have also attempted to dry out…...not easy, its still pouring down, the seventh consecutive day and more forecast for the next two days at least. This walk has been very difficult so far, The team have worked together very effectively and most importantly, always safely. If we hadn't we wouldn't be here, such has been the terrain. Maureen What a fantastic adventure. I have discovered more about myself because of the challenges I have had to face and overcome which previously I would never have believed I would ever be able to accomplish. My gratitude to Maggie, Craig and Kathy for their welcome at the car park and the feast at Wombat Glen. Susie Definitely the hardest trek to date. Likening the Kakoda Trail with the addition of horizontal and bauera. Thigh deep mud, pushing through tea tree forest in waist deep water. Cold, wet and miserable. Pearce should have taken the lashes! Thank god for the team I am walking with - else I would be certified. Thanks a million to Stretch, Mags' and Kathy for everything. Here's cheers to the next half, See you post. P.S/ Perfect timing Gav :) Jason Started hard and has got harder. How to learn navigation of terrain the hard and fast way, if we mucked up it could have been disastrous. All handling it fantastically well. Girls are tough as nails. Hardest thing I have ever done but cant wait to complete it. Wombat Glen camp with support team: Stretch, Kath, Mike, Maggie and photographer Peter has been great. Big boost for all even though still pissing down with rain. Hi to all... Cynthia At last! The halfway point. A chance to re-supply and prove to our awaiting friends and family that we have not eaten each other and are still quite sane! (Questionable!!) Its been raining and hailing for the last six days or so and almost all our gear is soggy. Our food supply had become quite low and our meals were becoming interesting as we swapped bits and pieces and snacks to, all got enough to eat. The terrain has been truly amazing. Breathtaking views, massive cliffs and some of the most stunning old growth forest you can imagine. We have traversed skylines, swam and waded rivers, climbed through gorges and bashed thru some of the most inhospitable, disgusting thick scrub I have ever seen. All thanks to the navigation skills of the men and the great teamwork. I am looking forward to the rest of the trip, through some different countryside and no doubt complete with its own challenges for us. Many, many, thanks to Stretch for the wonderful hospitality at wombat Glen, and heartfelt thanks to Kath, Steve and Mike for being there for me. See you all at the other end; ON-ON!
December 4th	Well the team are over half way and alive & well. Here's a photo of them and there are many more to come over the next few days, keep an eye on the Photo Gallery. They sure are an unruly looking bunch, so many whiskers, and the blokes need a shave too...(I'll no doubt pay for that later). Stitch and Maggie drove down and say it was so good to finally catch up with them all, here's how it went in their own words: "We got to the car park around 9.30 expecting to be waiting around for a while but it wasn't to be. We decided to go for a stroll down the FC track and ran into our weary walkers a few hundred metres away. A few tears, a few cuddles, a few F words, they were pleased to be out. You could just tell how hard they had been doing it. Straight away it was obvious the weight they have lost. The group decided they would camp at the Franklin crossing about 3km down the road but do you think we could get them into the car. NO WAY! they are not going to miss one step of this adventure! We set up camp and got them showered, fed and a few beers and wines, they were starting to relax. a really enjoyable night around the campfire then in bed around 11. I must say that this morning they were all very cheerful, willing to hit the track again (morals are high) they are going to finish this remarkable journey as we knew they would. The group have willingly written a few words each about the trek which I will send to Dave tomorrow (too much to type tonight). Maureen and Paul wish to send Kelli, Mitch and Gaylene their love and Cynthia wants to let everyone know that your interest through the forum and SPOT is what is keeping them going on the track". I'll post the comments from the walkers as soon as I have received them, plus there are lots of photos to upload!
November 29th 1730hrs	A brief hookup this evening, but they all sound fine. The weather has been atrocious, with thunderstorms and rain for the past 3 days without stop. It's been misty so views are poor, still down to a metre or two in many places and they said the terrain they have been negotiating has been very dangerous. They really feel like having a rest day, but are continuing on. Paul says Mr Pearce was a remarkable man, Simon remains in awe, Sue wants a new guardian angel, Maureen decided to go swimming? and loved it, Cynthia reckons Sarah Island must have been hell to want to go through this (good call) and Jason really wants to take SPOT for a swim! The equipment is taking a hammering but holding up, but there are lots of tears (the ripping kind, not the weeping kind) and holes. The did mention that just after they made their Franklin River crossing, using ropes, harnesses, you name it, down the river comes a rafting group! They couldn't believe it! The new half way rendezvous location is Frenchmans Cap carpark, at around midday on Tuesday 2nd December.
November 26th 1930hrs	Poor reception made this a difficult hookup and we didn't get to go through all of the messages and questions. Paul was on the line and he says the weather has been warm and sunny with cloud today. The terrain has again been extremely thick, often with visibility to 1 metre! Often near vertical, the cutting grass, banksia etc have been a major hindrance but the views whilst on the Engineers Range was magnificent. Group spirit is improving and having reached the Franklin automatically lifted the team. Individual feedback: Paul - Alex Pearce should now be recognised for his amazing achievement and has been seriously underestimated; Simon - reaching the river has been a real bonus, a 'mystical' place; Maureen - ...a fantastic holiday...Cynthia - on on; Jason - I haven't eaten SPOT yet. The equipment is holding up well, just a few minor malfunctions, and unfortunately remaining dialogue cut short due to poor reception. Next scheduled hookup is Saturday evening.
November 23rd 1924hrs	Second successful Satellite Phone hookup completed. Simon was the speaker, passed on all the messages to him and he read them aloud for the whole team. I told him there are masses of people watching their progress via SPOT and he claims that they attached SPOT to a kangaroo in Strahan and haven't left the pub since! Hmmm...I don't think so. The weather has been constantly wet as predicted, all gear soaked, today some respite and campsite looks like Chinese laundry. Terrain & views limited to a metre or so since Sth Darwin due to dense scrub (Banksias etc), been doing a lot of rock climbing, scrambling, vertical ascents & descents etc. Views improving now they are on Engineers. Individual feedback: Paul - hard, testing; Simon - now nothing else can frighten me; Sue - must review the Morris holiday brochure; Maureen - the boys are brilliant navigators, thank God for gloves and anti-inflammatory drugs; Cynthia - I'm still here; Jason - I am still dragging SPOT around (so he's not on a kangaroo then Jason?). The equipment holding up well, GPS often a problem due to canopy, scrub etc. The day they tackled Sth Darwin was very dangerous and absolutely horrendous. Message from Jason - hi Maria; from Paul & Maureen - hi to all the family; from Sue - love & hugs to all, wish you were here. Message to Stretch - please bring generator and power boards at Lyell rendezvous for recharging equipment. I gave the team the weather forecasts, winds, etc for the next few days and Gerald, they will activate the OK button on SPOT tomorrow. Too soon for them to estimate the Lyell rendezvous yet, I'll keep everyone informed though, possibly 6-7 days yet. Next expected update Wednesday evening.
November 19th 1910hrs	First scheduled sat phone update went ahead without a hitch! These are brief updates and to a pre-organised format, due to call costs etc. The team has been experiencing fine weather so far and have camped overnight tonight beside the Clark River. The terrain has been extremely steep and good navigation proving to be an essential and critical component. They have had limited visibility in thick scrub but when they get the views, they are spectacular all around. Group spirit was summed up as tired, sore but cheerful. Two members (I don't know who) have the flu! Paul says hi and thanks to everyone for the support, Maureen is frightened but good, Simon says it's harder than expected but they'll get through, Cynthia says it's hard but rewarding, Su says it's the hardest thing she's ever done and I didn't quite catch what Jason said but he does say hi to Maria! Su sends Gav lots of hugs and she wants Voltaren....everyone's boots are holding up well but the stove(s) are failing apparently. Next update scheduled for Saturday night, please feel free to offer messages to pass onto them, just use the forum here and let me know. They will be looking forward to news from home and will appreciate quirky messages so go for it, got to keep their spirits up!
November 17th 1830hrs	Quick update thanks to Maria Hoyle, who just phoned me after getting back from the west coast. The team had a bit of a tour on the boat this morning, visiting Sarah Island, a look through the old township of Pillinger, Farm Cove and then dropped off at Coal Head, setting off at around 10.30 a.m. in light drizzle. Their track on the SPOT tracking page is working well, looks like they have settled in for their first night at their second river crossing, I haven't worked out which one it is yet. First satellite phone update expected Nov 20th.