There’s lots of really nice stories to tell, and that I hope to tell. But every once in while something awful happens. Fly Net Man was an awful thing.
His name is Jason Costa. Geoff and I called him Fly Net Man because we met him briefly for 5-10 minutes on the road. We didn’t exchange names. We thought we would do the formalities later than evening in William Creek.
Geoff and were driving through a million miles of nothingness. No animals, no birds – just what is the amazing expanse of the Australian outback. We were covering 250km from Marree to William Creek on the Oodnadatta track. I was driving but we were both on alert – crazy things can happen that can badly damage a vehicle out there. Up in front, in the distance, we saw something odd. A camel? Horses pulling a cart? A mirage?
But no. It was Fly Net Man. Walking. Pulling what looked like a sulky… in the middle of nowhere. Wtf?
We stopped. We chatted. I took a photo. He told us he’d started walking, pulling his sulky, from Cape Jervis, way down the bottom of South Australia. Around 1,000km from where we talked to him. He was on his way to Darwin. He was walking the entire way, pulling his sulky. The sulky must have had 100kg of water onboard. We offered any/all assistance. He said he was fine. Then Geoff and I told Fly Net Man we’d see him down the road in William Creek that evening and we’d buy him dinner.
I was excited to get to know him. What a legend. What a man. What was his story? Was he finding joy in his journey? Was it about self-discovery? Why?
Well, very sadly… Jason never made it to William Creek.
Two hours behind us was a convoy of 4WD enthusiasts. These vehicles throw up a lot of dust. The first one went through. The second vehicle, travelling in dust and totally unsighted, drove at speed into the back of our friend, Jason. Geoff and I were waiting to fly over Lake Eyre. We were delayed by a Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) aircraft coming in to collect a ‘seriously injured accident victim’. Who, we asked? A pedestrian on the Oodnadatta Track, we were told. There was only one pedestrian.
Geoff and I felt physically sick. We were certain he’d die – how could he not?
And I was angry! 4WD rule #1 – always ensure you have full visibility. It’s the first thing I learnt. On a track like the Oodnadatta, a 1km gap is normal. What were those guys thinking? How could they be so stupid? How could they hit such a lovely, lovely person – just doing what he could to be than man he wanted to be.
I was angry, sad, upset… All at once.
Here’s am image I found on the Channel 7 website – the aftermath of the accident.
Well, the planets, the angels and the stars all got together. When he was hit, the sulky was pushed on top of him. The 4WD vehicle sat on top of the sulky. He didn’t actually get dragged underneath. He had broken bones, but he was conscious. He did an interview with Channel 7 – see this vid.
He’s in hospital in Adelaide. Broken bones. He’ll recover. But can he keep walking? Can he rehabilitate? Can he fulfill his dream? I so hope so. My dream is a little different to his (certainly way more comfortable), maybe, but we are both doing this to be better people.
I so hope I hear one day that a man with a fly net on his head pulls his sulky into Darwin…
Happy thoughts, Fly Net Man (aka Jason Costa). Be safe. Mostly, be the man you want to be.