A Victorian grey nomad whose vehicle became stranded on a Kakadu causeway has had his caravan ransacked.
Good Samaritan, Peter Schipper, says he was talked into taking Cahill’s Crossing across the East Alligator River by three local people who needed a lift, and who assured him his vehicle could make it across safely.
However, the ABC reports that with the tide coming in, his car and caravan became stuck in the crocodile-infested river and the people he was helping out took off on foot. The causeway joins Kakadu with Arnhem Land and has seen a number of vehicles come unstuck in recent weeks.
“I didn’t want to go across,” Mr Schipper said. “I took their advice … I was talked into it really.”
The 62-year-old is taking the trip around Australia that he dreamed of taking with his wife, Jenny, before she died in January 2011 after a long battle with cancer. Mr Shipper says he has been overwhelmed by the generosity of others, particularly residents of the mining town of Jabiru and nearby Gunbalanya, who helped him recover his vehicles. However, by that time, his caravan had already been ransacked by unknown intruders.
Among the items stolen were a generator and solar panelling but it is the theft of an antique porcelain doll named in memory of his late wife that has upset Mr Schipper the most.
“The doll is the only thing I am really upset about,” he told the ABC. “Everything else can be replaced.”
Despite the serious setback, the determined grey nomad has not given up his dream of completing his trip around Australia. With his car and caravan both covered by insurance, Mr Schipper says that once the money comes through, he return to Jabiru and recommence his trip.
