Tuesday 28th December 2010 – Well my time in Whyalla is coming to an end. The boat trip with the 2 bikers never materialised but I did run into another biker yesterday who took great interest in my trip so that cheered me up immensely. Tomorrow the lady I’m house-sitting for returns and I can start making my way north to Mount Molloy in Queensland for my next house-sit. Although I’ve managed to gain 3 days to complete the trip (I now have 12 days instead of 9), most of the coastal regions of Queensland are completely flooded, thanks to Cyclone Tasha, so I’ll probably lose time because of road closures and detours. To avoid as many floods as possible I shall be taking an inland route up the Mitchell Highway as follows (weather permitting):

Day 1: Whyalla – Broken Hill
Day 2: Broken Hill – Bourke
Day 3: Bourke – Charlesville
Day 4: Charlesville – Balcardine
Day 5: Balcardine – Emerald (if passable)
Day 6: Emerald – Charters Towers
Day 7: Charters Towers – Mount Molloy
(with a few rest days thrown in whenever appropriate)

As more floods are forecast and because I’ll be travelling on my own, I shall be checking in with the local police at each port of call, just so that someone knows to send out a search party if I don’t arrive!

Despite the intense heat, huge distances and treacherous weather conditions, I am really looking forward to this part of my trip. I’m not sure how often I’ll get to update this blog, but I’ll definitely let you know if I do/do not make it!