Monday 29th November 2010 - I awoke this morning to clear blue skies and sunshine, so I packed up the bike and rode the half mile down to the backpackers hostel and checked in there. Then I took the road to Billabong Bay to see the Bay of Fire. This is so named because it is flanked with huge boulders which are covered in a sort of red algae which looks fiery red when the sun shines.
Tuesday 30th November 2010 Last night I met a French lady in the hostel. Her English was a bit patchy so I endeavoured to fill in the missing words with my school-girl French. We ended up having quite a good conversation and I felt quite pleased with myself for managing to string a few sentences together.
Wednesday 1st December 2010 Leaving Coles Bay I rejoined the main road south which weaves its way along the coastline then heads inland along the side of a river. I stopped for petrol at Triabunna and decided to turn into the town for a look around. Somehow I managed to put the bike in neutral (instead of first) whilst turning at a junction which made me realise I was really starting to lose my concentration so had an extended lunch break here.
Friday 3rd December 2010 Today I met up with my gardening enthusiast friend, Anne, from the Bridport YHA. She took me all round the local beaches near her house then took me back to her place to meet her family and have a barbeque. It was great to see her and be looked after for a day. So thank you Anne for all your hospitality, I really appreciated it.
Thursday 2nd December 2010 To get a better understanding of the lie of the land in Hobart, I joined the Hop On Hop Off bus today. The driver was really excellent and gave a very informative commentary of the history and geography of Hobart. One of the stops was the Female Factory which was the old female prison in the days of transportation. After serving their time here for various crimes and misdemeanours, the women would be placed with free settlers, many of whom were men who had left their families at home.
Friday 10th December 2010 - On Tuesday I took a boat tour from Strahan round McQuarrie Harbour and up the Gordon River which was very good but a bit overcast. Then on Wednesday I packed up and headed for Cradle Mountain. It was dry when I left Strahan but about 20 miles into the trip the rain started again. By the time I got to the turn off for Cradle Mountain, the fog was also coming in. Before long it was so thick I had to pull over and stop as I could barely see in front of me. I eventually made it to the National Park and found the campground.
Sunday 12th December 2010 So I continued up the M31 Hume Highway today to Canberra. It was a great ride sunny skies and light winds and not too much traffic on the roads. As this is the main road between Melbourne and Sydney I had always imagined it would be densely populated, but quite the reverse. I only passed through 2 towns the whole way to Canberra.
Saturday 11th December 2010 Arrived at the ferry at 1pm so had to wait for 4 hours before I could check-in. So I got talking to a couple of guys who were part of the film crew for The Hunter, a film starring Wilhelm Dafoe and Sam Neil. They were pretty funny and most put out by the thank you gift of a tea towel that had been given to all the crew. I also met up with some of the other bikers Id met on the way out like 2 of the WA boys and the group from Sydney.
Monday 13th December 2010 - Well, Nick turned out to be a gorgeous Italian stallion of a guy (and a very nice person too). We left Canberra on Monday morning and rode back along the M31 highway to Gundagai where we picked up a back road and started making our way across to Wagga Wagga. It was a beautiful ride through undulating hillsides and farmland. At one point the road was closed due to flooding so we were diverted god only knows where but miraculously, eventually made it back to the main highway and into Wagga.
Wednesday 15th December 2010 Next day Nick continued to guide me through the back roads of New South Wales to Deniliquin. There were huge plagues of locusts everywhere and we both ended up covered in insect splatter as we rode through the swarms. At one point I nearly drove off the road when one of them got up under my visor and started buzzing around in front of my face!
Wednesday 22nd December 2010 The owner of my hotel told me to head down to the wharf at 10am as this is when the fishing boats come in, usually followed by schools of dolphins. So I jumped on my bike at the appointed time and set off. Two guys on Triumph Rockets whizzed past me and, when I later arrived at the wharf, I found them there. So I wandered over and started chatting to them. There were no fishing boats in sights but upon hearing of my desire to see dolphins, they offered to take me out on their boat next week sometime! Cant wait.
Tuesday 21 December 2010 On returning to the hostel in Adelaide I discovered there was only one decent mug left, so for the last few days I have been hiding this in the kitchen after each time Ive used it. However, this morning I came down for breakfast to find that someone had stolen my milk! If this isnt a karmic payback for such selfish acts then I dont know what is.
Monday 20th December 2010 I stayed 2 nights in Mildura. As soon as I rode in I felt it was perhaps a bit of a rough town and, when I saw a guy being pinned to the ground by 6 police officers, it confirmed my suspicions. It had been great to rest up and not have to contend with the mossies again, but I was glad to leave.
Wednesday 22nd December 2010 The lady Im house-sitting for advised me today that shed be home on 29th December now, not 1st January as originally planned. This is really good news for me as it gives me an extra 3 days to make the trip to Queensland (provided she doesnt get caught in the floods there and have her flight cancelled!).
Wednesday 22nd December 2010 Whyallas strapline is Where the Outback Meets the Sea and Id say this is a pretty accurate description. At Port Wakefield (about 100km north of Adelaide) it suddenly becomes Road Train country. Dozens of 2 and 3 trailer trucks roar up and down the highway. Then, at Port Augusta, the road splits in two one branch going to Darwin and the Northern Territories, the other heading west to Perth and Western Australia. I took the latter and as I cleared Port Augusta it really felt like I was entering very remote territory.
Friday 24th December 2010 Whyalla is dominated by a massive steel works so I couldnt come here and not have a look around.
I took a tour today and discovered steel is actually made from a combination of iron ore and other raw materials. These are shipped in from nearby mines at Iron Knob (and other places like Japan). Coal is then baked until it becomes coke which is used to fuel the massive blast furnace in which the raw materials are mixed.
Thursday 23rd December 2010 - On the way into Whyalla, the first thing you see after the steel works is the HMAS Whyalla a warship sitting in a field overlooking the car park of the visitors centre. Its 2km from the coast so I had to find out how it got there. Apparently, from 1947 until 1978 Whyalla had a thriving ship building industry. This was the first ship built and, after 40-odd years of active service, it was sold back to Whyalla for $5,000 in 1988. It then took another $500,600 to winch the thing into its current position.
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 Im house-sitting for returns and I can start making my way north to Mount Molloy in Queensland for my next house-sit.
I spent Christmas Day with a family whose mother used to live in the flats Im based in. They were really great fun and, despite the fact I didnt know a soul, I really enjoyed myself. It was really strange having Christmas in the sun though!
Thursday 30th December 2010 Ride statistcs:
Broken Hill - Cobar
Distance: 445.3km
Depart: 10.00am
Arrive: 5.00pm
Total ride duration: 7 hours
Temperature: 40.7C (at Wilcannia road house)