Day 12 - Weetoola Gorge to Iga-Warta - 46kms
Another cool night, but as usual nice and warm in my tent. During the night I had a look outside the tent and could see lots of stars. This morning the sky was still clear, but it wasn't windy.
After breakfast I headed back to the main road and followed the Copley Road. The road began to climb slowly and the wind started to pick up. Unfortunately looks like I'm getting a headwind today. The ride took me through another gorge, which kept me sheltered from the wind. The views across the plain as I climbed were vast. I could see right back across Lake Frome, a dried up lake bed. About 35kms later I was riding in more exposed country. The wind had picked up so I was peddling into the headwind. The wind was also very cold, so even though it was sunny I was wrapped up to keep me warm. Those last 10kms took a lot of work, but then I got to Iga-Warta which is my destination for the day. When I pulled in I thought it was deserted. So I went up to the small shop and found a guy working in there. He showed me where I could put my tent. I set myself up in a nice sheltered spot out of the wind. The Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges have setup Iga-Warta. It is designed to tell the story of the people of the local country. They are very friendly and I was chatting to a guy called Sharpie. A very interesting man. I helped out the owner, who just got back from Port Augusta, restock the shop. In return I got a couple of complimentary bananas. Tomorrow I'm heading for Leigh Creek, where I'll be re supplying for my next leg of the journey. Which will be heading north along the Oodnadatta track. |
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Day 13 - Iga Warta to Leigh Creek - 63kms
I'm sure each night is getting colder, as I keep adding extra clothes to ensure I stay nice and warm at night.
This morning the tent was very damp due to the morning dew. So I spent a while drying the tent before leaving. The wind had stopped so it was a very quick ride down the other side of the hill to Copely. I had a look at Copely and decided to ride the 5kms south to Leigh Creek. Got here at about 12.30pm. Town is mostly closed with it being a Sunday. Went to the pub for lunch and then headed to the caravan park. Leigh Creek is a different type of town. There are about 500 people living here and the town was setup by the mine, which is a few kilometres up the road. In the 1970's they decided to move the town, as they wanted to mine what was underneath. So by the early 1980's the town had moved south by about 15kms! All the buildings look the same. You can only live here if you work for the mine. When you retire you have to leave town. It is a nice town though. And seems to have all the things you might need. The first couple of weeks of cycling and walking through the Flinders Ranges have been great. Amazing scenery, some great people along the way and overall pretty nice weather. Tomorrow morning I'll be restocking my supplies. After I'll be heading north again, to begin my next leg of the tour. |
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D14 - Leigh Creek to Farina - 68kms
What a nice campsite they have at Leigh Creek. The caretaker, Peter, and his wife are so friendly. They had a campfire going last night and made damper to share with the guests. The facilities are very well maintained. So I think it was $8 well spent.
This morning I didn't leave the camp till about 8.45am as the shops don't open until 9am. Where I restocked on supplies for my onward journey. I then cycled 5km up the road and stopped at the bakery at Copley, where I got some pies for later. After I was riding towards Lyndhurst. The weather today is nice and sunny with little wind. Let's hope it stays like this for the next few days. The ride to Lyndhurst went really quickly and I stopped there to enjoy some of the food I bought earlier. There isn't much to Lyndhurst so I continued on to the Ochre Pits. These pits had been mined for thousands of years by the indigenous people of the area. It was an impressive hole in the ground, especially considering it was all dug my hand. I continued on for about another 20km to Farina, which is my destination for today. Farina used to be a small town, it was abandoned in the early 1980's when the Ghan railway was rerouted. It had been left as a ruin until about 6 years ago. When this group of volunteers set about preserving the buildings. When I arrived today they had just been baking for the first time this year. This is to help the volunteers to raise funds to continue their good work. So of course I bought a few yummy baked products to enjoy. After I continued onto the campground. The campground is in a really nice grassy area and has toilets and showers. I picked a nice spot in the shade next to a picnic table. Once all setup I had a walk around the ruins. Farnia is quite spread out, so there was a bit of walking around the old town. It is amazing how many buildings and structures that are still around. I spent a good couple of hours walking around before heading back to camp for dinner. Today has been a really nice day excerpt for one thing, the bloody flies. There were so many at Farnia that I had to walk around wearing a fly net on my head. It makes a big difference using a net, as the chemical stuff doesn't seem to work that well. At least they disappear in the evening. |
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