Day 7 -Georgetown - An unplanned rest day

When I woke up this morning it was raining with predicted storms throughout the day. I wasn't keen on bush camping in potential storms so decided to spend an extra night in Georgetown.
When the rain did stop I had a walk along the river which goes around the town. It was a pleasant stroll. After I headed to the information centre and visited the Ted Elliot Mineral Collection. This collection has over 4000 minerals collected by one man. Considering it was a collection of different stones it was very impressive.
For the rest of the day I read and the weather did clear a little so I made use of the council swimming pool which is free for anyone to use. Tomorrow the weather should be a lot nicer and I'll head towards Croydon.
When the rain did stop I had a walk along the river which goes around the town. It was a pleasant stroll. After I headed to the information centre and visited the Ted Elliot Mineral Collection. This collection has over 4000 minerals collected by one man. Considering it was a collection of different stones it was very impressive.
For the rest of the day I read and the weather did clear a little so I made use of the council swimming pool which is free for anyone to use. Tomorrow the weather should be a lot nicer and I'll head towards Croydon.
Day 8 - Georgetown to Gilbert River (west) - 75kms![]() Last night it rained again. But I was happy when I was up today to see it was a lot nicer. As I didn't need to pack much away I was riding by 6.30am. It was so peaceful riding a little earlier in the day.
After riding for about 20kms I stopped at the Cumberland Chimney. This chimney is all that remains of a gold smelting works which was built in the 1800's. Near to the chimney there is a dam which was built at the same time. It is now a lake which is important for migrating birds. It was very picturesque with the lilies in flower and the different birds. You can also camp here. Would had been a great place to camp. I continued westwards. The road is slowly being improved. As there are sections which are a single strip of tarmac wide enough for just one car. If two vehicles meet they both have to put two wheels on the dirt to overtake. They are making some of these sections wide enough for two cars (e.g. Like a regular road!). It will certainly be a big improvement from what they currently have. At one of my stops a caravan pulled up. They asked the usual questions (where did you start, how many kms do you do each day, etc). The lady then gave me a bag of fruit and also threw in a couple of frozen sausages! Never been given sausages before. Will see if I can cook them tonight. At around 11.30am I crossed the Gilbert River. It is a single lane bridge so you need to make sure there isn't anyone on it already. The river is pretty wide and has water in it. On the western side there was a camping area. I pulled in and decided it'd be a nice place to stop for the day. I had already ridden approximately 75kms. For the rest of the afternoon I chatted to other travellers who had also decided to stop here for the night. Today it was nice to ride without the threat of rain. Tomorrow I'll continue on to Croydon. |
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