Day 27 - Marla to Tarcoonyinna Creek - 66kms
Well it certainly was a little bit different camping last night. No campfire and tranquil camping spot. Instead, replaced with sharing a patch of grass with other campers, whilst a truck parked across the road kept its generator running!
This morning we decided to have breakfast at the roadhouse. So of course I ordered the Big Marla Breakfast. There certainly were a lot of calories in it! We left Marla at around 8.45am. The first 20kms went quickly on the sealed road. After the wind picked up and unfortunately for us it was a slight headwind. This slowed us down a bit. At about 40kms we found a nice creek to stop and have lunch. We got shade by sitting under the bridge. We discussed where we should camp for the night. The original plan was to cycle about 90kms to Agnes Creek, but neither of us fancied cycling another 50km into the headwind, plus it was starting to get warm. Instead we decided we'd ride another 20 or so kms to the next creeks. The traffic along the highway was a little bit busier than we thought. There were a lot motorbikes coming back from Alice Springs. We chatted to one of them at a rest area and he said there were a few thousand in Alice for a Ulysses convention. So we got a fair few waves as we headed up. At around 2.30pm we got to Tarcoonyinna Creek. We discussed riding on but agreed that this creek was a nice spot to camp. We spent a few minutes finding a nice spot away from the road. The creek is quite wide and very sandy with small gum trees growing throughout. Later on in the day it was nice to get a campfire going again. Tried another one of my freeze dried meals for dinner. This time it was beef terrika, again very yummy. For the rest of the evening we chatted around the campfire. Nice to be away from civilization again. |
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Day 28 - Tarcoonyinna Creek to Marryatt - 54kms
Had such a good sleep last night. It was great to be bush camping again and awaking to just the sound of birds this morning. After breakfast we were riding at about 8.30am. Weather is a little overcast with no wind. So pretty nice to ride.
The first 20km, like yesterday, went pretty quick and we stopped at Agnes Creek for a break. I pulled up near these camper-vans and got chatting to some of them. They invited Jim and I in for coffee (biscuits and cake as well) which of course we accepted. So we had a nice chat for almost an hour before we left. It was such a nice break. When we began riding the wind had picked up a little but was still quite light. Being a headwind it did slow us down a little. We got to our destination at about 2pm. We are camping again in a creek, at Marryatt, which is a rest area. We were able to get some water from the rainwater tank for cooking. We spent a little time finding some firewood, as this place appears to be a bit more popular than the last few bush camps, but were able to get a fire going again. Just whilst Jim and I were having dinner another camper pulled in. We offered to share our fire and he brought a couple of beers over for us to enjoy. Whilst chatting to our new neighbours we found that they had cycled across America in the late 1970's. Today has been a really good day. People have been so hospitable and the drivers really good. Hopefully this will continue until Uluru. |
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Day 29 - Marryatt to Kulgera - 59kms
Last night we didn't get to bed until about 11pm, after chatting around the campfire. This meant we had a slightly later start at about 9am and it is nice and sunny.
There isn't much to see along the Stuart Highway, so Jim and I agree to pedal at our own pace and regroup every 20km. The first 20kms were nothing special, following a dead straight road with a slight headwind and incline made it a little harder than it should had been. We found a shady spot to rest for a few minutes before continuing to the SA/NT border. About 15km before we got to the border a car going south slowed down and said that he had left some fruit for us at the border stop. When we pulled into the border stop our prize was still there. An orange each, which we both enjoyed. We had a nice break in the shade at the border and took each other's photo at the crossing into the NT. We then continued on to Kulgera, which was another 20km down the road. The last 20km were quite easy. I had noticed the scenery had changed a little, there were now these red rocky outcrops on the NT side of the border. The wind had dropped to a slight breeze and the road stopped climbing. Kulgera is a roadhouse stop, the place advertises itself as the first/last pub in the NT. Once settled in we cooled off in the pool and chatted to this family traveling around Australia and were home schooling their kids. The kids were having a great time. Later Jim and I went to the pub for a meal. Food and service here is really good. Tomorrow we will be leaving a little earlier, as we have about 75kms to cover. Hopefully I'll be reunited with the bicycle pump my wife had posted to the next roadhouse. I'll also be making a decision as to which way I'll be going next, as I still have a week until I have to get to Uluru. |
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