DAY 31 Mundrabilla Roadhouse to Eucla Motel
Mon 5th Nov 07
76 km @ 12.7 km/hr
headwind all day approx 30-40 km/hr
Had a good sleep last night despite generator noise, and a good breakfast of cereal, raisin toast and tea for only $9, which is cheap for the Nullabor, where prices seem to be around double elsewhere. I liked this place, a cut above some of the other roadhouses.
The first few km were a slog against the wind, but the sky darkened once more, it started raining, and the wind lifted for 20 km or so. After that was awful - sun came out, a strong gusty wind got up, and it was right in the face. At one point I was only doing 9 km/hr, fast walking pace. It was pretty tedious, and this is where one has to suffer and adopt a strong mental attitude - it felt as if I were going nowhere. then someone threw something out of a car at me, God knows what but I don’t think it was meant for my good. Regular stops and snacks got me through it, but the last 10km especially were interminable. The last 25km was also hot and dry.
Checked in at the gravelly Eucla Caravan Site ($15 showers extra) and after setting up the tent headed off on the 4km ride to the old 19th century Telegraph Station which is this places raison d’etre. The place is now half-buried in sand, it being near the beach / sand dunes. I wanted to walk to the beach itself but it was a km away over the dunes and I didn’t want to leave the bike on it’s own that long. i was pretty tired anyhow.
Back to cafe for another spag boll (mmmm) and as I was led to beleive by others there is a small selection of groceries - I actually got a loaf - woohoo! I was short of sugar but didn’t want to carry the minimum sized 1kg bag, so the young lady kindly said to grab a handful of individual sugar packs. With a few other items I should now be OK until Ceduna 500 km away and where the next supermarket is (bliss!).
Got talking to a couple formerly from Newcastle who emigrated to WA 20 years ago, and who are in the process of moving to Queensland for ‘more peace and better weather’. they will keep an eye open and invite me for coffee up the road, as they are taking their time to get to their new home.
76 km @ 12.7 km/hr
headwind all day approx 30-40 km/hr
Had a good sleep last night despite generator noise, and a good breakfast of cereal, raisin toast and tea for only $9, which is cheap for the Nullabor, where prices seem to be around double elsewhere. I liked this place, a cut above some of the other roadhouses.
The first few km were a slog against the wind, but the sky darkened once more, it started raining, and the wind lifted for 20 km or so. After that was awful - sun came out, a strong gusty wind got up, and it was right in the face. At one point I was only doing 9 km/hr, fast walking pace. It was pretty tedious, and this is where one has to suffer and adopt a strong mental attitude - it felt as if I were going nowhere. then someone threw something out of a car at me, God knows what but I don’t think it was meant for my good. Regular stops and snacks got me through it, but the last 10km especially were interminable. The last 25km was also hot and dry.
Checked in at the gravelly Eucla Caravan Site ($15 showers extra) and after setting up the tent headed off on the 4km ride to the old 19th century Telegraph Station which is this places raison d’etre. The place is now half-buried in sand, it being near the beach / sand dunes. I wanted to walk to the beach itself but it was a km away over the dunes and I didn’t want to leave the bike on it’s own that long. i was pretty tired anyhow.
Back to cafe for another spag boll (mmmm) and as I was led to beleive by others there is a small selection of groceries - I actually got a loaf - woohoo! I was short of sugar but didn’t want to carry the minimum sized 1kg bag, so the young lady kindly said to grab a handful of individual sugar packs. With a few other items I should now be OK until Ceduna 500 km away and where the next supermarket is (bliss!).
Got talking to a couple formerly from Newcastle who emigrated to WA 20 years ago, and who are in the process of moving to Queensland for ‘more peace and better weather’. they will keep an eye open and invite me for coffee up the road, as they are taking their time to get to their new home.
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