DAY 47: Arno Bay to Wallaroo
Weds 21st Nov 07
72 km @ 17.2 km/hr
Tailwind (30 km/hr-ish)
Heavy rain last night after the fun of cooking up a storm in a storm as it were. The tent is good though, very pleased with its performance.
I got away a little later this morning after a pleasant lie-in / doze and the headwind was still on the go, a little less powerful. The going was a bit featureless with mostly grain fields but little traffic. In just over 2 hours i was in Cowell (47km) and I had half-resigned myself to staying there the night - I feel I need a break - however I was driven as usual by the need to 'press on' and despite being a bit short of time hit the road again to try and catch the 1315 ferry from Lucky Bay to Wallaroo.
This is my last day on the Eyre Peninsular then, and headed across the water on the 2 hour crossing to the Yorke Peninsular and Wallaroo.
I made the ferry some 25 minutes early, paid my $37.50 and secured the bike at the side of the car deck for what looked like a stormy crossing. The captain gave out the usual welcome comments with an announcement about the likely state of the crossing - 100 km/hr winds; 20m waves; and apart from that it's OK! As it turned out it was not that bad, and as an unwilling sailor I was thus much relieved. The small vessel is very comfortable.
The caravan park closest to town (Office Beach) was almost full, cramped and expensive so I had a 4km ride out to North Beach to the larger caravan park. It was till very windy so I elected to erect the tent under cover of one of the barbie areas. Just after I had set up a mirage appeared - 3 touring cyclists! A very rare species indeed, and especially in female form. These 3 young ladies - Lisa, Laura and Bonny - were riding from Adelaide to Perth. I was invited to contact them withe a view to staying when I pass through Canberra and the Sunshine Coast next year, and they quizzed me about the Nullabor and other aspects of my ride. I have seen very few other cyclists since leaving Perth. this caravan park looks good - the kitchen has everything, and although there are only a few others using it I have met most of them already. I will definitely send at least another day here, i like the feel of it. Another camper told me there's free internet in the site office too.
There's a little railway that runs out to a couple of towns from here which I might take tomorrow, chill out a bit and recover.
I really enjoyed the west coast of the Eyre Peninsular, it is akin to a tropical paradise - blue seas, white sandy beaches and interesting landform - it felt like a proper holiday after the hardships of the Nullabor. The east coast is OK but less inspiring. I am gaining the impression that the Yorke Peninsular features a lot of open country laid to grain etc. - not the most ideal cycling territory, and I may carry on east and north and around into Adelaide some 170km away - 2 days ride or so. I'm approximately 2 weeks ahead of my 'schedule' largely due to the extra km a day I got in on the Nullabor.
The caravan park closest to town (Office Beach) was almost full, cramped and expensive so I had a 4km ride out to North Beach to the larger caravan park. It was till very windy so I elected to erect the tent under cover of one of the barbie areas. Just after I had set up a mirage appeared - 3 touring cyclists! A very rare species indeed, and especially in female form. These 3 young ladies - Lisa, Laura and Bonny - were riding from Adelaide to Perth. I was invited to contact them withe a view to staying when I pass through Canberra and the Sunshine Coast next year, and they quizzed me about the Nullabor and other aspects of my ride. I have seen very few other cyclists since leaving Perth. this caravan park looks good - the kitchen has everything, and although there are only a few others using it I have met most of them already. I will definitely send at least another day here, I like the feel of it. Another camper told me there's free internet in the site office too.
72 km @ 17.2 km/hr
Tailwind (30 km/hr-ish)
Heavy rain last night after the fun of cooking up a storm in a storm as it were. The tent is good though, very pleased with its performance.
I got away a little later this morning after a pleasant lie-in / doze and the headwind was still on the go, a little less powerful. The going was a bit featureless with mostly grain fields but little traffic. In just over 2 hours i was in Cowell (47km) and I had half-resigned myself to staying there the night - I feel I need a break - however I was driven as usual by the need to 'press on' and despite being a bit short of time hit the road again to try and catch the 1315 ferry from Lucky Bay to Wallaroo.
This is my last day on the Eyre Peninsular then, and headed across the water on the 2 hour crossing to the Yorke Peninsular and Wallaroo.
I made the ferry some 25 minutes early, paid my $37.50 and secured the bike at the side of the car deck for what looked like a stormy crossing. The captain gave out the usual welcome comments with an announcement about the likely state of the crossing - 100 km/hr winds; 20m waves; and apart from that it's OK! As it turned out it was not that bad, and as an unwilling sailor I was thus much relieved. The small vessel is very comfortable.
The caravan park closest to town (Office Beach) was almost full, cramped and expensive so I had a 4km ride out to North Beach to the larger caravan park. It was till very windy so I elected to erect the tent under cover of one of the barbie areas. Just after I had set up a mirage appeared - 3 touring cyclists! A very rare species indeed, and especially in female form. These 3 young ladies - Lisa, Laura and Bonny - were riding from Adelaide to Perth. I was invited to contact them withe a view to staying when I pass through Canberra and the Sunshine Coast next year, and they quizzed me about the Nullabor and other aspects of my ride. I have seen very few other cyclists since leaving Perth. this caravan park looks good - the kitchen has everything, and although there are only a few others using it I have met most of them already. I will definitely send at least another day here, i like the feel of it. Another camper told me there's free internet in the site office too.
There's a little railway that runs out to a couple of towns from here which I might take tomorrow, chill out a bit and recover.
I really enjoyed the west coast of the Eyre Peninsular, it is akin to a tropical paradise - blue seas, white sandy beaches and interesting landform - it felt like a proper holiday after the hardships of the Nullabor. The east coast is OK but less inspiring. I am gaining the impression that the Yorke Peninsular features a lot of open country laid to grain etc. - not the most ideal cycling territory, and I may carry on east and north and around into Adelaide some 170km away - 2 days ride or so. I'm approximately 2 weeks ahead of my 'schedule' largely due to the extra km a day I got in on the Nullabor.
The caravan park closest to town (Office Beach) was almost full, cramped and expensive so I had a 4km ride out to North Beach to the larger caravan park. It was till very windy so I elected to erect the tent under cover of one of the barbie areas. Just after I had set up a mirage appeared - 3 touring cyclists! A very rare species indeed, and especially in female form. These 3 young ladies - Lisa, Laura and Bonny - were riding from Adelaide to Perth. I was invited to contact them withe a view to staying when I pass through Canberra and the Sunshine Coast next year, and they quizzed me about the Nullabor and other aspects of my ride. I have seen very few other cyclists since leaving Perth. this caravan park looks good - the kitchen has everything, and although there are only a few others using it I have met most of them already. I will definitely send at least another day here, I like the feel of it. Another camper told me there's free internet in the site office too.
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