DAY 93: Orbost to Cann River
74 km @ 14.6 km/hr
Sat 5th January 2008
Distance to date 5903 km (3689 miles)
Sunny and VERY hot (lower 30’s)
Peaceful night, decent sleep, awoke to the laughing Kookaburra’s making a tremendous din before 6 (kind of din I like!). Another very warm and sunny morning, promising a very hot day, although the forecast is for cooler weather later (hopefully not too much later!). A lady whom I had spoken to at Stratford came to chat - I never got her name - her Campervan broke down and she was towed here back to Orbost from the hills where she was headed.
I was away by 9 (why does getting going always take too long?) and set off on Highway 1 with the mercury touching 30 (I reckon).
There are now plenty of hills, increasingly steep, and with little wind there was nothing to dissipate the heat - I was sweating buckets and drank 2 litres in little more than 1 hour. The road is fairly busy - not so much as west of Lakes Entrance - but enough to distract attention from the surrounding environment in favour of scanning the mirror constantly for traffic coming up. There’s a decent shoulder (left) for the first 10km or so but this disappears for 30km later. Not many lorries around though, but plenty of caravans and motorhomes who gave me a wide berth in the main. There is plenty of tree cover both sides of the road too.
I stopped at the Bellbird Hotel for a ham and salad sandwich and mug of tea, and watched the cricket for a while (Oz v India). The sandwich was nice but the lady serving was rather unfriendly unfortunately. True to name, Bellbirds were regularly heard along this stretch of road. After this there is a long uphill for about 6km, not terribly steep at 7% or so, but fully laden in this heat it was a plod. It was VERY hot indeed, and I stopped a couiple of times in the shade to take a rest, drink of water, and to cool off a bit. I understand that it’s pretty hilly for the next couple of days en route to Canberra from here, but it is due to cool down a bit for a couple of days as I said, which should offer some relief.
I saw a few dead snakes on the road today, indicative of a higher local population? Or just reflecting the highj temperatures? I saw quite a few Pied Currawongs as well, with their single insistent call and haunting yellow eyes.
After a bit of downhill I rolled into Cann River with the CP on the right just by the river. $21.50 - one of the highest charges so far, and no camp kitchen and not exactly 5 star toilets / showers - bit of a rip off thank you East Gippsland council. The caretaker sympathised with my complaints and said that many others had said the same - too dear. I’ve no choice though really apart from going camping in the bush outside the town - just the lack of security that puts me off. However later on after leaving the more populated part of Oz I will be wild camping more often. For one thing you can almost guarantee a bit of peace.
I have no pasta and expected to be able to buy some here but everywhere’s shut as it’s Sunday, however I managed to buy a tin of beans at the garage so that will do instead.
The CP is pretty quiet so should be a peaceful night. It’ll be quieter still when I spread the word about the charges. I got a booklet about Canberra and it does look like there’s a lot to see and do. Heading tomorrow to Bombala - 87km - it shouldn’t be as hard as today as the weather has clearly changed now (at 2000), so it won’t be as hot. There’s nothing at all between here and there though so I need to carry whatever I need for the whole day. I’ll be heading due north so remains to be seen what direction the wind will be in. This is therefore the point where I ‘turn left' again as far as Oz is concerned; I’ve gone as far east as I am going to as I want to avoid all the traffic that will build up as Sydney is approached - and I haven’t been to Canberra so that works out OK.
Sat 5th January 2008
Distance to date 5903 km (3689 miles)
Sunny and VERY hot (lower 30’s)
Peaceful night, decent sleep, awoke to the laughing Kookaburra’s making a tremendous din before 6 (kind of din I like!). Another very warm and sunny morning, promising a very hot day, although the forecast is for cooler weather later (hopefully not too much later!). A lady whom I had spoken to at Stratford came to chat - I never got her name - her Campervan broke down and she was towed here back to Orbost from the hills where she was headed.
I was away by 9 (why does getting going always take too long?) and set off on Highway 1 with the mercury touching 30 (I reckon).
There are now plenty of hills, increasingly steep, and with little wind there was nothing to dissipate the heat - I was sweating buckets and drank 2 litres in little more than 1 hour. The road is fairly busy - not so much as west of Lakes Entrance - but enough to distract attention from the surrounding environment in favour of scanning the mirror constantly for traffic coming up. There’s a decent shoulder (left) for the first 10km or so but this disappears for 30km later. Not many lorries around though, but plenty of caravans and motorhomes who gave me a wide berth in the main. There is plenty of tree cover both sides of the road too.I stopped at the Bellbird Hotel for a ham and salad sandwich and mug of tea, and watched the cricket for a while (Oz v India). The sandwich was nice but the lady serving was rather unfriendly unfortunately. True to name, Bellbirds were regularly heard along this stretch of road. After this there is a long uphill for about 6km, not terribly steep at 7% or so, but fully laden in this heat it was a plod. It was VERY hot indeed, and I stopped a couiple of times in the shade to take a rest, drink of water, and to cool off a bit. I understand that it’s pretty hilly for the next couple of days en route to Canberra from here, but it is due to cool down a bit for a couple of days as I said, which should offer some relief.
I saw a few dead snakes on the road today, indicative of a higher local population? Or just reflecting the highj temperatures? I saw quite a few Pied Currawongs as well, with their single insistent call and haunting yellow eyes.
After a bit of downhill I rolled into Cann River with the CP on the right just by the river. $21.50 - one of the highest charges so far, and no camp kitchen and not exactly 5 star toilets / showers - bit of a rip off thank you East Gippsland council. The caretaker sympathised with my complaints and said that many others had said the same - too dear. I’ve no choice though really apart from going camping in the bush outside the town - just the lack of security that puts me off. However later on after leaving the more populated part of Oz I will be wild camping more often. For one thing you can almost guarantee a bit of peace.
I have no pasta and expected to be able to buy some here but everywhere’s shut as it’s Sunday, however I managed to buy a tin of beans at the garage so that will do instead.
The CP is pretty quiet so should be a peaceful night. It’ll be quieter still when I spread the word about the charges. I got a booklet about Canberra and it does look like there’s a lot to see and do. Heading tomorrow to Bombala - 87km - it shouldn’t be as hard as today as the weather has clearly changed now (at 2000), so it won’t be as hot. There’s nothing at all between here and there though so I need to carry whatever I need for the whole day. I’ll be heading due north so remains to be seen what direction the wind will be in. This is therefore the point where I ‘turn left' again as far as Oz is concerned; I’ve gone as far east as I am going to as I want to avoid all the traffic that will build up as Sydney is approached - and I haven’t been to Canberra so that works out OK.
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