DAY 222: Cooinda to Malabanjbanjdju

42 km @ 14.1 km/hr
Mon 2nd June 2008
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of destination 12m
Distance to date 13641 km (8526 miles)

I’m starting to sound like a gramophome record but last night saw further loss of sleep in this crowded caravan park - lemme out! Some juvenile English girls were talking loudly and giggling way after everyone else had gone quiet last night, until someone nearby shouted to them “stfu”; and I added “hear hear!”, which did the trick. Then some young campers were banging around packing up and again talking loudly at 0530. There’s just no restraint with some people.
I had breakfast with Bob, having decided to quit here today - I don’t like the blatant overcharging and general commercialised feel to Cooinda Lodge (this is all there is in Cooinda). For example I was queueing for quite a while to pay my $15 camping fee while the guy behind the desk was trying long and hard to sell a $1200 scenic flight to some caravanners, which needled me.
Enough negative - the day started off positive thankfully with my visit to the Warradjan Aboriginal Centre, which is very interesting and gives good insight into how they lived here for thousands of years before the white man came - essentially taking from the land “...for need, not for greed”....which modern society could well learn from with our wasteful ways. Not only did they (for example) kill animals only when they were hungry, they actually ate the whole animal, throwing very little away. Theyhad respect for the environment which many of us don't. On a different tack, there was stuff about the “stolen generation” where black kids were taken from their families to be brought up fit for the ‘white’ world - an example of how the kids were treated was where a victim claimed that it was common practice for kids who did things wrong were ordered to strip completely before being beaten at the front of the class. What a mess our ancestors made of things.
Oops, that’s negative again! Well, there was also a good film about how the Aboriginals were turned off their land to make way for a uranium mine, the tailings dump of which is apparently leaking into the river system around here during the wet season. Ooops...... sorry!
I eventually got riding around 1100 into a headwind and gradual drag upwards for about 11km, but then things got easier for the last part. I decided to stay at a free NP camping area at Malabanjbanjdju (there’s nothing else there) which seemed quiet, and there was a bush walk by the billabongs too. After setting up I took a stroll there and spotted a few birds - lots of small and large Egrets, a Little Eagle or similar, and a small brown Kingfisher-like bird that isn’t in the Simpson and Day guide. The walk went close to the water and signs warned of crocodiles, which are pretty common here it seems, including the more dangerous Saltwater variety.
A few other campers are staying here too but it all seems quiet enough at the moment, lets hope it stays that way! Tomorrow I will ride into Jabiru which is less than 20km away, and I may look for a tour to try and see a bit more of Kakadu NP - unfortunately a lot of the more interesting stuff is too far off the main road for me, and only accessed on 4WD gravel roads. Then on to Darwin by next weekend probably.

DAY 221: Mary River Roadhouse to Cooinda

106 km @ 16.5 km/hr
Sun 1st June 2008
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of destination 14m
Distance to date 13599 km (8499 miles)

After a decent nights sleep at last I felt much fresher this morning, but my left knee/leg is still sort of ‘lame’ and stiff - don’t know what that’s about, hopefully it’ll pass soon. My saddle sores are in remission at the mo though.
Less than 1km from the CP I was entering Kakadu NP, and the next 11km is mostly draggy uphill at grades between 2% and 8%. Traffic was very light, and the scenery interesting as I passed through a little mountain range - oddly-shaped rock formations and boulder-strewn plain, and lots of very large termite mounds. After 11km the road just undulates gently, but winds continuously.
The wind was SE again so mostly on the right side, but at various times it was behind pushing me along, then in the face slowing me down. Once more there is nothing like a shop or even a building for the whole day.
For lunch I sought out a shady spot where I could lean the bike and made coffee, and peanut butter and (blueberry) jam muffins, which were very nice with the muffins I’d bought in Katherine still being very fresh. As I was eating I watched the ubiquitous ants were carrying off any dropped crumbs back to their larder.
The landscape is Savannah, thinnishly-spaced trees but now they were taller, greener, and more varied, including palms, pandanus and other tropical-looking specimens. There has been a lot of deliberate burning, and I found the odour of burnt gums quite pleasant.
The middle part of the leg today was pretty slow, with the road bending into the wind and lots of shallow draggy climbs, but the last 25km was pretty fast downwind stuff.
A 4x4 stopped about 25km into the ride, and a man got out to speak to me, and it was Bob from Ingham - I met him in Tyto Wetlands the evening I camped there. I knew he was going to tour up here for a couple of months, and he assumed it was me ahead of him, although he wasn’t sure where I’d got to. We almost missed each other.
We had a chat for a while and parted with the expectation of meeting again tonight.
I arrived in Cooinda around 1630 and checked in at the (only, $15,) caravan park, and found Bob’s tent and pitched next to it. He was off on a wetland boat cruise. I wasn’t impressed with the very high prices in the ‘Lodge’ shop and skipped the iced coffee as a minor protest lol. I rode the 1km to Yellow Water, which is just a small boat terminal for the pleasure cruisers, but is next to a large wetland area. I spent a while with the binoculars watching mostly Egrets and Pied Cormorants, but also spotted a couple of Jabiru and Jacana (lily walkers). The pleasure boats were full, and at $70 for a 2 hour trip they must be making a fortune.
I found Bob waiting for his meal in the restaurant and had a beer, but at these prices only one, before cooking for myself and spending a nice evening chatting with my refound friend. It's such a shame these friendships are being made knowing we may never meet again - I could get on very well with Bob; my kind of guy.

DAY 220: Pine Creek to Mary River Roadhouse

style

61 km @ 15.1 km/hr
Sat 31st May 2008
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of destination 122m
Distance to date 13493 km (8433 miles)

After the 2 noisy nights at Katherine I was looking forward to a peaceful one very much, but it wasn’t to be. It was fairly quiet for most of the evening but then at 11 a band started up in the pub just 80m away. A very loud band indeed, together with drunken shouting and cheering. I couldn’t believe it, I was almost asleep, but now sleep was impossible. How does the Lazy Lizard caravan park management think it right to take money off people to stay the night and then keep you awake taking money off others? I thought it might end at midnight; then 1; then 2, and it actually stopped at 0210 to be replaced by recorded music not quite as loud, but loud enough. Added to this, during quiter moments, a dog was howling just a few metres away in the CP. I’d had enough by now, and got dressed and marched into the bar at 0240 where some 20 people were still drinking, although the bar was shut. I asked the manager / owner, who was behind the bar, why he took money off me - $15 indeed, more than any other CP since Mt Isa - knowing this concert was going ahead. I said to him that I would have gone somewhere else had I known. He didn’t answer; just shuffled off, but a young blond woman snarled at me “it’s a f****** pub isn’t it?” - Yes dear, and right next door is a jointly-owned caravan park! Some of the gathered were sympathetic and said they were about to go home, but I walked out to intimidating sniggers and titters behind my back. Of course I was too angry to sleep then and didn’t get off for ages.
I slept from 4 to about 7 and woke to a wide variety of bird calls, many of which I didn’t recognise, and I looked out to see a male Bowerbird doing his dance again with female in attendance kind of dancing away from him, only this time I could see the bower he had made - see pic. It was a clump of coarse grass with some stones laid inside it - not very elaborate really. The contortions he was making were quite funny, sticking his neck out and strutting on tip toes for example. The feathers on the back of his neck open to reveal a shiny purple patch when he’s in this kind of mood too. That cheered me up a bit, but after packing up I was determined to get my $15 back - the owners shouldn’t get away with this, and having enquired at the shop I learnt that they were still in bed, and I went and knocked them up lol. The guy came out all grumpy looking but after stating my case and refusing to back down he went in and got me the $15. Thank you saith I.
A little earlier I had been talking to a caravanner from Brisbane, and he too was disgusted at the noise last night too. Furthermore he told me that when he and his wife arrived the day before the toilets were in such a mucky state that they found brush and mop and actually cleaned it themselves before they would use the facilities - how bad is that?
Anyway I hit the road feeling a little better, and after 2km on the Darwin highway turned right onto the Jabiru / Kakadu NP road. I had expected a headwind but it wasn’t too bad - mostly on the side and sometimes a little behind - and for the first 30km I made good progress. Traffic was very light indeed. Scenery-wise it was becoming more interesting with lots of bends and gentle undulations, huge boulders strewn around, and little red rocky mountains.
After 30km the undulations turned to hills and this lasted for the rest of the day; up / down / up / down a la Toblerone. The slopes ranged from 3% to 6% but weren’t that long. It felt hotter than recently, but this was probably due to the sun beiong in my face, giving an illusion of being hotter. The landscape got even wilder-looking and is very interesting to look at.
After 50km I was getting quite tired, and my right foot was giving me some pain, so I was glad when the roadhouse hove into view. Again, there are no other buildings en route today. The roadhouse CP is OK, a bit dusty, but only $8, and I celebrated with an iced coffee and chocolate cake as my ‘reward’. It was only 1430 and I could have carried on for a few more hours, but fatigue, plus the knowledge that there are no camping areas for another 60km and that you aren’t allowed to camp in the NP without a permit that takes a week to get, made it an easy decision to call it a day.
I finally got to have a sort-out of my gear which I’ve been wanting to do for a few days, and managed to dump a bagfull of unwanted stuff, and separate out a small parcel for sending to Lyn’s of stuff I’m not using.
After a good supper it was diary then bed at 2100; in fact many other campers were already asleep it seemed - they go to bed and get up early here!
I’m just a few km from the Kakadu NP boundary now, and tomorrow I should be at Yellow River, where there are extensive wetlands.

DAY 219: Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge to Pine Creek

120 km @ 20.0 km/hr
Fri 30th May 2008
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of destination 209m
Distance to date 13432 km (8395 miles)

The ‘roos were grazing very close to my tent again last night, and I kept hearing the tearing sound as they ripped out the grass in my dreams, or in reality. I was awake at first light, 0640 at the moment, and decided to get up and get an early start to a longish day. Not that long in distance, but I had internet and shopping to do in Katherine that would probably take 2 hours. Before that I was luckily treated to the Bowerbird actually doing his courtship dance just a few feet away; a watching bird, which I assumed to be a female, wasn’t very interested though, and after a little while flew off after another (male?) bird, the hussy. Maybe he needs to practice more. I also took a pic of the bower itself.
It was very cold at that time, the sun not having climbed over the valley side, and I wished I hadn’t given Lyn my fleece hat to take back, I could actually do with it now. Once underway I started to warm up once moving, and especially when after 20 minutes when the sunshine hit me. Such a difference between early morning and afternoon temperatures at the moment. Thing is, it is still fairly warm when it’s sleep time, and it’s probably around 3 or 4 that it gets cold, and I then snuggle right under the sleeping bag flap, totally cocooned.
It took just over half the time to Katherine than the outward journey, today being wind-assisted. The SE wind was pretty fresh. In Katherine I tried another internet place that was a bit dearer ($8/hr) but at least twice as fast, and I was done much more quickly having replied to several e-mails. One was from the John O’Groat Journal asking for an update on the trip, which I will write up soon. I then topped up my food bag at Woolworth’s - a little nervous as usual about leaving the fully-laden bike on it’s own. At least in the internet cafe I could keep an eye on it, but in the supermarket it’s not as easy. I do push it inside the shopping mall, although a sign says no bicycles no-one has ever stopped me - maybe one day it will be taken outside and blown up...anyway despite some ‘characters’ hanging about I’ve lost nothing yet. I’m pretty sure there are CCTV cameras near where I leave it, which must help. After Woolies it was over to Subway for ‘elevenses’ which today was a 12” Tandoori on toasted wholewheat with tomato, lettuce, black olives, salt and pepper with Raita sauce please. I thought I’d save half for later but as it happened wolfed the lot down - very nice too with Paul’s (NT) iced coffee.
I filled up my 4 litre water bag in anticipation of a bush camp and hit the road again at 1230. There is twice the traffic north of Katherine compared to south, and I had to veer off a few times when vehicles were coming both ways. I decided to stop waving at caravanners and motorhomers now since I was at it every few seconds, and it was spoiling my concentration - I did wave when waved to, but often I can’t see whether folk are waving or not due to the bright sunshine. The road started flat, then started undulating almost to hilliness; finishing up gently undulating. There is nothing at all on this leg, not even a building, but I’m used to that. NT is incredibly sparse of population.
The SE-er was right behind me again, and the 90km from Katherine to Pine Creek was very easy. During the last 10km I tried and tried to find a bush camping site to no avail. I tried 4 places - 2 were too open and dusty, and in the case of the other 2, although they were well down side roads a vehicle was coming the other way both times, and I never like camping when I’ve been seen like that. Probably paranoid but there you are.
There are several caravan parks in Pine Creek so I chose the one with a bar so I could have a beer, and wasn’t pleased to hear it was $15 (Lazy Lizard) but I paid up and didn’t look pleasant at all. That’s the dearest for ages. As I was setting up some firemen were setting fires in the field next door - this happens all over NT at this time of the year, and is done to get rid of the old, dead vegetation and encourage new growth. Just now the ground is still pretty damp after the Wet and so this limits the extent of the fires. The burning trees looked quite spectacular with the setting sun right behind them.
I could smell fish cooking over in the restaurant and so the idea of pasta again was outvoted in favour of Barra and chips and salad - and it was very good. I bust my budget again this month, but hey, live a little! For the second or third time I’ve noticed indigenous men coming into a bar for alcohol, and the barperson asks them for their ID - wonder what that’s about? Must ask someone and find out. They always look so nervous and out of place in such places.

DAY 218: Day off Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge

Thurs 28th May 2008
Scattered cloud, 27 deg C
Elevation of destination 125m
Distance to date 13312 km (8320 miles)

The Wallabies were very active, grazing aroung the tent all night, so I slept a little fitfully even though they didn’t try and get in the food bag. One did try this yesterday while I was away from the tent and a lady shooed it away.
Eventually I went off for a walk up to the Lookout - a platform built 100m up at the top of the gorge wall about 1 km from the campsite - along a rocky path which is steep but safe, being very solidly built. This walk continues back to camp in a wide loop of about 4km, and it made for pretty hot walking despite the strong wind. I met a guy from Ayrshire photographing birds, and we had a good nattter for a while as we watched the small Buff-Chested Honeyeaters darting around.
After a sandwich lunch I hired a canoe for a couple of hours and paddled up to the end of the first gorge and back - around 7km all told. I enjoyed this more than the cruise yesterday - you get to see a lot more and at your own pace, although it was sometimes difficult to paddle against the strong SE-erly wind. The canoes are very light and easily blown around though, and even coming back downwind the thing kept trying to go sideways so I had to keep paddling to keep it straight. It was fun to paddle into the little geos / fjords, some of which went right under the vertical rockface for 15m or more, then with a good push of the paddle against the rock you come flying out backwards into the river again.
I returned to the Info centre cafe again after this, and noted the low prices here - only $6 for muffin and iced coffee - it’s certainly not a rip-off type of place. The terraced cafe overlooking the river is very nice indeed.
I went back up to the lookout to watch the sunset around 1815 and got talking to a young German man, and we were still talking half an hour after the sun had disappeared. The sky was spectacular for ages, until it was almost dark - streaks or bright orange turning to red, then grey. We could just about see where we were going on the rocky path down, with lots of rustling creatures in the dark undergrowth on either side getting away from us.
After another big camping stove feed I again sat outside, untroubled by mozzies, fanned by the usual gentle and warm evening breeze.

DAY 217: Katherine to Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge

Weds 28th May 2008
30km @ 12.8 km/hr
Overcast, 28 deg C
Elevation of destination 125m
Distance to date 13312 km (8320 miles)

Another very noisy night but eventually got to sleep, though I felt the worse for wear this morning. I didn’t rush since I’ve only a short ride today, and ate my muesli in sleeping bag as I watched the Grey-Crowned Babblers combing the ground for food just outside. On the way out of town I stopped at Brumby’s Bakery for a chocolate croissant just to keep me going, and certainly needed the energy as I ploughed into the very strong headwind. The SE-er isn’t always my friend, and I was miserably reduced to 8 km/hr at times in open areas. There are a few hills in the last half of this leg which seemed worse than they really are due to the wind.
I was in the Nitmiluk NP soon after noon and checked into the campsite ($9.50) and also booked a 2-hour gorge cruise for 3 this afternoon. The camping area is huge and not very busy, so it looks like I’ll get some peace for a change. I had plenty of time until the tour so got the billy on and had jam butties, and this time it was the beautiful Blue-Faced Honeyeaters and another first, the Great Bowerbird, who came beside me to see what was going on. The latter is famed for building a structure - a bower - to entice a mate, and he kind of dances around it to try and impress a prospective mate - sounds familiar?
I went over to the boat departure area early and had a look at the large and very smart park info centre on the way - theres a nice exhibition illustrating the history of the local tribe, the Jawoyn, who actually own the land the gorge is in, and who run all the tours here.
Once underway in the pleasure cruiser the scale and grandeur of the gorge becomes apparent, although the absence of sunshine today may have detracted the scene a little. Our guide showed us some Aboriginal rock art on the gorge walls - 10m stick figures a la Lowry - and explained some of the Dreamtime stories that have been passed down orally from generation to generation. We left the boat at the end of the first gorge and had to walk 500m to another boat waiting in the second gorge - there are 13 gorges altogether but we only visited the first 2 today. There are freshwater crocs in here, which are fairly harmless to humans, but we didn’t see any, just their tracks where the females came in to test the temperature of the exposed sandy patches where they will eventually lay their eggs when it's warm enough. Our guide told us that only 2 Saltwater crocs have got in here in the past 2 years. I didn’t see too many birds other than Darters and White-Faced Herons, and the guide said that most birds go to Kakadu where food is more plentiful.
The second gorge is particularly impressive with its vertical sides and dark caves, and I am considering whether to hire a canoe tomorrow and return under my own steam.
I was chatting to a German girl on the trip about her and her boyfriends trip around Oz, and was surprised to hear they’d driven the Gibb River Road across the Kimberley in a 2WD Nissun Sunny, and made it through OK, only getting stuck once, in soft sand. She showed me a short movie of one of their deepest river crossings, where the water was halway up the car. This road is only recommended for 4 wheel drive vehicles. I haven’t decided whether I too will cycle that way.
When I got back to the tent a lady came over to say that Wallabies had been trying to get into my (food) bag while I was away. I had left it inside the tent outer but this had been pulled away, presumably by the animal, and I’ll have to watch out tonight. I hope they’re not as attentive as were those at Granite Gorge near Mareeba.
I cooked a delicious pasta with tuna, under the watchful eye of Skippy, who accidentally got a hot tea bag in the face when my aim went astray, but even then hardly flinched! a light tap on the head with my bicycle pump made him retreat a little though!

DAY 216: Day off in Katherine

Tues 27th May 2008
Sunny, scattered cloud, 31 deg C
Elevation of destination 112m
Distance to date 13282 km (8301 miles)

Another very noisy evening / night with my neighbours in a house over the fence shouting and screaming when talking would do quite well enough. With indigenous folk everything is a drama and has to be acted out vociferously! Then before 6 my tent neighbours were getting an early dash and making plenty of noise too, why be quiet when you can crash about and bang car doors 99 times? So I managed less than 5 hours I think - oh, for the peace of the bush - humans are just too noisy for me.
However I had a productive morning doing all my washing, uploading 8 days blog on a rather slow computer that cost me about $12, more food shopping for the next few days, buying a toaster attachment for my stove etc. etc.
In the late afternoon I went exploring the Katherine River cycle track, of which there is about 10km in all, and was blown away by the beauty of the river by the Low Level Bridge - deep white sand-lined banks covering mangrove roots, overlooked by deep green tropical trees full of strange colourful birds. The late light shone through the thick foliage to produce deep colouration to the peaceful scene. After the austerity and dryness of the Outback this burst of growth seemed such a contrast. I found a spot on the sand where I could lean back against one of the many flood-uprooted trees that lay around and just enjoyed doing nothing for over an hour - bliss. I was transfixed...
The cycleway runs from the town out to the Low Level Bridge on one bank and back on the other, and the south bank on which I returned was deserted until 1km from town, whereupon groups of Aboriginals, most of whom appeared drunk and whom were shouting and cursing each other, occured at intervals. Some of them shouted after me, but I don’t know what they were saying. I have never felt threatened by these people who seem pretty benign with white people usually. I’m amazed how many of them are drunk at all times of the day. I understand most don’t work, and it seems getting intoxicated is the answer for many of them. It’s sad, and seriously problematic. As I passed by the last such group the police arrived to sort it out. There are also community warden patrols cruising around looking for problems.
Back to camp and I fancied sandwiches again with the fresh muffins I bought today, plus the remains of the cam sav and later another mound of yoghurt and fruit. The house next door is also winding up the music and shouting again too, so it looks like another noisy night - now where’s the knock-out drops.....

DAY 215: Mataranka to Katherine

Mon 26th May 2008
105 km @ 20.0 km/hr
Sunny, scattered cloud, 29 deg C
Elevation of destination 112m
Distance to date 13282 km (8301 miles)

Backpackers Anonymous prevented me getting to sleep last night by playing mainly the same music track from 2100 to at least 0130 when I must have finally got to sleep. Drink? Drugs? Who knows? I tried to block out the music with foam ear plugs and padding between ears and my Assos balaclava, but the bass still came through loudly - it’s impossible to eliminate. So I slept in a little until 0745 but still got away for 0830 via a stop at the Servo (filling station) for stove fuel (petrol), my fuel (Double Shot Paul’s of NT Iced Coffee) and overpriced Buttercrunch biscuits (double usual price).
The first 10km were a bit draggy but thereafter the SE wind resumed control over yesterday’s rebellious NE-er, and as I was heading due NW I had the perfect tailwind - right in the small of the back lol - bliss! The road was a bit busier than lately, more cars and lorries and many caravans and campervans. No shoulder, so had to jump off and watch the mirror more for dodgy situations - the mirror is a blessing as you can see hazards before you eventually hear them, when it can be too late.
The road is pretty flat with the odd draggy uphill, but average speed kept on increasing all day. Sometimes I was soft-pedalling at 30 km/hr which is probably a first on this trip, what with a 30kg wind-dragging pannier load. Scenery as in pics - larger trees, more standing water, greener than lately and a lot more birds. I saw a magnificent Brahmini Kite coverting it’s roadkill feast until I got the camera out, whereupon it flew off, camera shy. Lots of Apostlebirds everywhere.
I passed lots of WWII ‘Historical Sites’ which usually amounted to nothing at all really unless you're an old soldier - old field hospitals or airfields - and in many cases there’s nothing to see since the vegetation has taken over the cleared sites again. Many of these sites don’t even have a track access and look no different from the rest of the bush. The Aussies, bless ‘em, haven’t got much history, so tend to clutch at straws. A historical site in Britain could be a 12th century building whereas here it could be a 1900’s building - I think they try too hard to have history - perhaps more emphasis on the amazing natural assets that Australia has would be more appropriate, an area where Oz could score very highly on a world-scale basis. I don’t think everyone’s twigged this yet.
After 60km (or 56km depending which sign you read because they all read differently as does the map also!) there’s a nice rest area with tank rainwater, and I used some of this in preference to the ghastly-tasting Mataranka bore water to make 2 mugs of tea, which went down a treat with the costly Buttercrunch biscuits. It was actually brunch with the Apostles, since a flock of 12 were in close attendance as I ate, squawking and squabbling over dropped morsels, and drinking from the small puddle created under the tankwater tap. Birds are great to watch at close quarters; there’s all sorts of little dramas going on between themselves, and a definite ‘pecking order’ (pun not intended).
The strong tailwind continued afterwards and faithfully blew me to Katherine and, I expect, a day of rest or two for me after the 787 km / 6 day ride from Tennant Creek. First stop was the VIC where I picked up a few brochures and asked about caravan parks, the nearest of which is Red Gum (1km from town, $10 pppn), which I chose. I wanted to do a day’s canoeing on the Katherine River, but when I phoned they weren’t able to do this as they were fairly booked up with 3-day trips, and I’ll have to ring them back again to see if this can be done when I pass through Katherine again in 2 weeks time before heading west (I’m heading first to Kakadu, Darwin, Litchfield NP and then Katherine again).
After setting up the tent I went into town to check e-mails (38 after a week; worse than working) and get something for dinner. Woolworth’s supermarket was like Alladin’s Cave after all the expensive and limited-choice country groceries, and it took a lot of willpower to resist buying too much. Before I leave Katherine for Kakadu NP I will stock up, but for the meantime I bought fresh crusty rolls for tuna and onion sarnies, plus Greek-style mango and Passion Fruit yoghurt and fresh fruit for desert. Oh, and a bottle of Cab Sav to wash it down lol. Not to mention the local rag the NT News.
Katherine is, like Tennant Creek, home to many indigenous people, and this again made this place feel instantly more ‘real’ to me on arrival. They’re very noisy and loudly argumentative with each other, shout using bad language habitually, and don’t worry about doing all this in the centre of town, yet this seems somehow fascinating to me and I can’t explain why - maybe I’ll be able to explain this eventually. As I say it kind of feels ‘real’ to me in what seems sometimes to me to be an artificial and sanitised society.
Well, dinner was delicious, tempered only by awareness, after her e-mail I read this afternoon, that Lyn is feeling somewhat overwhelmed by work at the moment; working long hours as a gardener as well as many more hours with Mary in setting up a new house-sitting business. I hope she gets through this OK and I feel frustrated that I can’t help at all - telepathic hug anyhow!

DAY 214: Bush camp to Mataranka

Sun 25th May 2008
112 km @ 17.4 km/hr
Sunny, scattered cloud, 26 deg C
Elevation of destination 123m
Distance to date 13177 km (8236 miles)

My hastily-chosen campsite proved to be a good one, nice flat ground with no sharp stones; partly hidden, and not frequented by mozzies. I slept under the mesh only so saw the moon set in front of me, and watched it move through the sky above me as I fell asleep. I woke early though due to the strong smell of animal urine very nearby - maybe it thinks I’m trying to permanently muscle-in on it’s territory and is making the point.
After breakfast I pushed the bike back through the thorny undergrowth to the road, and got underway with very little wind in evidence. The 36 km to Larrimah took just over 2 hours, the incentive of home-made pies at Fran’s Cafe drawing me along. Larrimah is a small settlement composed mostly of a hotel (Pink Panther), roadhouse and Fran’s cafe and a few houses. Fran was doing a good trade with no free tables so I sat down with a couple from Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsular in Victoria, that I had passed through a few months ago. One of Fran’s specialities is camel pie, and a lady customer said they were delicious so I ordered one, and yes, it was good, very good, with proper flaky pastry. I followed up with a Devonshire tea as we had a good chat about where to go and what to see - the couple were travelling back from Darwin and Katherine. The bill was a bit of a shock at $22 (that included a glass of milk too), but it was worth it I guess. A shrewd old dear that Fran!
On I went north, with scores of caravans passing me both ways, mostly waving or tooting, and having to get off the road onto the cinder shoulder a few times when traffic was going both ways. The vegetation changed to widely-spaced tall trees for endless km as the road slowly wound and becoming more undulating. The wind was of little assistance for a lot of the time today, and after months of SE was more like NE today, i.e. On my right side. Flies were a minor problem so I didn’t need to wear the net.
There’s one rest area with water, some 44km N of Larrimah, where I stopped for a while and soaked my top under the tap for a nice cooling down. The last 30km featured a couple of long draggy climbs but I was in Mataranka around 1630, and checked in at the Motel CP which looked OK ($10 pppn). I also decided to eat at their restaurant as I didn’t have much food in, and as it was Sunday nowhere was open to buy more. I went for kangaroo cutlets, salad and veg, followed by home-made apple strudel with ice cream and cream, washed down with a couple of beers - it made a nice change from bush pasta again!
Tomorrow Katherine, and I can collect the chainring that St.Kilda Cycles resent after sending me the wrong one. Theoretically I could then change the whole transmission, but it seems to be holding up well at the moment - perhaps because there are few hills to put strain on it? I may go around Kakadu NP first with the old one and change it either at Darwin or katherine on the way back down to Kununurra. (I need a bike shop chain whip to remove the rear sprocket unless I can do it with the old chain in a vice).

DAY 213: Dunmarra RH to bush camp 36 km S of Larrimah RH

Sat 24th May 2008
104 km @ 18.4 km/hr
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of destination 190m
Distance to date 13065 km (8166 miles)Another very cold night saw me fully clothed with everything, including head, inside the sleeping bag, and then I was only just warm enough. I stayed put until the sun was well up, at around 8, and sat under her watchful eye whilst having breakfast. I though I’d probably camp at Daly Waters Hotel tonight, which is only 47km, so I got cracking on trying to fix the bike pump.
Unless there’s something missing, such as an ‘O’ ring that has fallen out, it all looks OK, but was still blowing back when connected to the partly pressurised tyre - through the pump metal shaft where it enters the pump body. I didn’t have silicon grease to hopefully sprayed some WD40 on the key bits. I also made a small washer out of some Katadyn neoprene tubing and placed it inside the nozzle body just in case one was there and has fallen out. But then the pump was hard to operate, however it seems to stop the leaking. Whether I can pump hard enough to get up to rock-hard is another question. Anyhow, for the time being I’m OK because the tyre stayed hard all night after pumping it up with the borrowed pump, and with a bit of luck and no more punctures I’ll find another pump in Katherine, assuming there’s a bike shop there.
It was now 1030 and I was hungry again so had cereal and toast at the roadhouse (and a free drivers coffee) before departing. I must say the folk that run this place are very nice and friendly, and prices are unusually reasonable too for a roadhouse.
Plenty of lorries on the road today, but they gave me a wide berth and I gave them a wave. I’ve learnt that they’re mostly heading for the busy port of Darwin for importing and exporting goods to and from China and the far east - especially cattle going out, but there are plenty of cars coming in too.
One lorry driver told me he hauls cattle from Cloncurry to Darwin - that’s a trip of 1700 km - I wonder if the cattle get any relief during that time? I certainly haven’t seen them being loaded or unloaded anywhere.
I stopped for an iced coffee and banana muffin at the Hi-Way Inn Roadhouse and was surprised to see a couple cycle in just after me, and the guy was hauling a trailer with a little girl toddler in it - sound familiar? Yes, this was the family that had left Normanton the very day I cycled into the town, that the lady at the VIC told me about! They were taking the mostly gravel ‘Top Road’ to Darwin via Hell’s Gate and Boroloola (1080km), whereas I chickened out and chose the longer tarmac route via Cloncurry and Mount Isa (1395km). The two routes rejoin at this very point where we met, so a bit of a coincidence that we arrived there within the same hour! They are Gunnar, Sandra, and the wee one is Kimberley; I don’t think she’s more than 3, and they are from Germany. Kimberley was enjoying an ice cream and looked very pleased with it. Gunnar told me he did this same trip 8 years ago, when he also cycled up to Cape York - hardcore stuff, and I’m impressed. Sandra’s bike has panniers and it looked as if they were pretty heavy too, whilst Gunnar was hauling Kimberley in her trailer. They have been carrying 30 litres of water at times. I was surprised that Gunnar’s bike has no suspension, which I’d thought would be an advantage on such rough surfaces. I forgot to take a photo for the website, but maybe I’ll see them again yet.
I said goodbye and cycled the remaining 6km to Daly Waters pub. When I saw the open caravan park I had doubts about whether I would stay here after all; there was little shade and it was pretty dusty-looking, and also quite crowded. When I saw the hordes in the pub, mostly taking photos rather than drinking, I decided it wouldn’t be very enjoyable for my tastes and abandoned plans to stay here. I had another iced coffee and took some pics myself, and also had to accept a 2 Euro coin pressed upon me by an admiring and nice German lady who had seen me cycling down the road and wanted me to have it as a ‘talisman’. Fame....another groupie!! The pub is amusing with scores of bras, caps, coins, notes and number plates hanging everywhere, but I’ve seen it all before e.g. at the Drover’s Arms near Loch Lomond.
After 2 iced coffees I was pretty charged up and charged down the road with a little tailwing for the most part, and put on another 50km or so on a pancake-flat road. I was struggling to find a decent campsite in the fenced bush, but finally managed a reasonable one, a bit near to the road but quite well-hidden. There are lots of road trains going through now it’s dark; I guess they time it so they miss the caravanning hordes tootling along at 60 km/hr during daytime.
As soon as I got off the bike I donned leggings and long-sleeved top to hopefully avoid being mozzie-bitten. During the last 3 days they’ve taken over from the bush flies who have reduced significantly. The former like wetter conditions and the latter dry - and it is significantly wetter now. The last 2 mornings there has been a good deposit of dew that has been absent for weeks in the very dry central Outback that I’m now leaving.

DAY 212: Elliott to Dunmarra Roadhouse

Fri 23rd May 2008
99 km @ 17.6 km/hr
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of destination 229m
Distance to date 12961 km (8101 miles)

I took ages to get to sleep last night - lots of banging outside, music playing loudly somewhere, some stones under the tent sticking in my back, and just a general feeling of unease with this poor caravan park. After a few hours sleep I was awoken by the loud trumpeting of the many peacocks resident here - a sign on the shop door says to help yourself to one if you want one! Er, no thanks, you can have them!
I had breakfast with Steve, the Irish guy parked next to me, then packed up carefully to avoid getting bulldust onto my gear and myself, which wasn’t easy. I took my key back to the shop for the return of my $5 deposit and complained to the owner about the dusty park - when the brochure says “grassy sites”, but she wasn’t interested and walked off muttering that she wasn’t arguing, so I left it at that. If anyone’s coming this way be warned - it’s the first CP on the left as you come into Elliott from the south.
I noticed another CP next door as I left, but couldn’t see if it was any better than the first one. I passed quickly through Elliott - it’s a dismal and dreary place that is starting to look like a ghost town - the houses look as if they were thrown up in a few minutes using leftover building materials. Only redeeming feature was a friendly wave from an aboriginal lady as I passed out of town.
So, back onto the same old road - flat, straight and fairly featureless - but I switched into spiritually absent mode and didn’t notice these features. I stopped briefly for a snack at the rest area after 23km, since this is the last one until Dunmarra Roadhouse, then ploughed on. The road starts to undulate after the Newcastle Waters junction (I didn’t go on the 3km detour for a look as I think it’s just a ghost town), and the landscape changes significantly from dry scrubby Savannah to green undergrowth and bigger trees; clearly there is more water around to support this. I even saw a few muddy puddly creeks, whereas these have been bone dry for the last 1000km. As a result a few more birds started to appear, including the Apostlebirds again, and the presence of a lot more roadkill pointed to a more abundant habitat.
There was no metalled shoulder but the road isn’t too busy again so it isn’t important; there is a good gravel shoulder anyhow. The main carriageway is quite bumpy though, and I didn’t appreciate the jarring effect on my sore nether region. Scores of people waved and/or hooted, which was nice, and I’ve got into the habit of waving at everyone coming towards me, though I can’t always see if they wave back, as if it matters.
Between 30 and 40km the road bore to the left into the wind a little, and as it was also mostly uphill this was annoying, but after this the tailwind was back and helping me along again.
I stopped at 60km and got the billy on under a shady tree, and enjoyed two leisurely mugs of tea and jam butties. 90 minutes later I was at Dunmarra, and celebrated with an ice cream and Cookiedough Kit-kat and iced coffee, as you do.
I had planned to cycle another 20km or so and camp in the bush, but fate had other ideas, and I punctured 3km N of Dunmarra, in the rear of course, and with nowhere to lean the bike. I removed all the gear and fitted a replacement tube after failing to find anything sticking in the tyre, but when I came to pump up the tyre again I found that the (expensive) Zefal pump was blowing back. No matter what I did, as soon as I stopped pumping the air escaped through the nozzle end of the pump. I reckon a seal / ‘O’ ring or similar has fell out, but I’m puzzled since the pump was working OK 2 weeks ago and I haven’t touched it since. I tried to flag down the few vehicles that passed over the next half-hour but the 2 that stopped didn’t have a tyre pump, so I started to walk the bike back to the roadhouse; however as I had managed to get a little air in I risked riding back with all my weight positioned over the handlebar i.e. not on the soft rear tyre. One of the two that stopped were a Japanese couple, who nodded affirmatively when I asked for a pump, but supplied me with one of those plastic pumps that you blow beach balls up with! Awww, bless!
It was starting to darken as I arrived back, so I decided to camp at the roadhouse CP (very nice site with pool and only $5!). One of the campers had an electric pump so we had the tyre back up to 50 psi in a jiffy, and it appears to be holding OK later on. I now have no way of pumping the tyres up until I get to the bike shop at Katherine nearly 300km north; let’s hope I don’t need one.
After setting the tent up I cooked a curry using half a pack of green curry paste and served it with the rice, but it was so hot as to be utterly inedible - so this was the second disaster of the day, and it went in the bin. I therefore went to the roadhouse for dinner of a burger ‘with everything’, and as it also came with a huge pile of chips I was unable to finish it despite 2 more cartons of iced coffee to wash it down!
Lets hope tomorrow brings more normality....

DAY 211: Banka Banka Station to Elliott

Thurs 22nd May 2008
149 km @ 18.6 km/hr
Sunny, 24 deg C
Elevation of destination 215 m
Distance to date 12862 km (8039 miles)

Another cold start to the day that kept me wrapped up longer than intended, added to which once up and about I had a few ‘callers’ asking about the ride, so it was 9 before I got away. There were a few tame calves wandering about the park, and I had to laugh at their antics in chasing off a collie that kept trying to herd them up.
Nothing much to report about the road - just the same as it’s been for several days - completely uninhabited except for Renner Springs where there’s a roadhouse but nothing else. I stopped here for lunch after 62km, preparing for another 90km if I go all the way to Elliott. There’s a hilly stretch after about 50km which slowed me down a little, but nothing over 4 or 5%, although a few km long. The weather is good for cycling - nice 25 deg C; sunny, and a decent tailwind - it’s just the scenery that's a bit monotonous! Mind you if you look closely the vegetation changes constantly either in type of tree / shrub, or density etc., and if I knew more about these things it would add more interest.
The tailwind veered to my right side sometimes but was fairly constant SE, and usually assisted me. I rolled into Elliott around 1730 after considering bush camping, and when I saw the caravan park wished I had - there was absolutely no grass, only red dust that would get everywhere. The brochure says there’s “shady, grassed, sites”; well, it’s a lie! Too late now though, and to add insult to injury as I was trying to get some pegs in the rock-hard ground a few hundred mozzies came to help, so it was a case of drop everything and apply the repellant. I got cooking as soon as I could to avoid them after dark when they’re at their worst, but the repellant and a burning mosquito coil kept them away as it happened.
A young Irish guy parked his 4x4 next to me, and we sat out for an hour shooting the breeze and comparing notes, which was nice. I had thought I might spend a second night here since there’s some wetlands near here to have a look at, but there’s no way I’m staying at this CP again, and there’s no other unless I camp in the bush, so I may give the birdies a miss here and move on. There'll be plenty more in the north I'm sure. The Irish guy went to kakadu and told me that the mozzies are pretty thick there - I'll need to make sure that I have plenty of repellant.

DAY 210: Tennant Creek to Banka Banka Station

Weds 21st May 2008
101 km @ 18.3 km/hr
Sunny, 24 deg C
Elevation of destination 292 m
Distance to date 12713 km (7946 miles)

Up and away by 0830 on a nice sunny day again (what else?). I like the buzz in Tennant Creek; some of the towns where there are only white folks seemed a bit sanitised and artificial, but this place feels more real somehow.
The Stuart Highway was a bit busier than the Overlanders Way from Cloncurry, but still quiet compared to the south and east coast roads. There’s no shoulder but this doesn’t lead to any particular stress; it’s rare that 2 vehicles going in opposite directions pass at the same time.
I stopped at Threeways Roadhouse and had a free (driver reviver) cup of tea, before ploughing on with a continuing fresh SE tailwind blowing me along nicely. The landscape isn’t quite so bleak as it was with some bigger trees. It’s flat for the next 30km, but then starts to undulate with shallow rises and falls of several km length - easy enough. My bum was somewhat sore so that preoccupied me quite a bit today, and it’s annoying that it’s started up again after a couple of weeks pleasant respite.
I met a Japanese family at the Rest Area at Attack Creek and we had an interesting chat for a while as I made tea and sandwich.
After 101km I arrived at Banka Banka Station canping area ($6 pppn) and was pretty impressed - it’s very good value with fully-equipped camp kitchen, good showers, and cheap beer at only $2.50/tinny. I was allowed to set up in an area not normally used for camping, with lush grass - what a rarity out here! The Corellas were gathering in the trees, preparing themselves for their dusk raucousness, as I cooked a large serving of pasta and salami.
I went over for a beer and was amazed to find the couple from Birmingham camping here, whom I met in South Australia some 4 or 5 months ago - what a coincidence! They are heading in the opposite direction to me - to Cairns - after having done Darwin and the north. I never expected to see them again, but it was a nice surprise.I don't suppose we'll cross paths again though.