Day: |
018 |
Date: |
Monday, 6 August 2007
|
Accommodation |
Motel in Mataranka
|
Summary |
Riding from Elliott to Mataranka
|
Start Time: |
3:50am
|
Finish Time: |
5:50pm
|
Daily
Map Kms: |
316
|
Total
Map Kms: |
4,851
|
Map Kms To Go: |
9,560
|
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule: |
-105
|
Daily Odometer Kms: |
314.5
|
Daily Average Speed: |
26.75kph
|
Weather: |
Cold early. Warm and sunny later. E/NE winds.
|
Nutrition: |
A very Big Brekky for breakfast, gourmet pie and pastie for
lunch,
|
Encounters: |
None really.
|
Highlights: |
None really.
|
Lowlights: |
None really.
|
Daily Pictures: |
Here |
Daily Podcasts: |
Here &
Here |
Journal: |
I woke at 3:00am, and managed to leave the motel compound without
being bitten by the Rottweiler, Shadow, and his German Shepherd mate
(who I hadn’t been told about). However, they did give me a
rousing send-off, so everybody in the neighbourhood was well aware
of my departure. It was quite cold again and I was wearing
an extra sweater and my Goretex gloves to keep warm for the first
few hours. It was breezy but not as windy as yesterday and the
wind direction had swung round to be an easterly (cross) wind.
There was a half moon and plenty of stars to admire in the clear
skies as I headed north. Around 4:50am I passed the entrance
to the famous Newcastle Waters Cattle Station and could see the
lights off to the left. Opposite the entrance was a rest area
where a friend, Greg Tegart, who had passed through on holidays a
week earlier, had stuck up a sign wishing me well (he had e-mailed
me a photo). I looked for the sign but couldn’t find it,
despite cycling around the rest area that was packed with sleeping
grey nomads in their caravans and campervans. I continued on
and stopped at the Dunmarra Roadhouse (109km) around 8:30am for what
turned out to be a very big breakfast. As usual the cook was
very friendly and interested in my trip. On a full stomach I
headed north but stopped at 11:00 when I passed the Daly Waters
Roadhouse for a quick muffin and coffee milk. By now the day
was warming up and there was more traffic around. Of
particular interest were a number of escorted oversize trucks
heading south with battle tanks on their trailers, presumably
following exercises further north. I presume these were some
of the new tanks Australia has just purchased to replace their
ageing German Leopard tanks. As a sign of my own ageing I can
remember them road-testing the braking ability of the Leopard tanks
prior to purchase back in 1972. I was in the army (National
Service) stationed at Puckapunyal in Victoria and the braking test
consisted of the tank rumbling up to near top speed along a road
that passed by my office and then hitting the brakes just outside my
office, multiple times. I can still remember the ominous
rumbling that crescendoed to an earthquake as the tank arrived and
braked hard. At 237km for the day I reached Larrimah, a tiny
sleepy little settlement where the main excitement seemed to be a
competition between Di’s and Fran’s homemade pies and pastries in a
series of signs visible as you approached town. In the end I
opted for Di’s and enjoyed a very tasty pie and pastie for a late
lunch. Then it was on to Mataranka, 79km further on.
The countryside was becoming more tropical bushland with more trees,
water in some creeks, lots of burnt undergrowth (controlled burns to
reduce the risk of bushfires), lots of large termite mounds, and
deep red soil. It also became more undulating as the day wore
on, although not really hilly. I arrived in Mataranka just
before 6:00pm, checked into the motel and enjoyed a meal at the
attached hotel for dinner. I called Rod from the Casuarina
Primary School in Katherine and arranged to meet him at the school
on my way through Katherine tomorrow morning to meet the kids.
I hope to make Victoria River tomorrow night, making it a 300km day,
and have to do a little bit of shopping in Katherine (running out of
antiseptic cream and Vaseline for treating my backside!), so it
could be a long day. Depending on how I feel, I may push on
through tomorrow night with the aim of getting to Kununurra earlier
on Wednesday, so that I can get a good sleep and early start to the
following day’s 359km trek to Halls Creek.
|
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
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Via Alpina
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Australian Alps Walking
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Australia Tip to Top MTB
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|