Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Daly Waters

Katherine

274

5167

I let myself have 5.5 hours sleep after two tough days and got up at 5am and was on the road at 6am from the rapidly stirring, but still dark, Daly Waters Roadhouse.  There were a lot of construction personnel and truckies staying at the place and having an early breakfast in the before heading off to their work locations.  I decided to eat later and set off northwards along the quiet Stuart Highway, the main north-south route through central Australia.  It was cool and, unfortunately, the forecast north-easterly breeze was already blowing.  Although the road was relatively flat and the surface good, my average speed rarely went above 20kph and I knew I was in for a long day.  It confirmed in my mind the wisdom of having a day off tomorrow in Katherine to allow for some extra sleep and various chores.  The countryside was typical straw grass savannah with scraggly olive green eucalypts.  Here and there was evidence of controlled burning to reduce the undergrowth.  By the time I reached the small settlement of Larrimah in late morning it had become very warm with clear skies and a blazing sun.  I stopped in at a small somewhat oddball bakery/teahouse run by Fran for brunch and demolished two delicious pies and two vanilla milkshakes.  A woman at an adjacent table began talking to me and it turned out she was a member of my sister’s former church congregation in Adelaide.  Small world.  After lunch I laboured on to Mataranka, which seems quite tropical and exotic, with a large indigenous population, wide streets, large fig trees and grassy parkland.  The dry and hot headwind had given me a parched mouth and throat and I went into the small supermarket for a drink and ice-cream, emerging with a one litre container of premium vanilla.  It went down so well and I savoured it as I watched the local comings and goings before setting off reluctantly for the last 106km to Katherine.  The road was quieter and it was cooler, but I had more than had enough and just wanted the day to be over.  I am sick of starting out in darkness and finishing long after sunset.  I eventually arrived in Katherine, a large provincial town in the tropics and checked into the central motel I had booked earlier.  After buying some fish and chips at a nearby roadhouse I got to bed at 11pm, looking very forward to a long night’s sleep.