Day 20 – Solid start to the Nullabor proper

So it begins. Home for the night.

It’s been a long time building up to this, and as always with anything you over anticipate, it’s never as bad as you imagined once you get going. In fact it’s been positively easy all things considered.


Truck piggy back

I’m now far enough West in the South Australia time zone first light isn’t till after 07:00. Having packed up completely last night, the alarm went off as late as it has all trip. Well fed and fully packed up was on the bike at first light, said the Celtic blessing and start peddling West out of Ceduna and into 750 miles of very little.

With the wind right down and not a cloud in the sky this was one of those morning bush rides that’s been so awesome on this ride. The Kangaroos only seem to be near the road at this time, and today was no exception. One found itself trapped between the road and farmers’ fence for a good couple of miles. Rather than wait let me pass and head the other way it effectively ran away from me endlessly giving me company for ten mins.

The countryside rapidly became vast wheat fields, then giving way to scrub grazing land as far as the eye could see. It’s still hilly, but this is wind swept proper big sky country, about as far from London, the tube and all that good stuff as possible.


Love the fact people asked in these

roadhouses

These isolated farms bizarrely make me feel claustrophobic. The thought of being stuck here, hours from small towns, and days from cities gives me the willies. It must be a tough hard life out here in this windswept wild otherness.

One of the cool things though is farmers often mark the entrance to their land with all or parts of the vehicle that brought the first generation there. Whilst amusingly sometimes this is an old 70s estate, usually it’s a wagon wheel, the whole wagon, a boat or some part of a 20s truck.


Curious places these roadhouses

Whatever you think about whose land is whose, the thought of European pioneers heading into the outback in the heat and flies on wagons, grafting vast farms out of the bush, deserves respect. And seems no accident many of the names come across round here are Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish. This can’t have been a place for pioneers from the warm suffocating embrace of the English shires.

But landscape was secondary to wind, which once it got up came straight up my backside for most of the day. And the fact I’ve finally come across other cycle tourers is a relief. In one of the more exposed stretches I crossed a seriously decent bloke called Imran from Leeds heading East. He was battling the same tailwind I was enjoying and we stopped to chat for 20 mins or more.

Amazingly he’d made it here from London, via a dizzying array of European, Middle Eastern and Asian locations. He was fascinating to talk to, and filled me with hope that, self centred as it is to admit, the wind he’d been battling for two weeks would help me through to Perth, but also because he said the trip across the Nullabor had been one of the highlights of his whole trip. Given where he’d come through this is no small claim.

Great reading material over lunch

Settled in at the roadhouse at Nundroo I’ve also come across 3 Japanese guys cycling the same direction. It feels comforting to be on the same route as other cyclists finally. Am discovering why I’ve seen none to date. Everyone seems to be doing the route round the bottom via Melbourne rather than straight across via Griffith and Mildura.

So today went well, and I’m finally in my first roadhouse proper. There were one normal-ish looking village at Penong en route and one smaller hamlet, but Nundroo is a different ball game. As far as I can see there is basically the roadhouse, a shed for car mechanics next door, and then nothing. Oddly the roadhouse seems to be entirely run by British backpackers, can’t quite work it out, but they’ve been very welcoming.

Think it’s going to be like this for some while.

Miles: 95 Cedua – Penong – Nundroo

Breakfast – Hotel Buffet – Not a lot to write about, but was nice not to be in my room on a tray, watching the news by myself for once.

Love it when a plan works

Lunch – Tuna sandwich, crisps and a Mars bar – Penong roadhouse. Extraordinary place. Net curtains, dead pot plants, big pictures of trucks on every wall, and a lightly stocked groceries section. With the midday sun bleaching out the window and the friendly welcome from the staff, peppered with the word “mate” this is was a proper Australian experience. Sandwich was good too.

Dinner – King George Whiting and chips – Very nice fish, it was almost swimming in butter. The choices were that or a curry the Glaswegian chef described as “violently” hot. Not sure I needed that troubling me on the road tomorrow.