DAY 23 - 30TH APRIL 2013 - DALY WATERS TO MATARANKA

Day 23 - 30th April 2013 - Daly Waters to Mataranka

Cycling Stats: 170 km
Cycling Speed: 31.3 km per hour

Walter left at 6.30 and the he reported to me that the winds were a bit all over the place. It became very hot quickly so I was pleased to be able to catch up with him at around the 60 km mark and he was happy to continue on to Larrimah 14 km further on and there we stopped for coffee.

Before I left I had enjoyed a morning walk along the Stuart Heritage trail and read about Stuart's joy at being able to eat the fish that his expedition had caught in the area which was the first time they had eaten fish since he had left Adelaide many months before. The famous landmark 'The Stuart Tree' was also on this trail where he had carved his initials back in the 1850's whilst exploring this region.

Once again we sighted flocks of red-tailed black cockatoos. The only change in the landscape was the greening of the grasses and the increase in the thickness and type of vegetation as we move north as evidently lots more rain has fallen in this area over Easter Walter tells me.

As I drive at a slower pace I observe and take note of many things - on my mind today was the various shapes and forms that the ever-present termite nests take. I have been watching these for some days now and I am wondering - Is this random or is there artistic genius at work (reflected in the castles / cathedrals & some budda shapes) or perhaps the termites have observed the humans who pass by and the design of their termite nests reflect what they have seen. Over the past 2 centuries people have travelled this road on horse and wagon, on horse and more recently, in vehicular transport - cars, road trains, camper vans etc. It could be that the termites glimpses of us are only of our head & torsos & hence the many formations of nests which look so much like this - either as an individual person or as a grouping of 3 or 4 people, some being children (with smaller heads & torsos).

Closest to the road one observes many penile shapes maybe because of the hundreds of thousands of travellers who have past along this road and had to stop & relieve themselves - hundreds of penis shapes close to the road !!! On discussing this with Walter he believes this is nonsense and that they are just termite nests with an environmental purpose.

I have a lot of time to think & ponder over things like this as there are many peaceful moments !!

Anyway we arrived in Mataraka about 1.30pm and drove to Bitter Springs (thanks Ivo for this tip) - This is indeed a very special place of pristine natural springs and many pools with beautiful paperbark and palm trees. There is so much bird life and this camping ground is 500 mtrs from the spring and at the end of the road - so tranquil here and last night the sky was big and dark and all the millions of stars and galaxies were huge and bright. We are resting here for a few days - can't think of anywhere I would rather be !!

Happy looking red tailed cockatoo - taken with zoom lens

Budda ?

You decide !!

Beautiful Bitter Springs

Late afternoon reflections at Bitter Springs

Lotus blooms

Another reflective moment

Walking back along the road to the camping ground

Perfectly formed web over these twigs

Deep in discussion - taken with zoom lens

DAY 22 - 29TH APRIL 2013 - RENNERS SPRINGS TO DALY WATERS

Day 22 - 29th April Renners Springs ro Daly Waters

Cycling Stats: 246 kms
Cycling Average:  33 kms per hour

This was supposed to be a short ride but Walter was keen to press on as the thought of staying in Elliott (a tiny town with not a lot of interest to him was not very appealing) so decided to once again undertake a long day of cycling.

Walter left early - around 6.15am and I decided to go for an early morning walk along the walking track around the springs and lagoon and see the sunrise. The colours of the sun rising up over the landscape and  how it changed creating soft warm hues over the grasslands was beautiful and when I looked up I heard much loud calling & cawing from a huge flock of black kites - one perched up high on the windmill's blades appeared to be overseeing the flock - whilst I reflected that just maybe they were planning their day's flight path. They kept circling and soaring and calling to each other.

We had decided to meet at Elliott, a small predominantly Aboriginal community 90 km away where we  had our morning coffee break. (I prepare a thermos of filter coffee every morning before I leave so that its a quick break (coffee & fruitcake - the great snack for cyclists) as Walter doesn't like to stop for much more than 5 minutes.)

Walter left and the day heated up significantly - I stayed on to organise emails / sort out a few business matters via phone that all took a little longer than I wanted to. When I caught up with Walter he was talking to some Japanese tourists who he had flagged down who were happy to fill his water bottles and even offered him some boiled eggs.

Along the route today we are still on the Stuart Highway which is the main highway running all the way from Adelaide up the red centre to Darwin. We both saw large flocks of huge red tailed black cockatoos. The landscape was changing from desert to savannah woodland forest - treed with lots of green grassy areas & the soil from the bright red red soil to a darker brown.

We arrived at Daly Waters - a very quirky place where a sense of humour is prevalent in all the signs, old buildings and the Daly Waters Pub where rows of bras & panties hang above the bar.

We decided to book the special beef & barra meal at the Pub which is famous apparently & wow it was sensational. Live Aussie music during dinner topped off a wonderful Daly Waters experience - highly recommended.

Sunrise at Renners Springs

Planning the day

Shades of early morning looking back towards Renners Springs

'Life is like riding a bicycle - To keep your balance you must keep moving'

Amazing beef & barra & delicious salad bar

a few Aussie tunes.....

bra fest extraordinaire over bar at Daly Waters Pub 

DAY 21 - 28/4/13 BARCLAYS CROSSING TO RENNER SPRINGS

  

Day 21 – Barclays Crossing to Renner Springs

Cycling Stats:  135 kms

Cycling Average Speed:  36km per hour

Walter left slightly later as this is a short day’s riding compared to the previous 3 days epic distances.

Also would like to mention that  late yesterday we met a lovely gentle soul Sue who popped over just after we had eaten and said to us that she wanted to wash up our dishes. She said she wanted to do something for us because of what we were doing -  WOW – she wouldn’t take no for an answer – on her return with our clean dishes she proceeded to give me a shoulder / neck massage and when Walter returned  gave him one as well. Her words –  she believes in acts of human kindness . Needless to say we slept very well. We are constantly amazed and awed by the people we meet whilst on this journey.

To get back to our day – the wind was once more favourable and Walter enjoyed a wonderful day of cycling – he tells me that he found the scenery over Whittington Range and Ashburton Range was extremely interesting – undulating roads with gentle climbs and then all of a sudden seeing a whole new landscape. More rain has fallen in this region – you can see this because the vegetation is denser and more lush with more large leafy trees and thick green shrubs which we haven’t seen for a while.

My story today is one of a sense of achievement and then reverting to dismal failure – I was travelling along nicely to meet Walter for his first break until I found myself behind one of those 53.5 metre cattle road trains. This one was travelling at 70 – 80 km per hour and slower going up some of the climbs. I was keen to catch up with Walter and, 2 other campervans had overtaken me and then overtaken the road train. I thought – well I can do this so I waited for a long straight stretch with plenty of visibility and overtook this huge road train. I was proud of myself but not for long…..

I caught Walter and stopped a few kms ahead of him and he indicated by our sign language that he wished to cycle an additional 10 km before taking a break.

I looked behind me to pull out onto the Stuart Highway and believed that there was enough distance between me and the cattle truck I had overtaken so proudly  a few minutes earlier. Not so apparently because I received a huge beeeeep from the truck driver. I was mortified and when I stopped 10 km up the highway to wait for Walter this same cattle train driver once again let me know what he thought about me with another loud drawn out horn honk. Oh dear – outback lesson learnt !!!

We arrived in Renner Springs at around 11.30 am and set up camp. Walter had a swim in the springs (a bit muddy) to cool off so he went to the swimming pool for a proper swim.

Currently we are one day ahead of our planned itinerary so looks like we may have an extra day in Katherine.

No internet so will need to post this later.

My truck driver friend

Walter loved cycling over the rises and then seeing the panoramic views

The wide open country that we passed today

30km before Renner Springs

Road side wild flowers

Lucky to see another of these magnificent Sarus cranes

Renner Springs 

DAY 20 - BARCLAYS HOMESTEAD (N T) - 3 WAY ROADHOUSE (N T)

Day 20 - Barclays Homestead to 3 Way Roadhouse (so called because of its location as a 3 way cross point on the Stuart Highway for turn-offs to Alice Springs, Mt Isa and Katherine (where we are heading)

Cycling Stats:  187 kms
Cycling Average Speed:  35.3 kms

Walter left at what we thought was 6.30am and I packed up quickly so that I could get in a walk. Yesterday I had asked the Irish backpacker behind the desk if there were any walking tracks - she told me that she goes for a walk up the Barclay Homestead airstrip and that it gets pretty boring. I was keen for a walk and yes I imagine if you did this everyday for some weeks it would get pretty boring.

Actually it was enjoyable and at that early hour quite beautiful with the full moon still bright on one side of the sky and the pink / lilac sunrise in the east.  It is a lovely cool time to walk and has the added bonus of no flies at this time of the morning.

I once again topped up the fuel ($1.97 per litre this time) and met up with Walter at the 60 km mark. He informed me that he had noticed on his garmin that there was a time difference and it was in fact a half hour earlier in NT. So an extra half hour to our day - so we had indeed had a very early start this morning.

The outback colours were once again stark & stunning but very dry because of the drought and there was evidence of fire having gone through some of the landscape we passed through and not much sign of new growth as a result of the drought.

Walter tells me there was a mishmash of wind conditions today but all in all still favourable. He has had 3 days of very long rides and is looking forward to a shorter ride tomorrow.

I am travelling a lot slower in the trusty camper van as we have decided to stick closer to each other - good for Walter so I can quickly replenish his water bottles and I am enjoying travelling slower as I am seeing so much more. (anyone who can come up with a name for my van please submit your thoughts - I think this amazing van deserves a good strong name so I look forward to any suggestions you might want to put to me)

Today on 2 occasions I saw feral cats - not huge and ugly but they were grey striped and looked like house cats.

The flynet works a treat.

Today I was greeted with a wave by quite of few of the infrequent vehicles heading in the opposite direction which was very friendly I thought. It was interesting to notice the different waves. There is definitely a bit of an art to the outback wave - 2 hands on the steering wheel placed in the 10 o'clock and the 2 o'clock position, from here there are many options that I observed - the full wave where one hand leaves the steering wheel, the middle 3 finger lift, the thumb and index finger lift and also the sole finger lift (this is usually the index finger). So much to observe for me whilst on the road - lots of things to think about but the peace and sense of awe of our huge and beautiful country hits me time and time again.

the deep bright hues of outback N T

desert landscape

roadside desert plants

Another long long road for Walter 

Pedalling at a good strong rhythm

Between 3 Ways Road House and Tennant Creek

Desert bush in flower

the different colours & vegetation types create brilliant contrasts

DAY 19 - CAMOOWEAL - BARCLAYS CROSSING (260 KM - THIS IS NOT A TYPO ERROR !!)

Day 19 - Camooweal to Barclays Crossing

(Note: I started the day with a note in my little notebook "Camooweal to wherever" (as Walter had indicated he was keen to try to combine 2 days should the tail winds once again be favourable BUT this distance seemed way to optimistic so the 'whatever' was written in)

Cycling Stats:  260 kms (true !!!)
Cycling Average Speed:  35.4 kms per hour

We were both up early at 5.30am & Walter left at 6.15am and I left a little later than I anticipated as I wanted to catch up on emails etc as I didn't think we would have any internet or phone for a few days.

A headwind for the first 50 km of Walter's ride and then once again luckily the wind turned around to a strong helpful tailwind. I caught Walter at the 100km mark and by that time we were both a bit anxious - he had seen a few rolled cars on the side of the road and, because I usually catch him between 60 and 80 km and was a little late, he was getting a little concerned. I was worried that I had missed him at a rest area at the 80 km mark that I had passed without looking too closely at. All good though - we had a nice cup of coffee and Walter had some sandwiches and he was back on the road within around 5 minutes as he prefers to stop for very short nutrition breaks.

About 15 km past Camooweal we crossed the border into Northern Territory. The stark flat whitish grasslands with red, red dirt expanses made for a dramatic landscape - endless and stretching as far as the eye could see.

Later the landscape changed to more shrubs and low trees and more termite nests - much much larger now. Lots of colours - the shiny white grasses, the dark green low shrubs and the amazing red red soil as well as lighter shades of green in the low trees and black stick like shrubs. I spotted a dingo prowling along the edge of a fence at the side of the road and he looked at me curiously before ambling back away from the road. I was actually surprised to come across about a half a dozen fit looking horses who also watched me carefully when I slowed down to watch them for a few minutes. Interesting also was the fact that there was little or no road kill today and the birds were mainly small species and not the huge kites we have seen for the past week or so.

Very little traffic on this long stretch of The Barclay Highway - The sign at the beginning told me that there was no fuel for 260 km so I had filled up to a full tank to be safe before leaving Camooweal - the price was $1.99 per litre which is I think the most I have ever paid. Luckily I only needed to buy a quarter of a tank.

For the last 100 km of Walter's ride I stopped every 15 - 20 kms to give him refilled water bottles and fruit. I drove quite slowly and as I waited for him had to make the big decision - Do I open the car window to feel some of the breeze but then get attacked by the hundreds and hundreds of flies which seem more intent on trying to get into your nose, ears, behind your sunglasses and into your mouth than the Queensland variety. OR do I just sit in the heat - I opted for sitting in the heat.

Another thing I am learning is to squat by the side of the road and not be timid about it - my knees are holding up just fine - there are no loos on this road so I have adapted well to this new practice - I have found it is important though to position yourself correctly in the sometimes strong windy conditions (I'll leave you to work out the rationale behind this)

I am sitting here under a shady tree writing this blog with I must admit a fly net on - Walter & I couldn't put up with the pesky attacking flies so have succumbed to purchasing the fly nets and let me tell you - they are great !!

Goodbye Qld for 4 months !!

Northern Territory sure is different to Qld

Man on a mision to ride 260km today

Stark vegetation & huge termite nests

A termite city !!!

Colours of N T - the skies go on forever as do the grasslands

Natural sculptured landscape 

DAY 18 - 25TH APRIL 2013 - MT ISA TO CAMOOWEAL

Day 18 - Mt Isa to Camooweal

Cycling Stats:  189 kms
Cycling Average Speed: 35.7 kms per hour

Up early at 4.40am to pack up and attend Anzac Day Dawn Service at 6.00am in the city.

A moving service which was very well attended in the main park. Then across to the pool where we were greeted by more than 25 cyclists all kitted up and ready to accompany Walter on part of the day's trip to Camooweal. We had been told that some riders would support this ride but the turn-out was amazing and we were thrilled and humbled by the ISA Rats Tri Club & Mt Isa Cycling Club members who had turned up to ride with Walter.

The ISA Rats Tri Club had sent out emails to everyone inviting them to ride with Walter & pay $5 each to our fund-raising campaign for Alzheimer's Australia Dementia Research Foundation for the group ride. Amazing - this wonderful initiative raised $300.

The peloton left at 7.15am and made good time as there was a great tailwind and the road was flat and the surface was good. Some of those cycling were using the ride as a training ride for the Border Ride which is held annually in August and goes from Mt Isa to 15kms past Camooweal to the border of Qld and N T. The fastest time for this ride is around 5.5 hours.

Some rode the first 25 kms and another larger group turned around after 54 kms and the last 6 riders left Walter after the 100 km mark and these were met by family & friends in cars to be transported back to Mt Isa.

30kms before Camoweal we met 2 marathon runners who we had heard about who are running a marathon every day for the entire year of 2013 Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray (42.2 kms per day) and travelling all around Australia doing this to raise funds for different charities. Their diet is comprised only of fruit and vegetables and water. Lovely people and we wish them well !!!

Walter rode on and enjoyed the tail wind and arrived in Camooweal around 1.30pm.

A good day's riding and we found a good caravan park in the centre of town - a nice afternoon breeze and a beautiful sunset topped off a lovely day.

Thank you Mt Isa - we will long remember your hospitality and generosity. Big thanks to Kylie & Geoff & Heiner & Robbie Katter,  Kim (Coggo) & family (for making us feel so at home !!) , & Michelle  (yes it is a small world isn't it)  Col & Amy (for organising the bottled water & all the great chats we had with you) & all the ISA Rats & Mt Isa Cycling Group who rode with Walter - Fantastic you guys !!!!

Mt Isa Rats Tri Club & Mt Isa Cycling Club members who rode with Walter when we left Mt Isa today - thank you !!

The peloton leaving Mt Isa

Amazing colours of the outback landscape between Mt Isa and Camooweal

The colours of the landscape continually leave me breathless

Janette & Alan (365 marathons in 365 days - extraordinary!!)

DAY 17 - 24TH APRIL 2013 - MT ISA - REST DAY

Day 17 - 24th April 2013 - Mt Isa - sightseeing

Yes !!! Time for me to be able to go for a long walk this morning as it is a rest day.

Walter decided to accompany me for the first 15 minutes or so and then I went on alone & going at a nice fast pace decided to walk to the huge smelter copper & lead plant which was around 2.5 km down the road - amazing to see these big smoke stacks and treatment plants dotted around the city.

Kim had given us some tips on what to see today so we set out and went to The Underground Hospital which was a hospital built underground in 1942 due to the concern that the main hospital might be targeted to be bombed because of Mt Isa'a mining industry. This was indeed a very interesting place to visit - it was cool underground and the old beds, bedpans, cots and medical instruments were interesting to have a look at. The 2 local senior ladies who ran it were proud of all the artefacts it contained.

Then it was off to Lake Moondarra about 19 kms outside Mt Isa. It was quite large and beautiful lake / dam and a wonderful peaceful place for the locals to come we had been told, as the coast is so far away. A picnic lunch there together with 3 peacocks, one galah, a couple of noisy miners and a talkative crow. I think they wanted to keep as company as we were the only ones there and they were all very tame.

There is supposed to be a huge number of fresh water crocs there but we didn't spot any unfortunately.

Then to the underground mining tour - Decked out in overalls, heavy belt to carry the battery powered device to drive our head lights we went down the mine shaft lift to 25 metres below the earth and we were led to various mine chambers & shafts & shown various machines and drilling devices and the process used with the explosives to mine for the copper & lead. Interesting that women are the preferred drivers for the huge trucks in the mines as they are more focused on the job at hand and males have many more accidents with the trucks because they allow themselves to get distracted by music, phones,  fiddling around in the truck after they have been driving the trucks for a while. Women, we were told are the preferred drivers for the mining companies as they are are more careful !!!

Every night just before 8pm you can hear the noise and feel the tremors indicating that the explosives for the next day's mining have been detonated and this happens each night at exactly the same time like clockwork.

A visit to the city look-out and then home - Mt Isa is an interesting mining city.

Historical Underground Hospital

Lake Moondarra

View from City Look-out

Signs indicating distances to world cities at Mt Isa City Look-out

DAY 16 - 23RD APRIL 2013 - CLONCURRY TO MT ISA

Day 16 - Cloncurry to Mt Isa (122 kms)

Cycling Stats:  122 kms
Cycling Average: 30 kms per hour

We had been warned in Cloncurry that the hills going out over the range from Cloncurry would be pretty tough and they were especially with the strong headwind Walter had for the first 80 kms. Walter was working really hard just to achieve an average of 27 kms per hour.

Luckily for Walter the wind flipped around to a great tailwind after the 80 km mark.

The scenery was spectacular with bright brownish dramatic red mountainous outcrops surrounding us.

At around 40 km before reaching Mt Isa we had a wonderful surprise !! Kylie & Geoff from the ISA Rats Tri Club had come out to meet us accompanied by Heiner to ride with Walter into Mt Isa City including State Member Robbie Katter who joined us for the last 15 km. We were welcomed by The Lord Mayor Tony McGrady and Council staff members outside Council Chambers. What a warm welcome !! Council staff members held a collection & handed us a heavy envelope which contained around $165 for our fundraising campaign for Alzheimer's Australia Dementia Research Foundation. Local newspaper and council journalists also interviewed us & took photos which were published in the local paper the next morning.

A group of us went to the ISA for a lovely lunch and then Kim Coglan, one of the local councillors  kindly invited us to camp at her house which we loved - she has a lovely family and I enjoyed helping Zoe, the youngest with her reading. We enjoyed a lovely home cooked meal. Thanks so much KIM !!

The road from Cloncurry to Mt Isa

Burke & Wills Memorial

Man on a mission 

The welcoming ISA Rats Tri Club members - lovely surprise

The road leading into Mt Isa

Lovely to ride with The Rats Tri Group 

Termite hills on the side of the road are getting larger as we head west

Heaps of road trains from the mines in and around Mt Isa

Welcomed by Lord Mayor Tony McGrady & State Member Robbie Katter

Lunch at The ISA was great with these lovely Mt Isa people