Betten On Bike: DAY 36 - 15TH MAY 2013 - FITZROY CROSSING TO WILLARE ROADHOUSE

Day 36- 15th May 2013 - Fitzroy Crossing to Willare Roadhouse (Actual distance 220 kms)

Cycling stats 135 km

Cycling Average: 33 km per hour

A few unexpected variables complicated the plan of action for today. Firstly the fact that a decent amount of rain had fallen last night meant this impacted on the condition of the roads that we had thought we might be travelling on. Secondly Walter’s accident yesterday meant that he wasn’t 100% sure of how he would cope with cycling Thirdly we weren’t sure whether the road to Tunnel Creek and Winjana Gorge was suitable for our trusty campervan. Combined with this was the urgency to bring our blogs up to date as we had had days without internet coverage and the next 3 days or so would almost certainly be without internet access.

So what to do ?

Well, Walter was still quite sore as a result of the bruising in his shoulder so we decided to take the morning quietly – I spent the time up until 10am when we had to check out writing & posting reports & photos of the last few days of our trip. Walter had a nap – good for the healing process and afterwards packed up.

After checking out we decided to visit the Fitzroy Crossing Information Centre to check on the conditions of the road and whether it was accessible for non 4 wheel drive vehicles – We learnt that unfortunately our trusty campervan would not be able to cope with the 4 wheel drive corrugated track complete with many steep river and creek crossings to Tunnel Creek and then to Winjana Gorge. The only option was to drive to Derby some 254 kms away and then go to Winjana Gorge via the other end of Gibb River Road (another 90 kms) and then another 20 kms along a 4 wheel drive track that after a phone call to the ranger confirmed our car would be able to cope with.

So we decided, given the lateness – it was after 10.30 by this time that our only option because of the distance was to drive there. After driving 85 km I was desperate for a coffee and some lunch so Walter & Di were happy to stop. Walter was feeling a bit out of sorts – sititng in the car didn’t sit well with him so I suggested that maybe he should try a 30km stretch on his bike first and see how his bruised shoulder would react. Unfortunately the rain started to come down but Walter donned his flouro rain jacket keen to give it a shot When we reached him after 30 km he had a smile on his face and gave us the thumbs up – all good – fantastic.

As far as the landscape goes we saw many huge boab trees – larger than we had seen in the previous days and termite nests densely packed over the grasslands.

Many areas had been back burned in the last months and because of the rain we could smell the ashy fire smell as well as see the burnt out trees with green shoots starting to appear.

The rain proceeded to get much heavier and we knew that it would be too dark and too late to reach Derby so opted to go to a roadhouse at Willare (the roadhouse is the only thing at Willare actually). Willare is 13 km past the Derby turn-off and on the road to Broome.. It was after 4.30pm when we arrived – Because of the conditions I stayed behind Walter with the campervan’s lights on for most for the last 50 kms or so as the rain got heavier and heavier as the afternoon wore on.

As Dianna sleeps in the little tent and the red mud was full of large puddles camping wasn’t really an option so we opted for a motel room for the night. The roadhouse had an outside dining room but we decided to sit in the roadhouse at one of the 2 tables inside. The food was hearty and whilst we sat there, there was lots of people coming and going. This is the only stop between Fitzroy Crossing and Broome. Lots of Aboriginal families popped in for various supplies.. There were also lots of tradespeople / truckies staying here too as they use this motel accommodation as their base whilst completing work in all parts of the Kimberley area.

More heavy rain has been forecast for the next couple of days so we will need to look at what happens tomorrow. If it is torrential ,cycling might just be too dangerous on this busy road into Broome.