Sleeping under the stars

It has been two days since the last blog due to our location between Ceduna and Port Augusta. In the last blog I wrote that my body was running on low and it continued that way on Saturday from Minnipa to Kimba. The 160km’s was again very rural with green pastoral lands covering both sides of the road and going as far as one could see. With rolling hills and green country side I heard Billy call out from the campervan that it just looked like something out of Tour de France. At the time I was climbing up a small hill and some of the fields also had a bright yellow colour from the flowers of canola plants.

I rode just out of Kimba into the Lake Gillies National Park area and we decided to have a camp out in the bush with a fire. As soon as we found a suitable spot just off the road, a fire was lit and we sat around all afternoon and into the night enjoying each other’s company. During the night the clouds that had been lingering around all week decided to disappear, putting on a fantastic show with the thousands of stars. It also showed us just how cold it can get of a night.

I was back on the road in darkness this morning, cycling in a mellow minus 2 degrees. I even put on a beanie under my helmet to try and get some warmth back in through my head. We travelled 45km’s to an old mining town called Iron Knob and did the weekly interview on 2KY/Sky Sports. This town was famous for iron ore and had the most profitable hotel in SA during its boom, but now is virtually a ghost town with only a few residents.

As the sun rose, I started to thaw out and began peeling off layers of clothing. Between Iron Knob and Port Augusta the roads reminded me of the Nullarbor. They were long, flat straights with low harsh vegetation and reddish sandy soil. I was happy to finally reach Port Augusta around midday for a shower, and to throw about a thousand loads of washing on. The support crew have once again been fantastic and only have four more days until another change over.

Regards Craig

Long slow climbs

Craig takes a breath

Support crew tackles the long straights

Enjoying the warmth by the campfire

Showing the signs of wear and tear after 64 days on the road

Woke up this morning to light rain and once again headed off in darkness from Ceduna, east along the Eyre Highway.  I must admit that the past few days I have been feeling a bit tired and have a number of cold sores in my mouth and on my upper lip.  To me this is a signal to ease back slightly and feed up on some fresh fruit and vege’s.

I travelled 90km’s from Ceduna to Wirrulla before having my second breakfast and the rain had disappeared to a bright sunny sky.  The landscape was once again a sea of green crops and we had been told by the locals that this is the best season for over 5 years.  A railway line now runs to the side of the road and each small town has huge silo’s for the storing of the harvest at the end of the season.

As we moved further east from Wirrulla to Poochera, and then to Minnipa, the land started to have some scattered rocky outcrops.  A large sign on the side of the road indicated that the area is famous for it’s granite.  We also had our afternoon adventure and went to a place called Phildappa Rock.  This is a miniature Ayres Rock 15km out of Minnipa.

Because I was feeling slightly down today I concentrated on just “zoning out” to get the kilometres out of the way.  The last two hours of cycling into this afternoon was a daze.  Sometimes I just like to go off into dreamland to take the pain and tiredness away from my body.  I am hoping to have a good sleep tonight and start fresh in the morning.

Regards, Craig

Picturesque

 

Rock formations

 

Mini Ayres Rock

 

One of many silo's