Another Milestone! 41 Mile Bore Rest Area to Three Ways Roadhouse - 71kms

A full moon lit our packing efforts this morning. Left at 7.00am and battled an unhelpful cross wind for much of the ride.

Del spotted what looked like a piece of rope at the edge of the road - and it was moving! On investigation we found that it was a 1.5m convoy of big, fluffy caterpillars, wriggling across the road in Indian file, head to tail. It's doubtful that all the line would get across safely. Wondered if the back half would know where to go if the rest were flattened.

At last we reached the Stuart Highway - the main road north - and took a cabin at the Three Ways Roadhouse. 

Need to restock our food supplies as soon as we can. No grocery outlet for several days though.
Time for a good clean up and rest before we continue our ride heading north on the busy Stuart Highway. 

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page 

 

Another Record! Barkly Roadhouse to 41 Mile Bore Rest Area. - 117kms

Packed bikes and trailers by moonlight and waited by the entrance for the sunrise.
 

Mal and John, caravaners about to leave, thrust donations into our hands. These unsolicited, generous contributions from entire strangers are very heartwarming.
 

This area is cattle country. There are signs warning motorists to beware of wandering cattle.
We came across the sad sight of the dead bodies of three beautiful beasts, on the side of the road - right next to a warning sign. Must cost the farmer a fortune in losses, too.
 

Saw signs of recent Bush fires - blackened stumps spreading for hectares.
 

Now, I've yet to mention that it was a perfect cycling day today - long straight road and a tail wind.
We'd done 50kms by 10.15am so decided to skip the rest area we had planned to camp in, and head for the next one an extra 60+kms away!!!!
 

We arrived here at 3.15pm, worn out and saddle sore, but chuffed to have done it.
We'll certainly sleep tonight.

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page 

 

Relaxing! Rest Day at Barkly Roadhouse

Woke at 8.00am - what a treat! Needed today to attend to cycle worn bodies - cracked lips, sunburn, parched skin and sore butts.

Also several days with no mobile service coming up, so am making the most of it.

A lovely, well presented Roadhouse - the first and last pub in the Northern Territory on the Barkly Highway. But SO expensive!

• 200g bar of Cadbury choc = $7
• 1.5L Lift = $6.20
• RTD can rum & coke = $9 etc etc

No facilities for buying or preparing food. All meals must be purchased and eaten here.

Back to pot noodles and tuna tomorrow!

Two primitive rest areas coming up before we get to Stuart Highway - the main road north - so will be out of contact for 2 more days.

One good omen - looks like we'll have a strong tail wind. See you in a couple of day's time! 
➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Surprise! Wunara Bore Rest Area to Barkly Homestead - 40kms

Hundreds of twittering zebra finches filled the trees at roosting time as we nodded off.

The wind came up during the night and rattled the tent and fly, but still standing by morning.
Surprised at the number of caravans that had pulled in for the night - obviously a popular free stopover.

On the road by 7.00am and, to our surprise, soon spotted a "40kms to Barkly" sign - when we had expected and planned for a 95kms ride!  Suddenly we had extra energy!

Very little traffic again - and no road kill for days. The main wayside litter is shredded tyres from road trains.

Arrived at Barkly by 10.00am - a record! Luckily got a tiny, vacant cabin and moved straight in - shower, washing and lunch in that order.

The roadhouse is an oasis in this remote region. Queues of cars and caravans lined up for diesel. By mid afternoon the caravan park was full. Prices here are exorbitant but, as signs point out, the roadhouse generates its own power using 500 litres of diesel a day to do so!

Time to moisturise our parched skins, and tidy ourselves up a little.
Taking a rest day tomorrow to revitalise before taking on more long rides and primitive rest areas.

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Farewell Tablelands! Sudan Bore Rest Area to Wunara Bore Rest Area - 85kms

Woke at 4.45am. A few camper vans had pulled in while we slept. (Asleep by 6.30pm!)
 

Grasslands quickly morphed into outback scrub and termite mounds. Saw some interesting decorations!
 

Gradually came down from the tablelands with some very welcome downhill runs - the first since we left Camooweal.
 

Each run was announced by a Crest sign, which we eagerly looked out for.
Arrived at the Rest Area by 1.45pm, tired and hungry - as usual just a stony, red clearing and a picnic table.
Planted our gear to claim a patch, then celebrated by heating a freeze dried Apricot Crumble!
The ground is so stony that the tent pegs are bending. Hope there's no wind tonight, because we'll be the only things holding it down -  and my mattress has a definite leak so I feel every bump!
 

Hoping for a good night's sleep. We have a long, tiring day tomorrow.

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Flies! Avon Downs Rest Area to Sudan Bore Rest Area - 65kms

A flock of noisy, roosting rosellas lulled us to sleep and woke us up at crack of dawn.
 

Imagine our disbelief when Del discovered that his newly repaired back wheel had gone flat again over night!
Decided that the problem must be a faulty valve, so a new tube was installed.
 

Heavy going with a strong crosswind again today. Wore our fly nets to avoid nuisance from the flies.
The area is very remote and the traffic quite light.
 

Got to Sudan Bore  - and the flies are relentless here  -  clinging to everything!
 

It's a patch of red dust with a  picnic table and a few Scrubby trees  - luckily as no toilets. Doubt if any caravans would want to spend the night here.
 

A long day tomorrow, so will battle the flies and get an early dinner and bed.

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Border Crossing! Camooweal to Avon Downs Rest Area - 70kms

Had early breakfast in the roadhouse dining room. Ben, the Camooweal Roadhouse owner, very generously shouted us, which was much appreciated.
Thank you so much, Ben.

At 13kms we crossed the border into the Northern Territory - and clocks went back 30mins.
Scenery quickly developed into the grassy Barkly tablelands and herds of cattle could be seen grazing. 

Battled a strong side wind all the way. 

Del again developed a flat rear tyre - and pumped it up several times to get us to the rest area.

Avon Downs is a popular free camping spot. Every space is full. Offers of coffee, help etc from caravaners and a generous donation from Julie and Quenton from Monto. Many thanks to you both.

Fixed the puncture and replaced Del's tyre to see if that made a difference.

All set for a cosy night in our little tent!

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Termite Heaven! David Hall Rest Area to Camooweal - 91kms

Slept well, in spite of 2 road trains pulling in for the night. Had breakfast by torchlight, then away by 7.20am.

Heavy going for 45kms - a long, seemingly endless incline.
 

Dry grass giving way to great expanses of dusty, red dirt - termite heaven obviously. The hectares of termite mounds look like an enormous cemetery.
 

A popular outback hobby is to decorate the mounds. Wonder what the poor termites make of it!

Saw 3 freshly killed kangaroos on the roadside - not yet mutilated by dingoes or crows. Beautiful creatures - sad to see.

Made up for lost time with a good speed for the last 40kms.
 

Cattle grids becoming more frequent to control wandering cattle. Dangerous to cycle on so we have to dismount.

Camooweal is a small town - but popular as it is an oasis of supplies after a long stretch of nothing.
We're in a donga for the night. Too small to swing a cat in - but it has a bed!
No more beds for us for the next 4 days!
Probably no mobile reception, either.
Will send my blogs off as soon as I'm able.

 

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Into the Outback! Mt Isa to David Hall Rest Area - 98kms

Winter Solstice today.  Up with the birds this morning, loaded up to the gunnels with water and emergency food for the long day--or maybe days ahead. 

Had a great ride for the first 25kms, then Del had yet another puncture. Sure that there must be something in the tyre causing it, we eventually discovered a tiny shard of glass. Puncture was fixed and off we went at a great rate of knots, to make up for lost time.

Riding in the afternoon heat was tiring, but we eventually arrived at the David Hall Rest Area at 3.30pm.

Imagine a large, round area covered in stones and hard, red soil. No toilets or trees, just a roofed concrete picnic table. That's our home for the night! Yay!

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Fixing Things! Rest Day in Mt Isa

A chilly start! No rest today but celebrated with a yummy strawberries and yogurt breakfast.
Spent the morning mending punctures and planning food and water needs for the difficult week to come.
 

Mended a collapsing back pack and dressed Del's skinned leg - an unplanned collision with his bike axle.
Walked into town (still in hoodies) for stores and lunch.

Mt Isa is a sizeable city of over 22,000 people in 2016. It's a typical outback city, with untamed gardens and verges.
 

Dominated by the Mt Isa Mine, local motels seem to house many of its shift workers.
The shallow Leichhardt River flows in front of the mine.
Definitely more indigenous folk than we've seen previously, in schools and shopping areas.
Currently trying to squeeze the extra food and water into our trailers! Wish us luck!

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page

Scary Ride! Fountain Springs Rest Area to Mt Isa - 60kms

Packed and breakfasted by torchlight as usual.

At 10kms we hit the highest hills of the ranges and did a fair bit of walking. Big road trains came at us from both directions. With little or no shoulder to escape to, we often had to rely on the skill of the drivers to keep us safe.

At 25kms we left the hills with a fantastic downhill run and eventually, after another long, roller coaster ride, we arrived at Mt Isa.

Vacancies at motels were hard to find but we finally found a room at Forth Street Motel - further from CBD than we'd have liked, but glad to be here.

Time for another rest day, I think!

➽ TO DONATE to our chosen charity, the Neurological Foundation of NZ via our GiveALittle Page