A Close Shave! Pardoo Roadhouse to Bush Camp - 94kms

Planned a 73kms run today, so slept in and on the road by 7.30am. A flattish road and a tail wind made cycling enjoyable.

At 24kms we were tootling along when Del was suddenly sideswiped by a passing car.
The driver, an elderly man, had only registered me. He passed far too closely then cut in front of me.
His wing mirror scraped Del's arm, wrist and hand, sending the bike into an uncontrollable wobble across the road. Del tried to control it from throwing him onto the road and eventually managed to bring it safely to rest on the opposite side. He was quite shaken. 

A large blood blister instantly developed on his hand. There was bruising on his arm and wrist, but no sign of broken bones, thank heaven.
The driver stopped as soon as he realised what had happened, and offered to help.
He was shaken, too. 

Del checked the bike over for any damage, then we were off again, but not before I had a good old cry. Just so thankful. The situation could have been so much worse.

We're now in the Pilbara region - a range of low lying hills surrounded by an often barren plain.
For the first time since leaving Broome, we crossed three rivers. 

The Degrey River looked quite healthy with pelicans and other birds enjoying the water.
We had planned to stay the night at the Degrey Rest Area, but discovered that it was closed due to a "bio hazard" and we would have to camp in the bush. 

Decided to cycle further to reduce the cycling tomorrow. It's difficult to camp in the bush if there is NO BUSH! Cycled 20 more kms looking for a suitable spot!  Eventually found the only clump of trees for miles! 

As we were setting up camp, one of the bikes fell over and gave Del an enormous thump on the head, poor thing.

So here we are, in our tent, a few metres away from the road, drinking our condensed milk coffee, being bombarded by swarms of flies! Luckily they disappear as the sun goes down. 

Freeze dried meal for dinner followed by Dole Fruit Chunks.
What a life!

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

Change of Plan! Sandfire Roadhouse to Pardoo Roadhouse - 139kms

Planned an easy 55kms ride to 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park today so slept in and didn't get away until 7.30am.

Delighted to discover that we had a tail wind at last. 

Landscape changed from bush to low, tree less scrub, to rough pasture land. Farmers appeared to be burning off the bush to encourage grass growth. Flowering lupins cropping up everywhere.

At 45kms, we reached the turnoff to the beach and discovered to our dismay that it was 10kms of dusty, unsealed road. 

Cycling on loose dirt is quite dangerous for us. Tyres get bogged down into the dirt and the trailers tip over easily, pulling bike and cyclist with them. We quickly decided that was out of the question.
We would cycle towards Pardoo, 90kms away, and camp in the bush when we'd had enough for the day.

The tail wind allowed us to cover more ground than usual. 

Before long we'd decided that, if we could last the distance, we'd head for Pardoo Roadhouse instead.

We cycled through the heat of the afternoon - sweating heavily and drinking at least 2.5L of water each. Pressure from the seats added to the discomfort.

Arrived at Pardoo Roadhouse at 4.45pm - a small building, with caravan park and dongas at the rear, marooned in a sea of red dust. Just had time to drop our gear into a donga and get to the roadhouse cafe to order dinner and buy a few essentials before dark.

Both feeling pretty tired.
Filling water bottles and nibbles packs ready for tomorrow, then it's a shower and bed ASAP.

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

Pushing On! Stanley Rest Area to Sandfire Roadhouse - 108kms

Another 3.00am wake up. Packed in record time and away by 4.45am. Not quite as cold as it has been, but appreciated our thermals under our shirts and jackets.

Minimal wind so made good progress until 8.00am when the strong cross wind came up.

We battled along a flat plain where scenery morphed from straggly, stunted bush to dry, rough grassland, all struggling to survive in the red sandy soil.

John  Clayfield stopped to talk and made a generous donation. Thanks so much, John. Much appreciated.

Signs of recent flooding. One area seemed to be covered in salt. Another larger area appeared to be smothered in white silt giving the appearance of snow or frost and killing off the vegetation.

Eventually reached Sandfire Roadhouse. A small, welcoming Roadhouse set in red sand. Peacocks wander everywhere. Took a donga for the night and did our washing. 

Lamb shanks and salad for dinner - what a treat!

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

More of the Same! Gold wire Rest Area to Stanley Rest Area - 63kms

Both slept well and up by 5.30am. 

Headed off at 7.30am, but conditions were much the same as yesterday.
Wind, wind, wind - strong, blustery and in our faces. At times, the gusts blew us off track and made the bikes hard to control.

We crawled up long, endless hills only to find that, at the top, they continued.
Eventually limped into Stanley Rest Area at 1.30pm. 

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

Uphill Slog! Roebuck Plains Roadhouse to Gold wire Rest Area - 120kms

Up at 3.00am and on the road by 5.00am.

Light wind to start. Signs of recent flooding of the bush could be seen in the moonlight. The sunrise was spectacular and I couldn't resist my one and only pic of the day. 

As day broke, flood damage to the road became more  obvious and we had to negotiate around numerous potholes and uneven areas. 

With daybreak came the headwind and progress was quickly down to a crawl. 

Caravaner, Geoff, flagged us down with a donation. Thanks heaps for your support, Geoff.

Ten hours later we limped into Goldwire Rest Area. 

Barely had time to pitch the tent, unpack and prepare our freeze dried dinner before night fell at 5.30pm.

We were exhausted! A short ride tomorrow, so not such an early start, hopefully.

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

 

Headwind! Broome to Roebuck Plains Roadhouse - 33kms

With just a short ride today, left Broome at 8.45am. Decided to ease the weight in the trailers by carrying 3kgs of water each in our backpacks. 

Just our luck! We hit a strong headwind all the way to Roebuck Plains Roadhouse. Took us most of the morning to get there, with lots of recovery stops along the way.

No time for photos so have included a few pics from Broome.

Took a donga for the night - quiet neighbours this time - except for the flocks of beautiful lorikeets that gathered to roost on a nearby tree, chattering noisily. 

Will get an early night tonight to prepare for an early start tomorrow with a 120kms ride, unless a headwind forces a shorter ride. 

Will probably be out of mobile reception for at least a couple of days, with 285kms to the nearest Roadhouse. Wish us luck! 

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

Broome Time! Last Rest Day in Broome.

Another lovely day in Broome. With most of our shopping done, we took a Broome Explorer Bus 7kms to beautiful Cable Bay. On the way are numerous resorts, hotels and a couple of caravan parks.

Cable Bay is a tourist's paradise, with luxury hotels on the beach front and a restaurant/cafe.

Strong winds had caused the beach to be closed to swimmers, but the azure blue sea with its pale, sandy beach was a feast for the eyes. Apparently camel rides are available further up the beach.

Back at the motel, we did a trial pack of the trailers with our 18L of bottled water and extra food supplies. 

Hoping for downhills and a tail wind tomorrow. Feeling rested and revitalised and will leave with fond memories of Broome.

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