Nige on Tour
Day 1
Shelly Beach to Cobar
730kms
Fuelling up at Tumbi - lucky it doesn't fall over.
Outside room 4 at the Great Western in Cobar.
Lots of (unusually) dead critters on the road. A good ride even though the ‘Bird was a little over loaded. Not quite sure how to fix this but will need to do something. I was good at Cobar and stayed away from the evil drink and had a healthy Subway for dinner. even did a couple of laps of the main drag for a walk.
Day 2
Cobar to Broken Hill
460kms
The old post office at Wilcannia.
The Darling River with some water running, wow, been years.
Caught up with my brother and dad for the night. Broken Hill never changes. Promised to return at the end of this trip.
Day 3
Broken Hill to Port Augusta.
415kms
Crossing the border.
The things you see by the side of the road.
Olary pub where they do not sell phone cards.
Mannahill Pub where they also do NOT sell phone cards.
A giant red gum tree outside somewhere 🙂 I forget already.
The fortress at Port Augusta (they have lots of natives).
An easy day ride. Had to get the ‘Bird serviced and booked in across the road. Very classy joint, suited me just fine. Had more that a few beers after what had been an enjoyable ride. Bit slow getting going in the morning. ‘Bird ready to fire across the Nullabor.
Day 4
Port August SA to Eucla WA
965kms
You'd be shittin' me!
'Bird of burden outside the Knob.
Not Kimba the White Lion but Kimba, half way across Australia.
A large thing..why I have no idea, had not seen a galah up to this point.
The border crossing into Western Australia.
The inspection station for crossing the border, special dispensation was given to take the 'Bird across 🙂
Crossing the Nullabor was a doddle on the ‘Bird. The faster you go the shorter the distance 🙂 I found the ride quite interesting although not unlike the ride to Cobar in terms of terrain. I missed taking a photo of the place Nullabor simply because it was just a roadhouse (as are a lot of places out here). Was knackered by the end of the day and was glad to stumble on Eucla for the night.
Day 5
Eucla to Southern Cross
1055kms
Very basic rooms at Eucla and it was freezing. Played a game of find the powerpoint.
Boiling my NRMA kettle for my morning coffee...yes...seriously.
Great Australian Bight, I got a whole lot closer but didn't take any photos. It is right next to the road in places.
Your usual 'how far' thingy.
The Eyre Highway is punctuated with self-contained roadhouses that are service stations, motels, pubs and everything else.
Continued to traverse the Nullabor today, still interesting even the section that is Australia’s longest straight road. Not something you would want to do every day though. LOTS of grey nomads and the mandatory 4WD and caravan and have seen 4 different fools riding push bikes. Feels like a really long day today and my arse is killing me, also have an infected nail on my right thumb which is proving to be ridiculously debilitating and annoying. Struggled into Southern Cross.
Day 6
Southern Cross to Denham (Monkey Mia)
BIG DAY -1150kms
No photos yet but wandered down to the pub for a few pints (no such thing as a schooner here) and stumbled on ‘barmaids with very little on night’. Surely a sign of better things to come 🙂
Accommodation was spartan to say the least but was lucky to get anything.
Single Man's quarters.
The whole place was like a demountable school.
Outside to the toilets and shower.
Basic vehicle parking.
The Birdon.
Ready to roll out.
Left Southern Cross at 8:15am and arrived at Denham at 8:30pm with stops only for fuel and a sausage roll.
Saw this along the way that is unheard of these days.
Unrestricted speed, those were the days.
This was through some fantastic roads that the lady on my handlebars told me to use as a shortcut to avoid Perth.
There were Blackboys growing like weeds everywhere youy looked but I couldn’t be bothered stopping to take a photo.
Fields of canola plants.
