OnHellas wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:36 am
The latest idea.....to walk to Rome, from Canterbury. After this trip.....perhaps.
Wow, that's ambitious..... but maybe not so much after Compostelax2! From the Archbishop's palace to the Pope's pad! I will sponsor you if you decide to do it with sponsorability for a deserving cause!
At the beginning of my Camino in Sant Jean Pied de Port I went to buy a guide book.
The man in the shop asked where I was from. I said Canterbury (near enough) and he said that I should be doing the Canterbury to Rome route....and had a book.
As the Camino was so good, why not?
There’s a lot of miles to ride before we get anywhere near Canterbury though.
There’s a lot of miles to ride before we get anywhere near Canterbury though.
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Maybe not so many...... there's a Canterbury in south island if you're planning on taking-in NZ!
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To outsmart a smart arse I could point out that both New South Wales and Victoria boast a place called Canterbury. Closer still than NZ, which is definitely the plan after Australia......all being well.
We rode away from Derby wondering if the road south from The Roebuck Roadhouse some 180km would have reopened.
It hadn’t. After another hot ride along the Great Northern Highway, through the various construction sites and choking on dust thrown up by a Road Train we got to Roebuck Roadhouse, refuelled for the 280km stretch to the next petrol station, and asked the question.
The answer, ROAD CLOSED. We found our mate Guy on the campsite and he told us that the fire now stretched for 160km. It was actually the smoke that was making it to hazardous.
We chatted for a while and caught up with our respective stories. There was to be an update at 3pm but even it they reopened the road it would be to late to make it at a sensible time to the next place.
So we headed in to Broome for the second time and found an air conditioned room.
I know, I know. We could have camped. Once the road opens we hope to head south to a campsite on Eighty Mile Beach.
The road is now open according to info that I can find on the internet with a warning of ruduced visibility.
We’ll check again in the morning and make our decision.
Should we stay or should we go now....
We stayed in Broome for two nights. Firstly to avoid what might have been something akin to Whacky Races as the built up traffic from the 3 days of the road being closed set off. Those going south meeting those going north.....
Also, we had a message from Kaye and Grub, a couple that we’d met on the Horizontal Falls trip. We met up for tea and cake and he carried on entertaining us with his Aussie humour. They were also interested in places to visit in the U.K. as they have a two month trip planned next year.
Leaving Broome we stopped in at the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse to fuel up. The next fuel heading south was 290km away.
We stopped for a break at a rest area and smelt our first signs of the bush fire.
We also saw a helicopter that was refuelling from drums out of the back of a Ute.
They were part of the fire control unit, the pilot said that there was still a fair amount burning way out in the desert.
Our destination for the day was Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park. We stopped 50km shy of therebto refuel. The ‘get it while you can’ train if thought is the way to go out here for sure. The last 10km was along a dirt road. The corrugations weren’t to bad and the couple of sandy sections that we both managed to find were crossed with no drama.....just add throttle....it’ll be fine.
The campsite is really nice. Quiet, clean, shaded, and nearly on the beach. There is just a dune between our tent and the Indian Ocean. Listening to the waves whilst laying in the tent in the evening.....
We’ve been here for two nights already and we’ve just booked in again for tonight.
The usual jobs, washing, bike checks, have been done.
We may spend a few more nights here, walking in the beach, sitting around people watching, laughing, what’s not to like.
And anyway, we don’t want to get to Perth to soon, it’s only about 20 degrees there at the moment....
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
Last edited by OnHellas on Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Something that I forgot to mention in my last post.....the weather.
Now I’m sure by now you’ve all got the message that it’s been hot hot hot for us for a good few weeks now.
Well, after fueling up at Sandfire Roadhouse the cloud that had been present for most of the ride delivered. It rained. It actually rained bringing the temperature down from 33 to 17 degrees in just a few minutes.
If I’d closed my eyes I could have been back in the U.K....or in the bushes! Must keep eyes open.
On the subject of open eyes. An admission for you.
On the Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park there were two very clean shower blocks.
Walking to the one nearest our tent the gents was to the left and the ladies to the right.
The other block is the other way around. I’m sure you can all see where this is going....it wasn’t until I was drying myself in the shower cubicle that I heard female voices.....strange....thinking about it there had been a baby bath where there was a urinal in the other ‘gents’ block.
I’d already got away with dropping the kids off at the pool so quickly finished drying myself, got dressed and sneaked out.
The temperature went up and up and down again. We’re back in the tent.
The first 10km of the ride leaving Eighty Mile Beach was back along the dirt road.
Apart from a Toyota Landcruiser coming by at about 100km/h all was well. It didn’t seem as sandy as the way in. No little front end moments anyway.
We set of for Port Hedland. The town is mainly there as a port to service the massive mining industry in the area. The ride itself was more of the long straight highway 1. The closer we got to town the more Road Trains we encountered. Now with four trailers.
40 degrees meant we ended up staying a couple of nights in a motel room, it was OK, nothing special but it had air con.
I think that we’re aircon addicts now....is there an ACA...Airconohilics anonymous?!?
From Port Hedland we went to Karratha, another 2 night stop with aircon. This time in a cabin. Along the way we met up with Kay and Grub again. Since the Horizontal Falls trip where we first met they’ve become a regular feature of our ride.
They have a Hino bus and a trailer with a Suzuki Jimny on it. Oh, the trailer also has a workshop at the front with a very well presented 1959 BSA 250. Grub needs a bike with him he tells us. Needs, not wants.
He has a plan of how to keep riding for ever......once he’s not in this life anymore he wants to be cremated, then his ashes are to be mixed with paint so that his trust 2002 Triumph Bonneville (187,000km And counting) can have a respray. Then the bike will be given to his son and he’ll be able to ride for ever.....as long as his son gets a bike licence....
We wanted to go to Exmouth. Pronounced as Ex Mouth....but it was a bit to far for a days ride, for us anyway. There was a Roadhouse along the way....with a gravel car park to camp in. No thanks!
We ended up in a tiny Donga. These are primarily used by workers working away from home. Twin beds, no windows, no kettle, shared facilities that had definitely seen better days, and a price to match a bloody nice hotel room in a pretty town!!
Some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue! That night was statue time for sure. Nice Lasagne though so it wasn’t all bad.
The next morning bright(ish) and early we set of for Exmouth. The plan was to stop at Bullara Station for a cream tea and to check out the campsite.
Riding along our friend, Highway 1, I saw a new road sign. It was big, square and yellow. It had a picture of an aircraft on it and above the letters RFDS runway.
The road got considerably wider and had what looked like a zebra crossing at each end of the wide section.
One item does two jobs, part of the Australian ringroad known as Hwy 1 and a runway for the flying doctor service.
I’ve seen this type of double use before, Inn Argentina I think.
Now although it’s called Bullara Station, no trains do, or have, ever called here. A station in these parts is a Cattle farm/ranch.
This one is nowhere near to being classed as a large Station, it is only a quarter of a million acres.
The cream tea was nice, Kay and Grub were here so we checked in about the tent up.
