Six of the riders booked a bus to take them to the gorge and they did the 3 gorge cruise early this morning. They loved it and all got to have a swim and a wash under the waterfall.
Jerry explored places he hadn't seen last time he was in Katherine. Jeanette went into town, wandered the shops and then came back and lazed by the pool all day.
Collis washed both cars inside and out. I shopped, cooked and then book keeping.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Day 17: Mataranka to Katherine
There were lots of wallabies (live ones) along the roadside today plus a wild dog. Everyone is going along well today with the wind behind them and the weather not too hot yet. Morning tea was called earlier than planned as we weren't sure how Jeanette was going as she was at the end of the pack- she was OK so probably could have gone onto to designated spot.
After morning tea we come across an older woman on the side of the road picking up tea bags. Their caravan had blown a tyre which had blown the bottom out of the bottom of one of their kitchen cupboards. Poor things, I helped picking up these t bags as she was worried she wouldn't be able to buy this brand around this area. Unable to find her pots and pans which may have flown off into the long grass. Collis assisted the husband with the tyre.
Gareth and Kirsten rode along beside a long black snake in the middle of them, they rode as fast as they could to get away. Neither stopped to take a photo. Ingrid was passed by a Greyhound bus and heard a POP. When it had gone past she found a snake mangled on the road but still squirming.
Everyone into Katherine by lunchtime and shopping done before they headed out to the campground. Everyone cooked in tonight.
After morning tea we come across an older woman on the side of the road picking up tea bags. Their caravan had blown a tyre which had blown the bottom out of the bottom of one of their kitchen cupboards. Poor things, I helped picking up these t bags as she was worried she wouldn't be able to buy this brand around this area. Unable to find her pots and pans which may have flown off into the long grass. Collis assisted the husband with the tyre.
Gareth and Kirsten rode along beside a long black snake in the middle of them, they rode as fast as they could to get away. Neither stopped to take a photo. Ingrid was passed by a Greyhound bus and heard a POP. When it had gone past she found a snake mangled on the road but still squirming.
Everyone into Katherine by lunchtime and shopping done before they headed out to the campground. Everyone cooked in tonight.
Day 16: Mataranka Rest Day
The tune for today was:
Rest, rest and more rest.
Throw in some swimming at Bitter Springs, visit Roper River but NO swimming (crocodiles) and check out town.
Then we do some cleaning of the bikes, cleaning of the clothes and cleaning of the tents.
Later in the day Collis had a run in with some spun out aggressive moron. He ended up ringing the police but they didn't do anything because he soon left the park and didn't come back.
Dinner was arranged and paid for by Collis and we all enjoyed our roast. At the end of the meal the waitress knocked over Gareth's red wine (right into my lap). I had to change my clothes, soak with soda water and hope for the best.
The aborigines were noisy overnight. They were partying in the middle of town and at the settlement.
Rest, rest and more rest.
Throw in some swimming at Bitter Springs, visit Roper River but NO swimming (crocodiles) and check out town.
Then we do some cleaning of the bikes, cleaning of the clothes and cleaning of the tents.
Later in the day Collis had a run in with some spun out aggressive moron. He ended up ringing the police but they didn't do anything because he soon left the park and didn't come back.
Dinner was arranged and paid for by Collis and we all enjoyed our roast. At the end of the meal the waitress knocked over Gareth's red wine (right into my lap). I had to change my clothes, soak with soda water and hope for the best.
The aborigines were noisy overnight. They were partying in the middle of town and at the settlement.
Day 15: Daly Waters to Mataranka
We are mainly concerned about the most recent people who have contacted us via our webpage and have decided to join the ride at a later date. Hopefully contact details on the web page will be updated today or Monday.
Today is the longest day for this leg and everyone is quietly nervous about it. The increase in temperature is also a concern for them. The wind is minimal but favourable.
We had morning tea at the Alexander Forrest. Ingrid saved a turtle from the middle of the road. Mark is doing a horror movie and is constantly looking for interesting roadkill subjects- so he didn't photograph the turtle for Ingrid as it was still alive.
Lunch was at Larrimah and the Pink Panther Pub (the highest hotel in NT). Really rundown and not much else other than the museum. Afternoon tea and it's getting hotter with 34 degrees in the car, 39.8 degress on Mark's garmin and something in the 40's on Jerry's. Everyone is struggling but still in reasonable spirits. We squirted them with water and sent them on their way.
All arrived safely at Mataranka with 4 riders breaking their greatest distance in one day record. Gareth, Jane, Ingrid & Jeanette. Jerry rode straight onto Bitter Springs for a swim before coming in.
A group went down to the pub for dinner but didn't like the vibe or the surrounds so they came back. Half of them went to the caravn park restaurant and the other half cooked for themselves.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Day 14: Bush Camp to Daly Waters
Fresh morning which warmed up pretty quickly once the sun came up. Camp became organised pretty quickly with the first group leaving around 7.30 am and the last 3 riders leaving at 8 am. Collis and I were all packed up and on the road by 8.30 am.
Beautiful day for riding. The scenery is changing again but still no tropical plants yet. We were going to meet them at the 40 km mark for a water stop but we didn't catch Ingrid until the 50 km mark. So we went onto Dunmarra for the morning tea break. Lots of fresh roadkill which is mostly wallabies today. Up till now the roadkill has mainly been cows.
Ingrid was first in and was quite chuffed with this achievement. A few people had a second breakfast here with Collis and Gareth opting for the big breakfast- it was huge. Found our first cane toad for the trip- it was a petrified black toad. Ugly bastards.
30 kms was the lunch stop but not many were hungry. We got a pleasant spot under a gumtree with Gang Gangs flying overhead. Jerry and Jane opted to head to the Hwy Inn and start a pub crawl rather than stop for lunch.
Arrive at Daly Waters at 1.30 pm to discover a Rodeo and Gymkana on here for the next 4 days. New toilets and showers built at Daly Waters. They were very nice but it was like a sauna after your shower before you could get out of the building.
Beautiful day for riding. The scenery is changing again but still no tropical plants yet. We were going to meet them at the 40 km mark for a water stop but we didn't catch Ingrid until the 50 km mark. So we went onto Dunmarra for the morning tea break. Lots of fresh roadkill which is mostly wallabies today. Up till now the roadkill has mainly been cows.
Ingrid was first in and was quite chuffed with this achievement. A few people had a second breakfast here with Collis and Gareth opting for the big breakfast- it was huge. Found our first cane toad for the trip- it was a petrified black toad. Ugly bastards.
30 kms was the lunch stop but not many were hungry. We got a pleasant spot under a gumtree with Gang Gangs flying overhead. Jerry and Jane opted to head to the Hwy Inn and start a pub crawl rather than stop for lunch.
Arrive at Daly Waters at 1.30 pm to discover a Rodeo and Gymkana on here for the next 4 days. New toilets and showers built at Daly Waters. They were very nice but it was like a sauna after your shower before you could get out of the building.
Day 13: Renner Springs to Newcastle Waters plus some. (Bush Camp)
We got to Elliott for lunch and the Mobil service station is now a BP and this might explain why they weren't answering the phone. The pub has closed down. The town was looking even more dilapidated since our last visit so we're glad we changed our plans. Going that little bit further today will make tomorrow a shorter day. The group are looking a little flat at lunch and we're not sure why as they have had ideal riding conditions over the last week or so. It may be due to the fact that they haven't had a full rest day for a while as well. A couple of the riders seem amused that Collis isn't too sure exactly where we will camp tonight and not sure why. Lew is again worrying about the camp fire tonight.
We drove to Newcastle Waters rest area and it was already packed with caravans and backpackers. No thanks- nowhere to camp. So we went on in the cars to find the perfect spot. We found a road that led to the old Stuart Hwy- going up and down into waterholes and out again- we followed this until we were back on the new Hwy without any luck. All of the grass is sitting around waist or shoulder height. Eventually 10 km down the Hwy we found a drive into a station with an area just outside the fenceline which looked pretty good. There was a cleared area for the fire, plenty of firewood, privacy for toilets etc and flat areas to pitch their tents. Perfect!
As soon as Lew arrived he was going on about the fire again but he seemed to calm down when I informed him that we have a fire extinguisher in the car if needed. Dinner tonight was a lasagna (my first attempt in the dutch oven) and was quite successful. These riders seem to like all my cooking though and I am getting a little suspicious that they are just saying this out of politeness. Dessert was an apple cake (a little underdone) and custard. Nothing left of either dish. Some of us sat around playing Ghost while half the group went off to bed straight after dinner (around 7.30 pm). Jerry read us a new poem about the 2 NZ girls- I hope I can publish it here before we go to print.
Lovely night!
Day 12: Banka Banka to Renner Springs
Everyone had a little bit of a sleep in but not as much as we expected except for Jeanette who we ended up checking she was still in her tent because there had been no movement by 10 am. Jerry went and did a bit of a ride to get his mileage up for his charity and Mark and Kirsten went early as arranged. Some of the others were chumping at the bit to get on the road and so they left around 11 am. Gareth being the last to leave after patching 3 of his tyres (a good mornings work). It took them around 2 hours to do the 60 kms so everyone was in at Renner Springs by at least 2 pm.
Mark spent the afternoon fixing Kirsten's bike and did a really good job. It was a bigger job than expected but it is now going beautifully. Spotted Jeanette assisting Lew to put up his tent before then doing her own. Checked to see if Mark wanted his tent put up for him but he said no.
Everyone had dinner in the bar and a fairly early night. Renner Springs is quite a nice spot and the water is great to drink. We are camped next to the spring outlet which every so often starts trickling water. I wonder how many times I will have to get up during the night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)