Horsham laid on my first frosty morning of the trip followed by a stella day with little wind and no cloud. The ride was mostly on the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide which had a good shoulder for the most part but was not very relaxed with road trains and large stock units buffeting me frequently. I turned off at Nhill (no idea how the locals pronounce that one) heading inland and toward a desert. A hunting park not far out of town provided a fantastic place for the night that was quiet and secluded. Was a joy to just sit and enjoy the last part of the day with the birds in such a peaceful place.
A warm dry morning to pack up in was appreciated then as soon as I got on the road a local pulled over and warned me that heading this way meant dirt roads and rough country. I thanked him for taking the time to warn me but intended to carry on and see what I found. My main concern was water but not too far up the road I came across a derelict church with a water tank that had a tap and looked like good water. I filtered it anyway and felt ready to tackle whatever lay ahead. If it got too bad I could always retrace my steps.
Around 80km in I was faced with a choice – straight ahead onto a dirt road that was inches deep in red powder or turn left and head back out to the main road ~15km away. I chose the main road and met it at the Victoria/South Australia border. A very short time later I was met with billboards advising that no fruit or vegetables were allowed across the state line. This was quite a blow as I had stocked myself up with supplies in preparation for a few days in the wilderness 🙁
I took the hit as the fine would have been more expensive than what I lost and tootled in to Bordertown – just over 100km for the day which felt great.
It seemed sensible to stay a couple of nights here so I could rationalise a bit more of my gear that I was carrying for nought and sending it home. Bike maintenance, washing and relaxing seemed in order. The one big downside to this otherwise nice place is that the main road and railway run adjacent to the campground so is a noisy place.
Looking forward to running inland again to join up with my original route tomorrow – no dirt roads on the agenda though!
New audiobooks have been downloaded, bike shown some love and a sensible packing regime established. Nice that everything is starting to feel organised and planned rather than thrown together and hoping it works 🙂
I have been enjoying staying at the compgrounds as I get the chance to meet and chat with other travellers. The kitchen area is always the hub and was very surprised that this campgrounds kitchen looked like this:
