Woken this morning by the sounds of rumbling exhausts of my fellow riders departing for their respective homes or adventures and the sound of rain. Guess it had to happen eventually. Dudley, Smurfette and I are all packed up and we are off, waving to a few that are having breaky on the verandah of the roadhouse before leaving themselves.
Another spectacular performance by the clouds today. Before long I turn off to the lookout on the west side of the Bight. It’s all gravel as are most of the drives out this way and Dudley are I are becoming accustomed to this…..slowly. Rob & Lisa are also there with the same idea to get a few pics.
The views along the coastline are breathtaking and this morning was no exception…..even with the cloud and fog rolling in.
Anyway, time to go as my tummy is rumbling cos I haven’t had breakfast yet which is 180km away.
The plains out here are tireless. Empty, yet full, and you are forever on the watch for wildlife. This stretch was roos, wombats and camels….thankfully I haven’t seen any of them. Before long I approach another iconic sign……. The Nullabor Plain – Western End of a Treeless Plain. It’s true too, there are NO trees for the stretch of the plain which is approx. 10km only.
Just up the road is the Nullabor Roadhouse where I meet Rob and Lisa for breakfast. They have many more kays to tick off today and say hoo-roo while I take my time. When I finally emerge they are still in the carpark with Lisa’s bike apart. Lucky I carry tools and offered what they needed while they fixed the problem……that’s their story to tell. I wave hoo-roo this time and get on my way. Today I think I will be running the gauntlet with a storm front. Blue/grey skies, then rain, then wind and more wind and more wind, then rain and black clouds, then blue sky….the way of the outback.
Today I am stopping in Ceduna and as you can see it’s not far – 294 kays should be in for late lunch.
I never seem to get tired of the views though. When Mother Nature puts on a display like this – what more is there to say but WOW. This morning was tailwinds and now it’s cross winds and strong heading from the south. A bit annoying when the road train pass you….unlike previous days I am unable to slip through the wash and am copping a beating today.
Eyre Highway
What a surprise…it’s raining again…LOL. As you can see, it’s peak hour!
Just after 2pm and I arrive in Penong. Now I stopped for fuel here on the way over and missed the town attraction of the Biggest Windmill in Australia, so this time I stopped. No fuel this time as I’ll have just enough to get me through to Ceduna.
The Big Windmill is called Comet
I’m a bit worried about stopping here as the ground is sandy and the wind is blowing a gale and I hope Dudley doesn’t blow over.
Windmill Penong
From Penong it’s only 70kays to Ceduna and the wind has picked up some more. I’m running the options for accommodation in my head. I was originally going to camp at the Big 4, but when I asked the lady at the servo what the weather for tonight was – blustery winds (100kph) and storms, I decided to head to the friendly Ceduna Motor Inn again and see if Wally and Robyn had a spare room. On the outskirts of town I am blessed with a lovely rainbow!
rainbow in the field
Wally and Robyn and given me a lovely room and we are all tucked up nicely for the night. Late lunch of a Gags Roast and a stroll down to the Ceduna Jetty for a pic.
Off to dinner shortly and then an early night ready for another day on the road.
