Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 050 - Daly Waters to Mataranka

Day:  050

Date: Thursday, 20 August 2020

Start:  Daly Waters

Finish:  Mataranka Homestead

Daily Kilometres:  177 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  5395

Weather:  Mild early then sunny and hot

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Ham, cheese & pickle sandwiches

  Lunch:  Corned beef & pickle sandwiches

  Dinner:  Chicken parmigiana, salad & chips

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  We began riding at 4:45am because we had many kilometres in front of us and a hot day was forecast.  It was exhilarating, cruising along in the dark beneath a brilliantly starry sky, the smells and sounds of the unseen bush beside us, and only two vehicles encountered in the first 40km.  This was despite now being on the Stuart Highway, the main route between Adelaide and Darwin.  As it gradually became light in the east, the savannah woodland turned from silhouette to dull orange, then muted greens and yellows before finally being fully illuminated by the sun.  A very special first few hours.

Lowlight:  In Mataranka in the early afternoon, many of the local indigenous population, predominantly youngish, were gathering and chatting in the park where we were having a break.  A number were heading for the nearby bush carrying cartons of beer.  I can't believe there are many employment opportunities locally, so it makes me sad to think about what the future holds for these people.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our goal for today was the Mataranka Homestead resort, 177km away, where we will have a day off tomorrow to visit some local attractions.  The resort, so far as we knew, has no store and is 9km from the very small town of Mataranka on a side road.  To avoid having to buy all of our meals and drinks at the resort's cafe and bar, which would likely be expensive, we wanted to buy some food and drink at the small supermarket in town before riding out to the resort.  According to Google, the supermarket would close at 5pm, so we needed to make sure we got there in plenty of time on a day forecast to be very hot.  All this long preamble is to explain why we decided to get up at 4am and be on the road by 4:45am this morning.  It would allow us to cover a good distance before the heat set in, and give us some buffer time to get to Mataranka before supermarket closing time.

It proved to be a good decision.  The early riding was enjoyable (see above) and we made good time.  We didn't take a break until we had covered 53km, when we stopped in a roadside rest area and had breakfast around 7am.  It was already warming up.  We decided to capitalise on our good start by riding the next 41km without a break to the hamlet of Larrimah, where we might, or might not, be able to get some morning tea.  We were in luck, and found Fran's Tea House, now run by her grandson, open for business.  Scones with fresh cream and jam were ordered and eaten with relish, along with the obligatory cold Diet Coke, before we set off into the heat, hoping to cover the remaining 75km to Mataranka in two hops.

After 39km, we found another conveniently-located highway rest stop for lunch and then rode the last undulating 36km to Mataranka under a withering sun, arriving around 1:30pm.  We celebrated our achievement by buying an ice-cream, along with a cold drink, in the supermarket and ate it on the grassy lawn in the park opposite near a giant termite mound.  

After our celebratory ice-cream, we bought food and drink to help keep our costs down while at the resort, loaded up our bikes and rode the 9km to the resort, arriving around 2:45pm.  We checked in, and Julie went for a swim in the nearby thermal pools, while I showered and did some chores.  Like most of the out-of-the-way places we have visited - roadhouses, resorts, stores, campgrounds - this resort seems to be staffed largely by efficient and friendly young foreign backpackers who must have decided to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

Later, we went to the cafe and bought dinner, eating it in their large covered al fresco area, fans whirring above, on a beautiful balmy tropical evening, well-satisfied with our day's work and looking forward to tomorrow's activities and a day off cycling.