Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 065 - Pine Creek to Katherine

Day:  065

Date: Friday, 04 September 2020

Start:  Pine Creek

Finish:  Katherine

Daily Kilometres:  91 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  6646

Weather:  Hot, sunny & breezy

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg & lettuce sandwich/Egg & cheese sandwich

  Lunch:  Chicken salad roll

  Dinner:  Tuna mornay/Beef pasta, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  A short day's ride, given the heat.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

With temperatures of 40°C and brisk (head) winds forecast, we were happy that our goal for the day, Katherine, was only 90km away.  We left Pine Creek at 6:30am and headed south on the Stuart Highway, pedalling in the opposite direction along the same road we had travelled two weeks ago.

Given that we cannot enter Western Australia, this is what we will be doing until we reach Daly Waters, 365km away.  All of that will be on the relatively busy Stuart Highway, and for much of today we were frequently checking our rearview mirrors for approaching road trains, taking evasive action when necessary.  There are not really any viable route alternatives, but that's OK.

We took a break in the shade of a roadside tree after 40km for breakfast, having enjoyed the cooler temperatures and lighter winds of our first two hours riding.  After breakfast, the heat rapidly increased, as did the strength of the headwind.  Although the elevation profile showed an undulating downward trend for the day, we could swear most of the time we were riding gradually uphill.  Nevertheless, we maintained a reasonable pace, probably due to the good surface and reasonable grades of the highway.  Both of us still felt tired in the legs from the exertions of a couple of days ago and are looking forward to a recovery day off tomorrow.

For our second, and last, break for the morning, we found some nice shade-giving trees just inside the gates of Charles Darwin University campus 17km north of Katherine.  Then, it was on to Katherine, where we arrived around noon, by which time it had become a very hot day.  We were too early to check in to our motel, so we bought some rolls for lunch from the small town mall and ate them in some shade in an adjacent park.

Around 1:30pm, we checked into our motel, giving plenty of time for the pool for Julie, and to get laundry done.  Later, we bought some food from the supermarket and microwaved dinner.

It has been a bit of a nothing day, after the action of the last two weeks, but you have to have those to get to the bigger attractions, and we still got to experience another bush dawn in the outback along with the tropical heat communities up here live with for much of the year.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 064 - Adelaide River to Pine Creek

Day:  064

Date: Thursday, 03 September 2020

Start:  Adelaide River crossing on Daly River Road

Finish:  Pine Creek

Daily Kilometres:  105 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  6555

Weather:  Hot, sunny and breezy

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Muesli

  Lunch:  Ham, cheese & tomato sandwich/Ham salad sandwich

  Dinner:  Slow-cooked lamb & vegetables/Chicken parmigiana & vegetables, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Finding the Emerald Springs Roadhouse open after 73km.  

Lowlight:  Finding the Hayes Creek Roadhouse closed after 51km.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We packed up and left our nice, if somewhat dusty, campsite a little before 7am, on a slightly misty morning with a large setting full moon visible to the west.  The Daly River Road was very quiet as we pedalled eastwards on the undulating road through hilly woodland.  When we turned to the south-east onto Dorat Road, there was even less traffic, and we had that feeling of riding along our own private bike path through the waking bush.  Magic.

The road became more hilly the further we went, and I soon felt yesterday's tired legs returning as we laboured up the hills.  Even a breakfast stop at the top of a long hill didn't refresh me much, and I was very glad we only had a relatively short day in prospect.  From breakfast, we had 12km until we rejoined the Stuart Highway, and on the map, 6km beyond that, was the Hayes Creek Roadhouse.  Even though I suspected it might be closed (from previous Googling), we fervently hoped it would be open so we could get some refreshing cold drinks.

Alas, when we got there it was closed, and we continued riding south-east on the hilly highway.  The headwind had increased as the sun rose, which made the riding hard.  Even downhill we had to pedal, which is a little demoralising.  I think one of the rules of Northern Territory cycling is that you can have either flies or a headwind.  You can't have both, nor can you have neither!

We had an unscheduled longish break at some roadworks where we had a chance to have a long chat with the young female Irish traffic controller.  We could hear the radio chatter for the roadworks crew while talking to her, and it all seemed a bit chaotic.  She said you wouldn't believe the abuse she received yesterday when she had to go back along the queuing vehicles to tell them that the wait would be 20 minutes.  When we were finally allowed to proceed, we had almost 3km of gradually uphill to negotiate through the roadworks, which we did as fast as our tired legs would let us, not wanting to hold up the waiting northbound traffic too much.

When we passed the closed Hayes Creek Roadhouse, we had seen a sign saying that the Emerald Creek Roadhouse was 22km ahead, but didn't want to get our hopes up.  There have been too many closed roadhouses in the NT for us to be confident it would be open.  Even when we got there, it looked dark and closed, despite an old "Open" sign outside, but it was indeed open.  It was just before noon, so we ordered some sandwiches and purchased very welcome drinks, all of which we consumed at an inside table in air-conditioned comfort on another hot day.

Revived by the food and drink, we rode the remaining hilly 32km, battling the headwind the whole way, and reached Pine Creek and our booked caravan park cabin around 2:15pm.  We were very pleased to arrive and enjoyed our showers, and a swim in the camp pool in Julie's case, and had time to relax.

Later we microwaved some dinner in the camp kitchen and had an early night.  Now that we are back in Pine Creek, we have completed a Northern Territory loop which included the Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks as well as Darwin.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 063 - Wangi Falls to Adelaide River

Day:  063

Date: Wednesday, 02 September 2020

Start:  Wangi Falls (Litchfield National Park)

Finish:  Adelaide River crossing on Daly River Road

Daily Kilometres:  87 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  6450

Weather:  Hot, humid & sunny

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Peanut butter & pita bread

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Soup, 2-minute noodles

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  It may have been the toughest 44km of our trip, and we spent a lot of time cursing the soft sand and flies, but the Reynolds River Track showed us a great cross-section of Litchfield National Park.  Being a 4WD track, there was no road verge and we felt very close to the surrounding bush.  Much of it was open woodland, with wallabies common, while at the river crossings, it was jungle-like.  Elsewhere, there were open treeless plains dotted with tombstone-like magnetic termite mounds resembling vast graveyards.  The magnetic termite mounds are like large wings or fins, all aligned south-to-north to maintain even temperatures for the termites inside.  And of course, we spent a magic and refreshing hour or so at the Surprise Creek Falls plunge pools along the way.

Lowlight:  The flies were in plague proportions along the Reynolds River Track.  They were constantly landing on our faces or crawling across the front or inside of our glasses.  March flies were biting us on our exposed skin and even through our clothing.  I got many bites through the back of my cycling gloves.  Julie was losing her cool (not often seen).

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left the campsite a little before 7am, and rode about 6km down the Litchfield Park Road to the start of the Reynolds River Track.  Once again, we had a choice between going a slightly longer route, with sealed road all of the way and passing through some small towns, or taking the 44km 4WD track and back roads (sealed) with no towns until tomorrow night.  We took the 4WD track, but after striking a lot of soft sand in the first kilometre, the thought of returning to the sealed road and going the other way, certainly crossed our minds.  But we persevered, and although the cycling was never easy, there were long sections where we could ride so long as we didn't mind corrugations or rocks, but our speed was very slow.  We had to ford a couple of rivers, one of which involved about 50 metres of wading, but they were knee-deep at worst and clear enough for crocodiles not to be an issue.  Elsewhere, there were long and short sections of soft sand where we had to dismount and walk.  I fell off twice when suddenly hitting soft sand and was covered in sand/dirt by the end of the day.

We detoured off the track a short distance to Surprise Creek Falls at lunchtime, which included wheeling the bikes some distance along a walking track to the first plunge pool. On the advice of a couple just leaving as we arrived, we scrambled up some rocks to get to the top pool, which we had to ourselves, and went for a well-earned refreshing swim (in our cycling gear).  After that, we found a shaded spot next to the pool and ate our lunch.

By the time we hiked back out to the track, we were ready for another swim.  It was another 38C day, with humidity, and most of the time there was no shade.  Under constant assault from the flies (see above), and frequently dismounting to drag our heavy bikes through soft sand was totally exhausting.  Just getting off and on the bikes so often was a work-out.  By the time we finally reached the sealed Daly River Road at the end of the track, both of us were dog-tired, with Julie announcing she had "got nothing" left.

From there we set off on the final 34km of the day, aiming for where the road crossed the Adelaide River, which we believed would be our best chance of finding water.   After a few kilometres along the undulating road, the tables were turned, and I hit the wall, totally running out of energy.  I could barely get up the hills and had to have several short breaks.  Julie had to keep stopping and waiting for me.

We finally reached the Adelaide River, which had plenty of dark deep water under the bridge, and took a dirt track into an adjacent area where we found a place to camp.  We were the only people there, though it had obviously been used for camping in the past.  After setting up our tent, we walked into the forest bordering the river aiming for the sound of running water.  Though I wouldn't have been keen to have a wash in the river we saw from the bridge, I thought we should be safe where water was running over rocks, and so it was.  We found a little pool with a sandy bottom amidst the jungle-like vegetation where we took it in turns to have a good wash, and topped up our water bottles from a small chute (upstream!).

Back at camp, we cooked dinner and were soon smearing insect repellent over our freshly washed bodies to ward off the mosquitoes.  I was still feeling completely exhausted, and was quickly into bed after eating and went to sleep without updating my blog, a very rare occurrence.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 062 - Darwin to Wangi Falls

Day:  062

Date: Tuesday, 01 September 2020

Start:  Darwin

Finish:  Wangi Falls (Litchfield National Park)

Daily Kilometres:  129 (click for Julie's Strava and photos and here for our walk)

Total Kilometres:  6363

Weather:  Hot, humid, breezy and mostly sunny

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg & baxon sandwiches

  Lunch:  Ham, cheese & tomato sandwich/Chicken, cheese & coleslaw sandwich

  Dinner:  Soup, macaroni cheese

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  At the end of a long hot day, our swim in the plunge pool at the base of Wangi Falls was very welcome.  The water, while not cold, was beautifully refreshing, and floating around beneath the majestic falls surrounded by rainforest was just magic.

Lowlight:  Our morning ride south along the Cox Peninsula Road, though scenic and quiet, gradually became tougher as the south-easterly breeze strengthened.  It was hard work in hot humid weather and we were very glad when we turned south-west on Litchfield Park Road and life became much easier.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our destination for the day was Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park, and there were two ways to get there.  We could retrace our steps out of Darwin and then go via Batchelor with sealed road the whole way, or we could catch a ferry from Darwin across to Mandorah and then ride down the Cox Peninsula and come in to the Park the back way, knowing we would have to deal with gravel road of unknown quality and length (but less than 25km).

In the end, we opted for the back way and left our hotel at 5:50am with the goal of catching the 6:30am ferry from Cullen Bay, 3km away, with a stop to buy sandwiches for breakfast and lunch at a 24-hour service station en route.  Getting the heavy bikes onto, and especially off, the ferry was challenging, with the latter requiring dragging them up several flights of steps (as we were struggling up, the ferry skipper, who was leaning out of the bridge and enjoying the show, helpfully commented that we were lucky it wasn't low tide).  The ferry trip itself, only took 20 minutes, but gave us a spectacular look at the harbour and coastline as the sun rose.

From the ferry we rode south down the Cox Peninsula through quite beautiful tropical woodland, which was very green in places, and into a growing headwind.  At our breakfast break by the road at 8:30am, we both commented on how humid it felt, and hoped that, as we got further from the coast, it would diminish.  After breakfast, it was another 25km to the Litchfield Park Road turnoff, and those kilometres were very hard into the growing wind on the undulating road (see above).

Once on the Litchfield Park Road, the riding became much easier and very pleasant, as the undulating road wound through pretty woodland and past rocky outcrops.  We were waiting for the road to turn to gravel, and it eventually did as we approached the Finnis River crossing.  For 12km we were on an occasionally rough gravel road paralleling some major road construction.  It was evident that if we had been a year later the whole road would have been sealed, but as it was we were happy with just 12km and it was over fairly quickly.

At our lunch stop, I told Julie I had read there was a kiosk at Wangi Falls that supposedly closed at 2pm or 2:30pm, I couldn't remember which.  With 24km to go, we might just make it in time to score an ice-cream and/or cold drink.  By this time our water and drinks were all at least air temperature, 38C, so that had a lot of appeal.  Despite one granny gear climb, and with the aid of some focused effort, we reached the kiosk at 2:15 to find it still open, though in the process of closing.  We really enjoyed those ice-creams and cold drinks, as we sat on a bench in the shade listening to the unseen Wangi Falls a short distance away, and knowing our riding for the day was done.

We then found a campsite in the nearby campground, set up our tent and walked 300m to the large and inviting plunge pool at the base of the falls.  First, though, we decided to take a short walk to a viewing platform and ended up doing the full 1.7km loop walk that took us up onto the arid plateau through lovely dark rainforest (smelling of bats) and across the top of the falls.  After descending the other side, we went for an overdue and very welcome swim (see above).

We dried by sitting in the sun, and then returned to camp and had dinner, occasionally chatting to two touring motorcyclists camped nearby.  There was a wi-fi hotspot in the falls picnic area set up by the NT government (to gather demographic details of tourists who login) this afternoon, and I wandered over there in the hope of posting this blog update before having an early night.  Alas, it had been removed.  We expect to be roadside camping tomorrow night, so are very unlikely to have internet access again.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 061 - Darwin

Day:  061

Date: Monday, 31 August 2020

Start:  Darwin

Finish:  Darwin

Daily Kilometres:  0 (click here for Julie's Strava and photos from our walk)

Total Kilometres:  6234

Weather:  Hot and mostly sunny

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Scambled eggs on toast

  Lunch:  Egg salad sandwich/Chicken salad sandwich

  Dinner:  Bangers & mash/Pork belly with watermelon salad, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Our morning walk around Darwin (see below)

Lowlight:  We were formally notified that our request to enter Western Australia (WA) has been refused.  Not unexpected, but disappointing neverthess.  The issue of opening state borders has become very political in Australia.  It's particularly hard to see why people who for the last three weeks have been in the Northern Territory (NT), which has had zero COVID-19 community transmission for months, would not be allowed into WA.  We are allowed into South Australia (SA), so we'll be heading in that direction now.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We slept in late, then had breakfast in a cafe opposite our hotel, before taking a long walk around through the attractive Bicentennial Park which borders the city on one side and overlooks Darwin Harbour on the other.  It was hot and humid, but lovely shady trees and breeze made it quite pleasant.  Along the way were various memorials and explanations about the Japanese attack on Darwin during WW2, and subsequent local military activities, as well as other information about Darwin's history and geography.

At the southern end of the park we continued walking around the foreshore until we reached the attractively developed Waterfront Precinct, which had a small beach and protected swimming area surrounded by parkland and restaurants.  Nearby was a wave pool for the more adventurous.  Plenty of people were sunbaking and a smaller number swimming.

Everywhere we walked in Darwin, we saw orange electric scooters, both parked and ridden.  Apparently, they are part of a 12-month trial by the city.  By casual observation, they are a great success, being used by all ages and genders.

From the Waterfront Precinct, we walked back to our hotel via the Smith Street Mall, stopping for lunch at an alley cafe along the way.  Later, Julie returned to the beach for a swim and sunbake, while I spent a few hours fruitlessly grappling with Facebook to reinstate my account.

In the evening, we had a nice dinner at a downtown pub, enlivened by the arrival of the local Hash House Harriers (a very fit-looking group …. not!) for a hydration stop, and then purchased the last of our supplies for the next three days, during which we are unlikely to see a store, or have internet access.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 060 - Mary River to Darwin

Day:  060

Date: Sunday, 30 August 2020

Start:  Mary River Wilderness Retreat

Finish:  Darwin

Daily Kilometres:  117 (click for Julie's Strava and photos and click here for her Strava and photos from our walk)

Total Kilometres:  6234

Weather:  Sunny, hot and breezy

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg, bacon & tomato roll

  Lunch:  Chicken & bacon melt sub

  Dinner:  Pad Thai, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Reaching Darwin, which is a major milestone, and the northernmost point in our travels.

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left the campground at 6:30am, just as it was getting light enough to ride without lights and headed west towards Darwin, crossing the quiet Mary River almost immediately.  The first kilometres were through the scenic Mary River National Park, winding between low forested hills in the early light, after which the country opened out and became flatter.

We reached the Corroboree Park Tavern roadhouse after 25km and just over an hour, and enjoyed breakfast at a table on their shaded verandah.  From there, we rode into Darwin's rural area, where there were more signs of civilisation (and more traffic), cattle grazing and mango orchards.  The road was flattish and we had a nice following wind for much of the time, so the kilometres were passed easily.  We crossed the wide Adelaide River floodplains then the Adelaide River itself, and before we knew it had rejoined the Stuart Highway and the final run into Darwin along the busy road.

We stopped at a camping store in Palmerston in late morning to get a few things and then again, 10km later, at a Subway to get some lunch.  Although it was very warm, I was still surprised when Julie (the girl who loves warm weather), suggested sitting inside in the air-conditioning rather than on the shaded verandah outside!

After lunch we found a bike path paralleling the Stuart Highway and followed that into the centre of Darwin, stopping at a carwash en route to wash the worst of the caked red dust off our bikes in case our booked city centre hotel balked at storing them or letting us keep them in our room.  We reached the hotel (best value accommodation of the trip so far - 4.5 stars and $81pn) soon after 2pm and checked in.  I persuaded the receptionist that the bikes were clean and not too big, and she agreed to let us keep them in our room.  We took them up one-by-one in the small lift.  Julie then went for a swim and caught up on some phone calls while I spent time formally applying for an entry permit into Western Australia in ten days time.  I'm not optimistic.

Soon after 5pm, we walked north from town for 3km to Mindil Beach and the famous Sunday sunset markets.  It was packed with a very multicultural mix of all ages enjoying the spectacular sunset from the beach (made more so by bushfire smoke in the far sky) and/or some of the delicious food from the large range of cuisines on offer at the stalls.  Many were enjoying the music provided by a band and others were browsing the craft stalls, though there weren't many of those.  Social distancing seemed to be a thing of the past.  We bought some Asian food for dinner and ate it on the beach, before a final look around the stalls and a walk back to the hotel.  A very pleasant and relaxing evening.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 059 - Jabiru to Mary River

Day:  059

Date: Saturday, 29 August 2020

Start:  Jabiru

Finish:  Mary River Wilderness Retreat

Daily Kilometres:  141 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  6117

Weather:  Hot, sunny and breezy

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Peanut butter & pita bread

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Soup, macaroni cheese, ice-cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  As we neared the South Alligator River around 9am, but sometime before we reached it, we could smell its damp swampy aroma, and then, suddenly, the forest ended and we were crossing its vast, mostly treeless, floodplain.  The river itself, which was bordered by trees, was wide, opaque green, and flowing strongly northwards.  We had a look for crocodiles, but couldn't see any, though there were some clear tracks up the muddy bank into the undergrowth in one place.  It was interesting to see the same river we had taken our Yellow River sunset cruise on two days ago, completely transformed as it neared the sea.

Lowlight:  The only two roadhouses along our route today were closed because of COVID-19.  We weren't counting on them being open, but it would have given us some cold drinks and food options on another hot day's ride.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Having had another late night, by our standards, we slept in a little and didn't leave our Jabiru campground until 7:15am.  Our goal for the day was the Mary River Wilderness Retreat, 140km to the west along the Arnhem Highway, and we were hopeful that at least one roadhouse along the way, the one where we hoped to buy breakfast, would be open.

Most of the first two hours riding was through dry woodland, with the occasional dried up creek crossings, and a couple of recently burned sections which we could see (and smell), two of which were still smoldering close to the road.  Later in the day, when we looked back along the highway, we could see a plume of smoke rising on the horizon.  Maybe the fires we had passed were worsening.

We reached the South Alligator River (see above) around 9am, and a couple of kilometres further on, the South Alligator Roadhouse.  It was disappointingly closed, though was clearly still being looked after, with sprinklers watering nice lawns outside.  We had been hoping to buy some breakfast, and maybe lunch to take with us, but settled for a break on the grass in the shade.  While we rested, the roadhouse owner came by and had a chat, telling us he planned to reopen soon (but too late for us!).

Back on the road it had become hot with a fickle wind that was mostly from behind or across, but occasionally against.  The roadside was cleared of vegetation for a good margin on either side, meaning there was zero shade, and we baked as we rode, going through our fluids quickly.  Along the way, we exited Kakadu National Park, marking the end of a superb visit.

Fortunately, despite the conditions, we were making good time on the relatively quiet undulating road, and after a couple of routine breaks, and one more closed roadhouse, we reached the Mary River Wilderness Retreat around 3pm.  We toyed with the idea of riding a further 25km to another roadhouse with camping and cabins (would have phoned first to make sure it was open!), but we were hot and tired and decided this was far enough.

We checked in, asking whether they had any cabins available (they did not), and settled for a grassy tent site.  The place is a little upmarket, and quite busy (Julie was told by another guest that Northern Territory (NT) residents are eligible for a $200 matching government grant for money spent on NT tourism, which may explain it), with spacious lawns, recreation facilities, bar and bistro, and bordering the Mary River, another we had crossed upstream in Kakadu when it was just a creek.

We were early enough to do laundry and for Julie to have a dip in the pool before microwaved dinner in the camp kitchen and a welcome earlier night.