Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 071 - Renner Springs to Tennant Creek

Day:  071

Date: Thursday, 10 September 2020

Start:  Renner Springs

Finish:  Tennant Creek

Daily Kilometres:  160 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  7334

Weather:  Hot, sunny and windy

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Trail mix, cheese & tomato sandwich

  Lunch:  Toasted ham, cheese & tomato sandwich/Toasted chicken, cheese & tomato sandwich

  Dinner:  Pizza, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  In hot conditions in mid-morning, the same young Irish guy who stopped and gave us ice cold drinks yesterday, once again stopped and gave us ice cold drinks.  This time he was travelling in the opposite direction, back to Darwin from a job he had in Tennant Creek yesterday, and said he did a bit of cycling in Ireland and was full of admiration for what we were doing.

Lowlight:  The wind again.  I didn't think it was as bad today as in the previous three days, swinging to be more of a cross-wind for long periods from late morning.  But it wasn't "cross" enough for Julie, who reckoned it was still making life tough.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a long day in front of us, 160km to Tennant Creek, and uncertain of how unfavourable the wind would be, we left in the dark, soon after 5am.  As we walked from our room to the road, the Greyhound bus was just pulling out of the roadhouse on its way to Darwin from Alice Springs.  We've seen it an hour or two earlier each day as we've travelled south, but it will be too early for us tomorrow in Tennant Creek.

The sky was star-filled and the temperature mild as we pedalled south on the very quiet road in calm conditions.  We were intent on making as many kilometres as we could before the wind picked up and had covered 50km before stopping by the road for breakfast, having witnessed yet another fantastic bush dawn.  The Threeways Roadhouse was another 85km further on and we planned to have a late lunch there, so broke the remaining distance into three sections with breaks in between.

The countryside was undulating and scrubby with the road descending to cross dry creek beds and then gradually climbing back up onto the tablelands.  In some places there were rocky bluffs and escarpments and everywhere the soil and rocks were dark red in colour.  In late morning, what had been a mild headwind seemed to swing round to become a crosswind and our speed improved, though we still suffered whenever the road swung to the left (east).

We reached the Threeways roadhouse around 1:30pm and enjoyed our toasted sandwich lunch in air-conditioned comfort inside.  When we emerged for our last leg to Tennant Creek, the heat was palpable, and for the first ten kilometres the headwind returned, making the riding very difficult, but then the road began to swing more to the right and the wind was neutralised somewhat.  The last 5km into town involved à steady climb through a low gap in an arid range of hills, and we were very happy to finally roll into Tennant Creek at 3:30pm and check into our caravan park, selected because it is close to the temporary supermarket set up in a shed behind the adjacent roadhouse after the main supermarket in town burnt down recently.

After showers we went for a walk through the town, which was somewhat depressing.  Crime is obviously an issue, with many boarded up buildings and grim steel mesh protecting all operating businesses.  We think Thursday must be pay day, and there were queues outside of the pub with police checking the IDs of all seeking entry.  Many other locals were just lounging around in the street.  It is sad to see, and makes me realise what a fortunate life I have had, and how lucky I was to be born when and where I was.

After cooking frozen pizza for dinner in our cabin, we really enjoyed sharing a tub of ice cream.  We are both tired and dehydrated after our day's effort and are looking forward to a good night's sleep before battling the elements again tomorrow. 

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 070 - Elliott to Renner Springs

Day:  070

Date: Wednesday, 09 September 2020

Start:  Stuart Highway, 10km south of Elliott

Finish:  Renner Springs

Daily Kilometres:  80 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  7174

Weather:  Hot, sunny & windy

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Shortbread cream biscuits

  Lunch:  Toasted ham, cheese & tomato sandwich & chips/Hamburger & chips

  Dinner:  Rissoles, salad & chips, chocolate

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  In mid-morning, in the middle of nowhere in hot blustery conditions, a vehicle pulled over to the side of the road in front of us and the driver, a young Irish guy travelling on his own, handed us two ice cold bottles of Powerade.  After we thanked him, he drove off and we quickly downed the beautifully cold, refreshing and very welcome drinks.

Lowlight:  When I spotted a shady tree at the top of a hill for our breakfast break and stopped, Julie was so focused on pedalling up the hill into the wind that she rode right past me without noticing I was there (was it deliberate?).

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We only had 80km to go to from where we were camped to Renner Springs, where I had booked a motel room, so didn't feel like a super-early start was required.  We got up at 6:15am and were riding by 7:15am in relatively cool conditions with a light cross/headwind.  At times during the night the wind had been very strong, so we were happy it had abated.

The road gradually climbed up onto the Barkly Tableland, where vegetation was more scrubby, the ground more rocky, and there were fewer, and smaller, trees.  The more open undulating country allowed us a clearer view across its vastness.  In particular, we knew the Barkly Tablelands stretched hundreds of kilometres to the east, all looking much the same.

I know it's boring to keep talking about the wind, but it has been a constant in our cycling lives for the last three days, and today was no different with the velocity of the south-easterly increasing as the day wore on.  We never seemed to get a break and the ever-present sound of the rushing wind in our ears added another dimension to the physical strain.

We had toyed with the idea of having just one break during our ride, but the conditions were tough and we were happy to stop for breakfast by the road after 30km (see above).  On the next 30km leg, we were lucky enough to have a passing driver give us some cold drinks (see above) along the way, but it was still a grind and we were again happy to stop for our next break.

The last leg to Renner Springs was only 20km, and although one short downhill was actually steep enough to require no pedalling for a hundred metres, the rest of it was a battle against the very strong wind.  We reached the roadhouse at Renner Springs, which has a sort of edge-of-the-world feel to it, around 12:30pm.  The cheery clerk could not find our booking or work out which room we had been allocated, so we happily ordered and ate our lunch until there was a shift change and the incoming clerk sorted things out.  Our budget room is very budget, though not budget-priced, but beggars can't be choosers and we are happy to be out of the wind and heat.

We used the afternoon to relax watching TV and do our laundry.  Sadly, there is no internet available unless you are an Optus customer, and as luck would have it, Julie switched from Optus to Telstra in Katherine four days ago!  We had dinner at the roadhouse at 6pm, entertained by the proprietor who was keen to sell us a car for the rest of our journey (I think he had had a good day …. when we arrived, the health inspectors were going through the place and apparently they got a clean bill of health), and had an early night, hoping the winds will drop tomorrow. 

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 069 - Daly Waters to Elliott

Day:  069

Date: Tuesday, 08 September 2020

Start:  Day Waters

Finish:  Stuart Highway, 10km south of Elliott

Daily Kilometres:  165 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  7094

Weather:  Hot, sunny & windy

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Toasted egg & bacon sandwiches

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese sandwiches

  Dinner:  Ham salad sandwiches, vanilla slices

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  The first couple of hours riding south of Daly Waters were beautiful.  Usually, if possible, I like to listen to news and current affairs programs on my radio in the mornings, but in the outback that's not possible unless you are near a town.  Instead, this morning as I watched the sun light up the surrounding woodland, I was listening to Spotify's All Out 60s playlist, and singing along to the Bee Gees "Massachusetts", a song I distinctly remember listening to while on a cycling camping trip in my mid-teens in Belgium and Luxembourg with a South African schoolmate (where are you now, Charles Hodges?).  Very nostalgic.  To cap it off, a short time later, a pair of galahs flew along the road with me for a while, just a little in front of, and slightly above, my head, as though we were a formation travelling to the same destination.  Magic.

Lowlight:  I hadn't booked accommodation in Elliott, our destination for the day, because according to Google there were a couple of options, a caravan park and a pub, and worst case, we could just camp at the caravan park if they had no cabins.  Elliott is not a tourist destination, just a small aboriginal settlement in the middle of nowhere, so unlikely to be booked out.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at 3pm, hot and tired, we found the caravan park closed (plumbing problem) and the pub not offering accommodation.  Bummer!  (The caravan park/store manager wasn't very helpful.  The caravan park was right behind the store and small service station where there was a functioning toilet and potable water. Knowing we were on bikes and that it was 92km to the next town, you would have thought he could have let us camp in a corner somewhere out of sight.)

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left the Daly Waters Pub motel at 5:45am, a time calculated to have us arrive at the Hi-Way Inn Roadhouse, 8km away, just after its opening time of 6am.  We weren't the only ones to have timed our arrival there.  It was busy with various workers picking up breakfast and coffee, and a number of road trains that were idling or parked nearby.  We picked up supplies for the day, paying the young Asian backpacker clerk who remembered us from when we passed through three weeks ago on our way north.

Heading south from the roadhouse, the riding conditions were perfect.  Light enough to see easily, and cool and calm.  The early morning riding is always the best, and this morning was no exception (see above).  After 44km, we reached Dunmarra Roadhouse, which we hadn't been willing to count on for supplies (based on distant memory and Google), and bought some breakfast which we ate sitting on their shady verandah watching the world go by.  The roadhouse was fine, but clearly not a truckie favourite.  Just a few locals and other travellers called in while we were there.

We continued south, with just over 100km to go to our destination, Elliott, passing through wooded grazing land in a growing and fickle head/crosswind and increasing heat.  After an hour or so, a car towing a caravan pulled over to the side of the road in front of us, and a couple Julie had met in the Daly Waters Pub swimming pool the previous evening offered us cold water and fruit, which we gratefully accepted.

The riding became harder as the morning progressed.  The countryside became more open and scrubby, exposing us to the wind.  Although there wasn't really much net elevation change, we seemed to be perennially riding uphill.  There was always a crest in front of us, which when reached, revealed another crest to be conquered.  In reality, we were gradually descending after each crest, but the wind was such that we always seemed to be pedalling uphill.  For the last 30km to Elliott, after our lunch break, it was really tough with a gusty south-easterly wind almost bringing us to a standstill at times as we pedalled south.

Eventually, we reached Elliott only to find there was nowhere for us to stay (see above).  We bought some cold drinks and an ice-cream from the store which we consumed at a nearby shaded picnic table while we worked out what to do.  Since we were both hot and tired and the wind was still blowing, we decided to hang around in the shade for a few hours, have an early dinner, sourced from the store, get enough supplies for tomorrow's relatively short journey, and then ride up the road for an hour or so and find a place to camp in the scrub.

And that's what we did.  We killed an hour or two in the shade, ate our sandwich dinner at the picnic table at 5:30pm, and then rode out of town at 6pm into a still strong wind.  After about 10km of fruitlessly looking for a side road/track that might help us get off the road, and as the sun was setting, we eventually just walked into the bush about 100 metres from the road to a place where we could erect the tent and not be obvious.  We put up the tent, had a quick wash as the mosquitoes were attacking, and got into the tent for an early night.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 068 - Mataranka to Daly Waters

Day:  068

Date: Monday, 07 September 2020

Start:  Mataranka

Finish:  Daly Waters

Daily Kilometres:  168 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  6929

Weather:  Hot! Damned hot! (and sunny and windy)

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Bread rolls & apricot jam

  Lunch:  Bread rolls & apricot jam/peanut butter

  Dinner:  Bangers & mash/Beef schnitzel, chips & salad, ice-creams

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Riding out of Mataranka by moonlight in cool and calm conditions to the sound of waking birdlife in the trees along the road.

Lowlight:  The wind wasn't as bad as yesterday, but still made life difficult at times.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

With a long day ahead of us, we got up at 4:30am and were on the moonlit road about 5:20am.  There was no sign of the sunrise, but there were plenty of birds singing in the trees as we pedalled out of Mataranka.  Our plan was to ride 37km to a rest stop where we would have breakfast, but when we got there the only table was occupied by campervan driver, so we continued on a little further and found a spot by the road.

Our next stop was Fran's Tea House in Larrimah, 40km later, where we had fresh scones, jam and cream for morning tea.  We had stopped here on our way north three weeks ago, and Fran's grandson, who is running the place, was very happy to see us again.  We had a nice chat and the scones were excellent.

It was heating up by the time we left at 10am, with 93km to go to Daly Waters, our goal for the day.  We put our heads down and just got on with it, taking two further breaks along the way.  The wind was either against us or across us, and the heat seemed to radiate up from the road as well as beating down from above.  For almost the entire day, the vegetation on both sides of the road was arid woodland, and although there were a couple of roads signposted for cattle stations, I didn't see any cattle (but Julie says she did).  The endless woodland likely continued for many kilometres to our left and right, emphasising the vastness of the country.  The traffic was predominantly caravans and campervans, with a sprinking of road trains and other vehicles, but it wasn't busy.  One couple in a vehicle slowed and drove alongside Julie for a while chatting through the passenger window.

At 3:30pm, we finally arrived at the historic (1930, so not that historic) Daly Waters Pub which has turned itself into an outback tourist attraction (there's not really anything here apart from the pub and its associated caravan park and other accommodation).  We went to the bar and checked into our motel room which was in an adjacent building.  We were both hot and tired and Julie quickly headed for the nearby pool, while I chose to shower and watch some TV current affairs in our air-conditioned room.

We went to the pub for dinner, along with everybody else staying here.  It was all a bit cute, with humorous risqué signs everywhere and collections of bras, number plates, hats, thongs, etc, inside, but it had atmosphere, and the live entertainment and food was excellent, so it was a good night.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 067 - Katherine to Mataranka

Day:  067

Date: Sunday, 06 September 2020

Start:  Katherine

Finish:  Mataranka

Daily Kilometres:  115 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  6761

Weather:  Hot, sunny and windy

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Chicken, bacon & avocado sandwiches

  Lunch:  Pie/Sausage roll, chocolate brownies

  Dinner:  Tuna mornay/Veal cordon bleu & vegetables, custard slice

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  A refreshing swim (even though the water temperature was 33°C) at the Bitter Springs thermal pools in mid-afternoon.

Lowlight:  The relentless south-easterly wind that sprang up around 7:30am and persisted until we reached Mataranka which was, of course, in a south-easterly direction.  It was not lost on us that if we had turned towards Western Australia from Katherine, as originally intended, it would have been a very nice tailwind.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It was another day for which the weather forecast included heat and headwinds, so we left early (6am) in the hope of avoiding at least some of both.  However, by 7:30am, the wind was already a factor and cycling required constant applied effort, with no chances to roll and get a rest.  We didn't have a long day in prospect, just 106km to Mataranka, so decided to aim for the only highway rest stop on our route, 46km from Katherine for our breakfast break.

We got there about 8:15am, which wasn't bad considering the wind, and headed for the only unoccupied (of two) shaded picnic table for breakfast, only to see a couple emerge from a caravan and take it as we rode in.  Instead, we sat at a picnic table in the sun nearby and ended up chatting to them while we ate.  They were from Lara, near Geelong, on their way home from a few months in Darwin to COVID-19 Stage 3 lockdown in Victoria.

After breakfast, we only had 60km to go, and took another break halfway. The wind dominated our ride and it was hard to appreciate the arid woodland and birdlife alongside us, though we continued to average faster than 20kph.  I think our endurance has improved and we can tolerate adverse conditions for longer.  It's the same with the heat, which has become a constant in our cycling lives up here, but does not really slow us down these days.  (I shaved my head during our day off in Katherine, and I have distinct brown stripes on my skull from where the sun comes through the ventilation gaps in my bike helmet.)

We rolled into Mataranka at 12:30pm and checked into the roadhouse where we had booked a cabin.  We were early, and it wasn't ready, so we ate lunch on the roadhouse's shady verandah before going to the now-ready cabin.  There, we unloaded our bikes and changed into our swimming gear before riding 3km to the Bitter Springs thermal pools in Elsey National Park.  When we were in Mataranka just over two weeks ago, we stayed near the Mataranka thermal pools in a different part of the park, so this time we decided to visit the other local pools.  They were exotic and beautiful, with warm clear water flowing from the artesian basin below to form the Little Roper River, a mostly sandy-bottomed channel through the tropical vegetation.  After cycling slowly around a short loop trail we locked the bikes and swam slowly down the channel.  Mostly, the water depth was over our heads, and the majority of other swimmers were using noodles for buoyancy.  It was an idyllic scene and very welcome after our labours of the morning.

We returned to our cabin in time for me to watch my team win an AFL game on TV, to cap an excellent afternoon.  Later, we bought microwaveable dinner along with supplies for tomorrow from the roadhouse and will have another early night, ready for another day of forecast heat and headwinds.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 066 - Katherine

Day:  066

Date: Saturday, 05 September 2020

Start:  Katherine

Finish:  Katherine 

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

Total Kilometres:  6646

Weather:  Hot and sunny

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Cooked breakfast

  Lunch:  Egg & lettuce sandwich/Chicken salad roll, frozen mango

  Dinner:  Curried sausages & vegetables/Beef & bacon pasta, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  The Katherine thermal pools (see below)

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

With a day off in prospect, we slept in then walked over to the motel restaurant at 7:30am for a treat - a cooked buffet breakfast.  Energised (well, sort of), we then set out to walk the 4km to the Katherine thermal pools on the other side of town via the river walk, a long scenic path along the Katherine River on the north side of town.  The river itself wasn't visible, but the treed valley was full of birdlife and the walk surrounds were well maintained, though everything was extremely dry.  There was even a small grass fire being put out by the local fire brigade in one place.  The path also passed two interesting heritage buildings that dated from WW2 when they were built as officers' messes.

The thermal pools were also very well maintained, with clear warmish water running in a narrow channel between a series of pools, of varying depths, surrounded by jungle-like vegetation.  Although there were a score or more of people in the pools, it wasn't at all crowded, and Julie joined them while I enjoyed the shade.  Adjacent to, and above, the pools, there was a beautiful grassed park area and a mobile cafe busy with people chatting over Saturday brunch at tables beneath the trees.  A very pleasant scene.

From the pools we walked back to our motel via the busy Katherine shopping area and purchased a few things we needed as well as lunch which we ate back at the motel.  The afternoon was spent doing a few chores and relaxing.  There were signs advertising rugby league matches at the local ground this afternoon, and I did toy with the idea of walking across to have a look, but sitting outside in the high 30°s C lost its appeal when the time arrived.

Around 5pm we walked back to the main street to get supplies for dinner and tomorrow, passing a showground where the Katherine Junk Art Festival had just opened.  We thought about detouring for a look, but it seemed there was an entry fee and neither of us was that enthused, so we gave it a miss.  Lazy, I know.

We had the usual microwaved dinner back at the motel, prepared for tomorrow's ride, and had an early night.

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.