Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 089 - Erldunda to Tarcoonyinna

Day:  089

Date:  Monday, 28 September 2020

Start:  Erldunda

Finish:  Tarcoonyinna Rest Area

Daily Kilometres:  201 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  9193

Weather:  Cool early, then partly sunny, very warm and windy

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Biscuits, egg & bacon rolls

  Lunch:  Curried egg & lettuce sandwiches

  Dinner:  Soup, rehydrated beef stroganoff/pasta carbonara, choc chip biscuits

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Reaching two milestones - 9,000 Kilometres and crossing the border from the Northern Territory into South Australia

Lowlight:  The flies were absolutely terrible while we were setting up camp until darkness fell.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

From the ridiculous to the sublime, today we rode twice as far as yesterday, with less than half the effort.  Riding became fun again.

The day didn't start too well when our 5:15am departure was delayed 20 minutes when I discovered a key supporting screw missing from my rear carrier.  A quick check of the other corresponding screw on my bike and those on Julie's bike revealed that all were loose.  I cannibalised a screw from elsewhere on my bike and we tightened everything  and were on our way as the sky lightened in the east.

Our original plan was to ride 168km to a highway rest area and camp, but the forecast of favourable winds for today, and unfavourable for the following two days, encouraged us to go for a stretch target, the Tarcoonyinna Rest Area, 200km away.  For the first 45km there was a strong crosswind, which was a big improvement on yesterday, and we made good time before a snack break.  We were delaying breakfast until we reached the Kulgera Roadhouse at 75km, and we reached there a little before 9am.  It is an historic roadhouse whose advertising pitch is that it is the first and last pub in the Northern Territory (NT). After a yummy breakfast and buying sandwiches and snacks for the rest of the day, we headed south towards the border and South Australia aided by a strong following wind.  We couldn't get the smiles off our faces at the easy riding.

We crossed the border, and the COVID-19 police checkpoint for vehicles entering the NT, 20km later, with no fanfare and continued on at speed into South Australia (SA).  For the whole day the scenery varied between the scrubby plains of cattle stations, occasional dry sandy creek beds shaded by elegant ghost gums, and low ranges of hills with rocky outcrops.  Beautiful for its vastness and remoteness.  There was a reasonable amount of traffic, but it wasn't busy, with most people giving us a wave and plenty of clearance.

The following wind allowed us to reach our stretch target rest area about 5:20pm, to find it bare, windswept and unoccupied.  The ground is hard and stony, making it difficult to hammer in tent pegs (I bent two good ones) and the tent is now largely held down by rocks in a very strong wind.  It looked like it might rain after we arrived, with heavy cloud moving in from the west, but it hasn't so far.  We were hoping for a water tank here, but there was none, though we had enough for dinner and a wash and will reach the Marla roadhouse in time for breakfast tomorrow, so it isn't a big deal.  The first rest area we passed in SA had a water tank, but the following two didn't so we know not to count on them in future.

We went to bed soon after 8pm, hoping the stony ground isn't too uncomfortable and that the tent doesn't blow away during the night.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 088 - Kernot Range to Erldunda

Day:  088

Date:  Sunday, 27 September 2020

Start:  Kernot Range Rest Area

Finish:  Erldunda

Daily Kilometres:  101 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  8992

Weather:  Cool early, then mild, sunny and windy

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Muesli

  Lunch:  Pie/Chicken & chips

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

Aches:  Nothing significant 

Highlight:  Arriving at the Erldunda Roadhouse after eight hours of gruelling headwind riding

Lowlight:  After yesterday's headwind, we were hoping for a reprieve today, but it wasn't to be.  The easterly wind blew all night and was blowing when we began riding this morning, only to worsen as the sun rose.  It was even harder than yesterday and made riding a real grind.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am and were on the road soon after 6am, hoping that the early hours would be calmer, but the wind had blown all night and continued blowing.  Our tentative plan for the day was to ride eastwards on the Lasseter Highway for 100km to Erldunda, and then turn south on the Stuart Highway and ride 75km to Kulgera.  However, we knew that if the easterly wind continued to blow, we might have to bail out at Erldunda.

The first hour's riding in yet another beautiful desert dawn, was into the cold wind and slow.  We hoped the wind might ease as the sun rose, but the reverse happened and it got stronger.   Our plan had been to ride 40km before stopping for breakfast, but with the wind howling across the red dirt scrubby plain, raising dust clouds and blurring the horizon, there was nowhere protected to stop.  Instead, we persevered another 5km to the abandoned Mt Ebeneezer Roadhouse and sheltered behind a corrugated iron fence while we had breakfast.  It was a forlorn place with a row of motel units, doors open, some windows broken, and unknown things banging in the wind.  Nobody was about.

We realised that, based on the three hours of very hard riding it had taken to cover the 45km so far, and with the wind showing no signs of abating, we had little chance of getting to Kulgera for the night, even though the wind should be neutral for the last 75km.  Just getting to Erldunda, 56km away, felt like it would be a Herculean task, when on almost any other day it would be easy-peasey.

After a 30-minute breakfast break, we emerged from our fence shelter and resumed riding across the windblown plain.  It was cattle country, though we didn't see any and there seemed little for them to feed on.  The road undulated mildly, passing over low ridges, but there never seemed to be any downhill.  Every metre required applied muscle and it was exhausting.

After another two hours and 28km, we took a mid-morning break in the shelter of some trees, dreaming of the morning being over.  Thirty minutes later we were back in the wind, willing the roadside 10km markers to appear in the distance.  Each marker took an eternity to appear, and once seen, took an eternity to reach.  It was character-building.  We had one uplifting moment when the same indigenous truck driver who stopped and gave us water yesterday, overtook us and pulled off the road and gave us another 1.5 litres of cool water, most of which we drank on the spot.  The kindness of strangers.

Inevitably, as we knew would happen if we just kept plugging away, we reached the Stuart Highway and the Erldunda Roadhouse around 2pm.  What a relief.  We checked into a nice motel room, somewhat shell-shocked after our morning, and revived ourselves with a shower and then some lunch at the large, busy and seemingly well-managed and maintained roadhouse.  After that we retired to our room to do some chores and watch some TV.

We later ordered an early dinner at the roadhouse, planning to take a look at the sunset from their "sunset viewing platform" afterwards, but when dinner (very good) finally arrived an hour later, the sun was well set.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 087 - Yulara to Kernot Range

Day:  087

Date:  Saturday, 26 September 2020

Start:  Yulara

Finish:  Kernot Range Rest Area

Daily Kilometres:  147 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  8891

Weather:  Cool early, then warm and sunny with an easterly wind

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Chicken & mayo sandwiches

  Lunch:  Chicken schnitzel sandwiches, ice-creams

  Dinner:  Soup, Creamy carbonara/Lamb fettucine

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  In mid-afternoon, in the middle of the desert, a large truck coming the other way stopped on the road and the aboriginal driver reached out and gave us a very welcome 1.5 litre bottle of cool water.

Lowlight:  Usually, the early morning riding is the best, but this morning, as soon as we left Yulara and turned east towards the Stuart Highway, 244km away, the wind was diabolical … and cold.  The first few hours was a total grind.  We seemed to have to fight for every metre.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left the campground about 6:45am on a cool and clear morning and cycled out to the highway through a quiet Yulara.  It was very peaceful, but when we got to the highway and turned eastwards it was another story.  We were confronted with a strong headwind (see above) that had me calculating what was the minimum distance we needed to do today to avoid running out of food and water before Erldunda, the next roadhouse of consequence.  Two hours and 28km later, when we stopped for breakfast by the road, the situation was much the same.  It still hadn't warmed up, and the wind continued to blow.  Since we were going to be riding east for the whole way, we were resigning ourselves to a tough day, and would just camp wherever we were around 5pm.  We decided to take a break about every 30km, which might get us to the Kernot Range Rest Area, 120km away for the night.

The wind persisted for the rest of the day, but did vary in strength, and our speed improved slightly.  Given the conditions, we weren't looking around as much as usual, but since we were retracing our steps along the Lasseter Highway for the first 135km, it didn't seem so important.  Most of the time it was just head down, butt up, and keep pedalling.

Coincidentally, the highway rest areas were about 30km apart, so we had picnic benches, which are always welcome, for our mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks.  Our lunch break, taken around 1pm, happened to be at the Curtin Springs Roadhouse, where we had stayed on our way into Yulara five days ago.  We weren't keen to buy lunch there, given our previous experience of the range and prices, but we did buy a couple of expensive ice-creams to follow our brought sandwiches, just because we could.  As we were leaving the Roadhouse, a guy in a vehicle stopped and asked Julie about our ride and said that if we stopped in at the police COVID-19 checkpoint 12km down the road, where they were intercepting vehicles coming via a back road from South Australia, they woukd happily give us some water.  So soon after lunch, we didn't need to, but they gave us a friendly wave as we passed.

All day, the country was much the same - red sand dunes, scrub, desert oaks - and this pretty much described the Kernot Range Rest Area where we arrived soon after 5pm.  It's one of the Northern Territory Rest Areas where you are allowed to camp overnight and we had it to ourselves until a couple of cars with tents, arrived separately after dark.  The soil is so sandy, we had trouble getting the tent pegs to stay in the ground as the wind continued to blow and had to find some rocks, with difficulty, to hold the guy ropes down.  Despite this trouble, it's a nice spot to camp in the desert, and after a wash we cooked dinner in the picnic shelter and then had an early night under a clear moonlit night.  The wind is still blowing.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 086 - Yulara

Day:  086

Date:  Friday, 25 September 2020

Start:  Yulara

Finish:  Yulara

Daily Kilometres:  0

Total Kilometres:  8744

Weather:  Cool early, then warm and sunny

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Donut/ , apple strudel

  Lunch:  Pie/Caesar salad, biscuits

  Dinner:  Macaroni cheese/Pasta carbonara, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Very lazy relaxing day

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We decided to take up the Ayers Rock Campground's offer of "third night free" and have a relaxing day off amidst the excellent, but very unbusy, camp facilities and nearby good value supermarket.

Accordingly, there's not much to report.  There was some laundry done, some sunbathing by the pool, some reading, some phone calls, some social media, some shopping, some window-shopping, some tent patching, some preparation for returning to the road tomorrow, and I attended a short astronomical film presentation at the Yulara theatre, but no bike riding or hiking.  And all under clear blue skies in warm, but not hot, temperatures, with a cooling breeze.  Perfect.

We went to bed early, knowing we had a longish day tomorrow, probably with a headwind, and likely no internet access for a day or two.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 085 - Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Day:  085

Date:  Thursday, 24 September 2020

Start:  Yulara

Finish:  Yulara

Daily Kilometres:  111 (click for Julie's Strava and photos and here and here for our walks)

Total Kilometres:  8744

Weather:  Cool early, then sunny and warm all day.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg sandwiches

  Lunch:  Beef, cheese & relish sandwiches

  Dinner:  Meatballs & pasta/Chicken pesto & pasta, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  The 8km Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) was awesome.  The rough trail climbed amongst the gargantuan brown conglomerate rock domes, passing through narrow gaps and revealing a hidden quiet little forested valley, before looping back over the low arid shoulder of one of the domes.  Although a little on the warm side, it was comfortable hiking weather and we had it mostly to ourselves, only meeting a few other hikers.

Lowlight:  None really.  We were dreading our 50km+ ride back from Kata Tjuta to Yulara into the wind after our hikes, but it wasn't that bad.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Neither of us relished the idea of waking at 5am after our long day yesterday, but we were keen to try and see dawn breaking on Kata Tjuta.  We didn't expect to get to the official "sunrise viewing area", 38km away by road from Yulara, by the time the sun rose, but we were hoping to get close enough to be able to see the sun break on the mountains from the road.  It turned out to be a bit of a race against time because the topology conspired against getting a clear view until we got quite close.  Every time we cleared one dune, another seemed to be in the way, or the roadside trees were just a little too high.  We probably should have got up even earlier!

Finally, we did get some spectacular views as the sun lit up the mountains, and a few kilometres further on reached the lookout atop a dune where we had breakfast surveying the wonders of nature.  Just as we were self-congratulating on having the peaceful scene totally to ourselves, another car arrived, and then shortly after, a coachload of tourists!  From there we rode the remaining 15km to the Valley of the Winds trailhead, dominated by the massive domes of rock, locked our bikes to a tree, changed out of our cleats into trail shoes, and did the spectacular 8km walk (see above).

We then decided we had time to do the other, shorter, Kata Tutja walk before we left and rode the short distance to the Walpa Gorge trailhead.  The hike was out-and-back up into a gorge between two massive rock domes that became progressively more narrow until the trail ended at a lookout that gave views up to the end of the blocked gorge and also back west towards the vast desert plains.

On returning to our bikes, we ate lunch in the cool of a shelter, then set out on the ride back to Yulara.  The expected headwind turned out to be fickle and we made reasonable time, with much of the last half dominated up ahead by the mass of Uluru looming over the red sand dunes.  I thought to myself that there would be a lot of people who wouldn't mind trading places with me right then, and reminded myself how fortunate I was to be there.

We arrived back at Yulara soon after 3:30pm and stopped by the supermarket for a welcome ice-cream and to pick up some food for dinner and breakfast, before returning to our tent about 4:30pm.  After showers, we hung out in the camp kitchen where we had dinner before heading to bed.  Another great day done!

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 084 - Curtin Springs to Yulara

Day:  084

Date:  Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Start:  Curtin Springs

Finish:  Yulara

Daily Kilometres:  136 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  8633

Weather:  Cool early, then sunny and warm

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs on toast

  Lunch:  Pie & donut/Pie & chocolate cake

  Dinner:  Chicken, cheese & mayo sandwiches, corn chips and ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  It's an Australian cliché, but watching the last of the sun's rays for the day illuminate Uluru (Ayers Rock) in shades changing from orange to red as we sat on a log at the end of a long day enjoying our snack dinner was superb, and kind of marks a milestone in our journey.

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We didn't need to start our day too early, given we only had 83km to Yulara, our destination for the day, so we waited for breakfast to be available at the roadhouse and ate soon after 7am.  By 8am we were heading west towards Yulara in the cool early morning sunshine with a nice breeze at our backs.  The road rose and fell gradually as it climbed over endless red sand dunes vegetated with desert oaks and scrub.  We kept our eyes open for wild camels, but the desert seemed devoid of life.  We didn't even see many birds and almost no roadkill, but I'm sure there's plenty of wildlife out there if you know where to look and when.

As we got closer to Yulara, we could see the upper parts of Uluru across the dunes, but never got a full view.  It seemed orchestrated that way to build the excitement as you got closer.  Even when we reached Yulara around noon, after a very fast (for us) 80km, you could still not properly see Uluru, or Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) ... just tantalising glimpses.  Yulara is a designed resort with a range of accommodation and a small shopping centre.  All very well cared for and organised, like an oasis in the desert.  We checked in at the campground, hoping to get a cabin, but had to settle for a tent site.  It's expensive, but the facilities are excellent, so you don't mind so much.

After setting up our tent, we walked the kilometre to the shopping centre, which includes a small supermarket with reasonable prices, and got some lunch and supplies for the rest of today and for tomorrow.  After returning to our tent, we mounted our unladen bikes and headed towards the base of Uluru, 21km away, into a headwind most of the way, arriving around 4:30pm, a little later than intended.  Nevertheless, we still had time for a leisurely ride on the trail that circumnavigates the awesome monolithic icon.  The closer you get, the more awe-inspiring it becomes as you see the huge eroded fissures, caves, gorges and fallen boulders that are not visible at a distance.  Around the base are sandy flat woodlands, accentuating the sheer abruptness of the rock rising from below.

After our ride around the rock, we returned to the sunset viewing area carpark joining scores of people set up with camp chairs, drinks and cameras to watch the fabled sunset at Uluru.  It didn't disappoint and we enjoyed the show (see above).  We then had to ride back to Yulara in the afterglow of sunset being passed by vehicle after vehicle, reminding me of the end of a drive-in show in the old days with everybody leaving at the same time and heading "home".  Back at the campground, we showered then had dessert in the well-equipped campground kitchen before heading to bed after another good day.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 083 - Kings Canyon Resort to Curtin Springs

Day:  083

Date:  Tuesday, 22 September 2020

Start:  Kings Canyon Resort

Finish:  Curtin Springs

Daily Kilometres:  219 (click for Julie's Strava and photos)

Total Kilometres:  8497

Weather:  Cold and clear early then warm and sunny

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg & lettuce sandwich/Ham, cheese & tomato sandwich

  Lunch:  Tuna & mayo sandwich/Chicken & mayo sandwich

  Dinner:  Beef schnitzel, salad & chips, ice-creams

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  When the sun finally rose high enough to thaw us out this morning (see below).

Lowlight:  Although it was cold when we left Kings Canyon Resort in the early morning, it was absolutely freezing an hour later, around the time the sky had just a tinge of dawn in the east.  Even after we made a quick stop to add an extra layer for warmth, we were still cold because we did not have full gloves or booties.  Our hands and feet were frozen and numb as we rode along, willing the sun to rise faster.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

For today, we had decided to try and ride the 219km to Curtin Springs Roadhouse where we could get a cabin for the night, rather than go for a shorter distance and have to free camp by the road in our dingo-ravaged tent.  To do this, and arrive at a reasonable hour, we got up at 3:30am and were on the road soon after 4am.  It was very dark, and we could just make out the silhouette of the mountain range that was home to Kings Canyon to our left, but not much else.  We saw one vehicle in the first two hours, so had the darkened bush and road to ourselves.  We were prepared for it to be cold, and it was, but after an hour or two, and particularly in the low-lying areas, the temperature dropped markedly and we were soon freezing.  Even the addition of a layer didn't fully rectify our situation and we were regretting the decision, two months ago when we entered the tropics, to mail most of our warm riding gear back home.  Of course, at that time, we didn't expect to be riding through Australia's central desert at night.

Anyway, the sun did finally rise and by our roadside breakfast stop soon after 7am we were thawing out.  Our route today was almost semi-circular, with the first 100km generally towards the southwest.  We knew the forecast was for strong southwesterly winds, so we wanted to get as much done early as we could before the winds significantly slowed progress.  The winds came as forecast, and not long after breakfast we were struggling against a strengthening headwind with our speed well below 20kph.  Julie began to despair of our ability to reach Curtin Springs in daylight, but I was banking on the wind staying as forecast so that as our route turned southwest and then west, the wind would be neutralised.  Fortunately, the weather bureau was correct, and after 100km, around late morning, the riding became much more enjoyable.

The countryside was also changing.  Now, apart from crossing a few low ranges of scrubby hills, we had red sand dunes from which grew attractive desert oaks.  The fallen long pine-needle-like leaves covered the red sand underneath, and near, the trees like green carpet for a park-like effect.  At a rest stop, a contractor told us the larger trees are hundreds of years old  and also that it was common to see herds of wild camels in the area, but we didn't.   In fact, all day, apart from fewer birds than usual, the only animals we saw were four wild horses earlier on.

Our increased speed, with the wind neutral or positive, got us back on schedule and we turned to the west on the Lasseter Highway towards Curtin Springs (and Uluru) in mid-afternoon with only 50km to go.  To our left the mesa-like Mount Connor dominated the distant skyline and we took a short break at a lookout which also gave outstanding views across some salt pans to the north.

We reached the Curtin Springs Roadhouse at 5:30pm and took an over-priced basic cabin with shared facilities.  I was hoping that it would be cheaper than the tourist hotspot of Yulara, 80km further on and adjacent to Uluru, but it was not, and the slim pickings in the roadhouse store and restaurant were also over-priced.  Like many places, they are suffering from the COVID-19 business slowdown, but I can't help feeling that under-stocked and over-priced offerings are not the way to encourage increased patronage.  Given we are on bicycles, we have limited options, so they got plenty of our money this time around, but as a consequence, I have abandoned the idea of staying here on our return this way after visiting Uluru.  So, in total, they have lost out and I suspect it is the same with other tourists passing through.  Enough ranting!

We did have dinner in their outdoor restaurant (and the food was OK) before heading to bed after a very long, but satisfying day.