Last night I enjoyed dining with Belinda. It was nice to have the company. She agreed.
This morning, I left my little cabin around 7:30. It was still threatening rain, so I put my rain jacket and shoe covers on. I finished the dirt road, and came out to the South Western Hwy. On my way to the highway, I passed an opportunity to get back on the Munda Biddi. I looked at it, and kept going.
The highway was very quiet-hardly any traffic. Even though it was either going up or going down, I was enjoying the ride on the sealed road. At one point, I stopped and added air to my front tire (the first time since I arrived in Oz). The lower tire pressure had been good for MB, but on the road I noticed a shimmy when I was going down hill. At first I thought my panniers were just not equal, but then I remembered I had this issue with Mama Cass in Mexico. Once I added the air, the shimmy was gone.
A ways down the road, the Munda Biddi crossed the highway. I looked at it. Again, I thought, nope, not doing it.
About 30kms in, Belinda passed me. She pulled over, and we chatted for a bit. I told her I had seen a kangaroo (I ended up seeing two). She said she had seen one at the pool at the campground this morning. We took photos of each other, and said our goodbyes.
When I got to Shannon National Park, I decided to go have a look at the Shannon Dam. It was around a kilometer down a dirt road. Let’s just say, it was less than impressive. In fact, there was not really anything dam-looking. It just looked like a pond. Later when I was back on the road, I crossed the Shannon River. There was no water, so maybe the dam was for real??? One thing that was for real was that it was a waste of time.
When I reached the turn for Northcliff, the sign said 29kms. Even though I was going perpendicular to the South Western Hwy, it was still all up and down.
While on the South Western Hwy, I had been riding through a forest of Karri trees. On Middleton Rd, the forest opened up to more pasture land. Lots of cows watched me go by. I gave them a moo now and then. Some of the pastures were so many shades of green. On the brief occasions when the sun poked through, they were really beautiful.
I came to my final opportunity to get back on the MB (however, I would have been going south). I actually pondered it for a moment, because it was shorter than staying on the road to Northcliff. Apparently, I am truly done with MB because I still opted to stay on the road (I could almost hear Tilmann give a sigh of relief).
When I rolled into Northcliff a handful of kilometers later, I stopped at a cafe and had a fish sandwich. A dairy farmer had come in to order some takeaway. While he was waiting for his food, he sat down and talked to me. He has 5 kids (3 girls and 2 boys). A couple help him on the farm, and two of the others are a dentist and a lawyer. I didn’t get his name, but he was interesting to talk to.
After my food, I made my way to the “Round Tu-It” Caravan Park. Nobody answered when I rang the bell. The sign said, “Back at 1:30 Pick a Site”. It was close to 3:00. I picked a site, set up my tent (I have a bunch of alpacas for neighbors...they seem the quiet sort), took a shower, then went back to the office. Still no one there (except a cute little dog). At this point, I’ll let them come find me if they want my money.
Now I’m a day ahead. Tomorrow will be short because I’m just going to go to Pemberton. There’s a tree on the way, and one in Pemberton, that one can climb. I plan to do that. I’m really hoping the weather offers up a bit more sunshine, however, it only rained a couple of short times today.
Last of the dirt road
Nice sealed South Western Hwy
Uh...nope, not doing it.
Belinda and Casper
This is a dam?
Twenty-eight parrot in Northcliff
My neighbors
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