July Reports
31 July- Tjukaruru Road
Distance: 80 km
Word of the day: Beetle
30 July 2009- Tjukaruru Road
Distance: 60 km
Word of the day: lost gold reef
29 July 2009- Tjukururu Road
Distance: 55 km
Word of the day: ghost gum
28 July 2009- Great Central Road
Distance: 70 km
Word of the day: Meteorite (What's the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?)
27 July 2009- Great Central Road
Distance: 80 km
Word of the day: Broke
Wheel is holding in. 300km to Yulara. Bit buckled. I look down at it every 10 minutes but nothing is changing. 10-20 cars per day (1/2 locals, 1/2 tourists).
26 July 2009- Great Central Road
Distance: 80 km
Word of the day: Lizard
25 July 2009- Great Central Road
Distance: 70 km
Word of the day: Bush tucker
24 July 2009- Warburton
Distance: 60 km
Word of the day: Gibson what?
Hello! This is a surprise for me because my phone coverage map didn't show Warburton as having a signal. I thought I wouldn't be in touch until Yulara (another week away).
It has been a great week of riding along the Great Central Road. To begin with I was happy to see that the road workers had been busy, and the surface was mostly smooth and fast. One day I even managed to get 120km. I was very lucky with 3-4 days of powerful tailwinds too. But after Tjukalira Roadhouse the corrugations got higher and the bits in between were soft and sandy. The 4WD'ers kept telling me how excellent the road was, but I had a different impression from the saddle of the bike. When I wasn't concentrating on where the front wheel was heading I was able to enjoy the scenery. The desert is not an empty sand hole! Oh no, there's scrub, trees, flowers, dunes, lots of spinifex, and thousands of camels. Their soft footprints in the sand look like a baby's bum! Yesterday I heard a bad sound. It was 'thwoonk'. That meant something had broken in the back wheel. A piece of the hub had snapped off through two of the spoke eyelets. This has the effect of having 2 broken spokes.
A third is threatening to dislodge where a crack has formed but is holding on for the moment. It means the wheel is wobbling badly. Luckily I can still ride (I was 100 km from Warburton when it happened), and plan to continue. If there are any more bad noises I will have to flag down a passing vehicle and catch a ride to Yulara. A new wheel is going to be waiting for when I arrive- thanks to Bec and James the super coordinators!
In summary, good start, big winds, stunning camps, 'thwoonk', worrying, riding gently (slowly), halfway, fingers crossed.
23 July 2009- Great Central Rd
Distance: 65 km
Word of the day: great big
22 July 2009- Great Central Rd
Distance: 75 km
Word of the day: in the
21 July 2009- Great Central Rd
Distance: 80 km
Word of the day: I am
20 July 2009- Great Central Rd
Distance: 120 km
Word of the day: Camel
19 July 2009- Great Central Rd
Distance: 80 km
Word of the day: Tailwind
18 July 2009- Great Central Rd
Distance: 75 km
Word of the day: Windmill
17 July 2009- Great Central Rd/ Laverton turnoff
Distance: 119 km
Word of the day: Pea (Can you add letters to this word to make new ones?)
The ravishing red Sturt Desert Pea (photo) is an eye-catching plant. This is the only bunch I saw today so it was lucky I stopped to get a photo. There has been heavy rain through this area recently and the ground is growing all sorts of bright green grass and flowers. It looked strange because one side of the road was bare red earth with a few lonely bunches of spinifex, and the other side (where the water must gather) was a riot of colour. One patch was covered with tiny purple flowers no more than a few millimetres off the ground, stretching far into the distance. Laverton is the last major township for the next 1000 km but I have skipped passed the turnoff to save myself the 10 km return trip. I have enough water to get me to Cosmo-Newbery community where I can refill. The weather continues to be cold and I nearly had to put a jumper on to ride. It's a balance between getting sweaty and having cold skin. I chose to have cold skin and keep the sweating to a minimum. This has the advantage of needing to drink far less water. Over the whole day I drank only 1.7 litres, which is less than half what I needed in the tropical north. Until I reach Yulara (near Uluru/Ayers Rock) in about 2.5 weeks, I won't have any internet reception. Position and distance will still be posted by Bec via a daily satellite phone call. Check out the new Learning Zone work from Miandetta Primary (you guys are awesome)!
16 July 2009- Leonora
Distance: 98 km
Word of the day: Icy
Have I already had the word 'icy' as word of the day? For two mornings in a row I have woken up with ice crusted over the tent. It's a big effort to get out of the sleeping bag and scurry about collecting firewood. The faster I get it lit, the faster I can pop my toes in front of the flames. Even when the sun moves higher in the sky, it has stayed cool. Today I had a strong northerly wind to push me to Leonora. I needed to get here early to organise permits for the Great Central Road, buy supplies, and find a new book to read. Most people out here have something to do with mining. I must have passed ten or more mine sites near the main road, and many more hidden down dirt roads into the bush. About nine years ago I worked out here on a gold mine. The company would fly everyone straight to the mine site for two week shifts, and then fly them all back to Perth for a week off. So even though I spent a year here (or near here), I never visted Leinster or Leonora! I probably never drove further than a few kilometres from the mine in fact. The main minerals being mined in the area are gold and nickel, but there is a fair chunk of lead, silver, zinc and uranium in them thar hills too.
15 July 2009- South of Leinster
Distance: 101 km
Word of the day: Leinster
14 July 2009- South of Wiluna
Distance: 90 km
Word of the day: Ants
13 July 2009- 20km south Wiluna
Distance: 52 km
Word of the day: Stock (What does the 'stock' in Canning Stock Route refer to?)
With only about 30 kilometres of dirt road to cover this morning, I made it to Wiluna for an early lunch. The temperature as the sun came up was very cold and I had to leave my jumper on until I'd ridden up a sweat. In the supermarket at Wiluna I mentioned to the check-out lady how cold it seemed. She replied that it wasn't cold until she was wearing a jumper, and that wasn't this morning. It was a clear sign that I'm in new country because up further north people are always complaining about the cold. And up there, it's not even cold when they complain about the cold, if you follow me. Enough about the cold.
The school holidays in Western Australia meant that the street in Wiluna was buzzing with kids. As I sat outside the shops making a few telephone calls a bunch of bright eyed and snotty nosed youngsters came over to find out what the guy with the bike was doing in town. We took the map out and had a look at where I'd come from. They wondered what Tasmania looked like and I told them it wasn't all that different to here. Maybe a few more hills and some rivers, but plenty of bush, rocks and blue sky too.
By the time I'd had lunch and left town I wasn't in much of a riding mood, so I ventured only 20 km out of town before camping. I'm up above the road level on a cutting and have a great view over the pebbly ground right to distant horizons on three sides. I'll take three days to reach Leonora and I might not have internet until then.
12 July 2009- Wiluna Road
Distance: 70 km
Word of the day: Chilli
11 July 2009- Wiluna Road
Distance: 80 km
Word of the day: Isolated
10 July 2009- Wiluna/ New Springs Road turnoff
Distance: 90 km
Word of the day: Drenched
My goodness I got drenched this morning! The dark clouds were gathering in the west and came rumbling overhead as I left Kumarina roadhouse. Then it poured for two hours. The sun visor on my helmet went droopy and my socks soaked up the rivers of water running down my legs. It was worrying because I have decided to take a dirt road shortcut to Wiluna instead of riding down to Meekatharra. If it rained too much the road would turn to mud. Finally the grey clouds started to brighten and the sun peeked through for lunch. I rode straight past the turnoff because it wasn't signposted. After a few too many extra kilometres I ralised my mistake and turned around. The dirt road seems to be in very good condition and I should be able to make it through to Wiluna in 2 days. The problem with the small computer means I can't share much more than my position for many of the days coming up.
8-9 July 2009
Distance: 74/82 km
Word of the day: Rocky/Bovine
Unable to charge the batteries on the little computer I use to send the updates out by satellite phone. Until I get better coverage I will only be able to provide my daily poition and distance travelled - stay tuned.
7 July 2009- outside Newman
Distance: 101 km
Word of the day: Sculpture (design one for your school gate)
At the entrance to Newman there are four huge sculptures made from steel and sitting in a pile of iron ore. This is the gecko and there is an eagle, kangaroo and emu as well. Coming towards Newman I was gobsmacked by the HUGE mountain of crushed rock that surrounds the Mt Whaleback open cut mine. My map says it is the world's largest open cut mine- wow! Newman is all about the iron ore industry. The train tracks head from here up to Port Hedland for loading onto ships. Nearly everyone is driving around in mining related cars. The trucks are often carrying equipment like tyres, machines, pipes, houses and whatever else the big miners need.
I stopped in town only to get supplies and buy a ginger beer. Now I'm camped down the road and ready for the next long stretch down to Meekatharra. Had a puncture today and decided the front tyre needed changing as well. Problems with the little computer that I use to send messages via satellite phone but more on that later in the week.
6 July 2009- Mt Meharry summit (now down the road)
Distance: 75 km (71 bike, 4 walk)
Word of the day: Numbquokka (Read below)
A world first discovery was made on the summit of Mt Meharry today. The Numquokka (pictured) is a mix of numbat and quokka. Unfortunately for this animal it goes numb when a camera is pointed at it and collapses in a heap. The two winners of the Kimberley and Pilbara maps are Tiz Me 231 and Kelsey Allen. Congratulations, and please email your school address. I was able to ride to within a few kilometres on a reasonable dirt road, but it got too steep so I left the bike and legged it to the top. Wowee, wonderful views over the Hamersley Range and beyond. The track for serious 4WD'ers goes right to the summit so it was an easy walk. I'll describe the day in a little more detail in the weekly newsletter email, which I'll get working on right after dinner.
5 July 2009- near Mt Meharry
Distance: 95 km
Word of the day: Sign (Rearrange these letters and then do that...)
Nearly made it! I followed the main highway south of the roadhouse for about 70 kilometers before the sign for Juna Downs station. Back at Port Hedland I had rung the station to make sure it was okay to use their road to get to the mountain but noone had answered. On the gate it said trespassers would be prosecuted and no shooting. I decided that even if I was caught it'd be okay because at least they wouldn't shoot me. The dirt road was in excellent condition and a mining company must be exploring in the area. There were drill holes everywhere. After 16 kilometers I came to a sign that said 'Mt Meharry, 4WD only'. The road narrowed but stayed okay. I passed another sign (photo) near a railway track and went a little further to camp. That leaves about 10 kilometers to the mountain. This road continues all the way to the summit but it might get too rough for the bike. I'll let you know tomorrow.
4 July 2009- Auski Roadhouse
Distance: 90 km
Word of the day: Temperature (Does anyone know what temperature water freezes at?)
I love the Pilbara. The colours in the rocks (red), the grass (lime green to yellow) and the sky (blue to pink) are incredible. The only time that it's not stupendous is around lunchtime when the glare from the road and heat bouncing off the rocks gets too much. Then it's time to sit under a tree with plenty of leaves and stay nice and still. Not that the temperature is very high at the moment. In summer this area is about as hot as it gets in Australia. Nearby Marble Bar is known for recording the highest ever temperature- can you find out what it was? Towards the end of today I was riding towards the Hamersley Range but stopped short at the roadhouse. Just 70 km down the road (and over the range) is Mt Meharry. I might make it to the summit tomorrow but I reckon the day after is more likely.
3 July 2009- 90 km north of Auski Roadhouse
Distance: 91 km
Word of the day: Boil (Does anyone know what temperature water boils at?)
There was a strange sound outside the tent when I woke this morning. I listened to it half asleep for a few minutes before my brain recognised it as the pitter patter of rain! That's the first since the Atherton Tableland way back in north Queensland. The weather lady on the radio said its thanks to a mid level trough, and she also called it a 'disturbance' once. It was certainly disturbing me because I wanted to light a fire and sit outside for breakfast. In the end I had to quickly boil some water and retreat back to the shelter of the tent.
I read yesterday that the Pilbara (the region of WA where I am) is the size of Victoria. That's enormous. I will be another 2 days reaching Mt Meharry, and if the wind keeps being annoying it might be even longer. There was no good sunshine today so the battery is very low on charge. If I miss a day or two that's why- no power. The landscape here is mostly flat with low hills covered in spinifex grass. The red rocks that make this area famous glow brightly when the sun hits them. Since this is one of the two main ways to drive from Perth to the north and there are lots of mines, there is a lot of traffic. Instead of being mainly caravans they are mainly road trains.
2 July 2009- Great Northern Highway south of PH
Distance: 72 km
Word of the day: Replace (In 1 minute list as many words that begin with re.)
Low battery report. Have replaced tyre. All is well. Overcast and cool. Headwind.
1 July 2009- Port Hedland
Distance: 90 km
Word of the day: Opposite (What is the opposite of west?)
The wind was already blowing when I woke up. I rolled over and groaned at the thought of riding into it again. But when I peeped at the flag it was blowing in the opposite direction. Woohoo! I hit the road with gusto and had was in Port Hedland (the turnoff on the highway) by 1pm. Port Hedland is all about the red rocks of the Pilbara. Trains up to 7 km long bring millions of tons of iron ore up from Newman and other mines to load into ships bound for Japan, China and goodness knows where else. Everyone here wears a bright orange or yellow work shirt and drives around in 4WD's with flags and big numbers on the doors. Its a working town, no doubt about it.
The caravan park is almost completely full of workers with hardly any space left fot travellers like me. I was lucky to get a tent site. My neighbour who drives a water truck offered me a ride into the post office, so I went into town to get a few little jobs done. This is the only chance I'll have to check the website for a few days so I'm having a look to see which animal pose I will be undertaking on Mt Meharry- only a few days away.