Kalbarri to Perth, Oct 05 - Day 1
Kalbarri to Perth, Oct 05 - Day 1
I decided to leave Kalbarri around 5:00 AM because there was a South East wind blowing, and quite gusty at times. This meant that I would be pushing a head wind for most of the morning as well as climbing the hill to get out of Kalbarri.
I rode out of Kalbarri with the lights off and steering by starlight. The only sounds being the sea, and the head wind howling through my helmet vents. Pushing up hill past the new development, which was just a giant sand patch, I got a good sand blasting. It was a tough haul up the hill with 4 litres of water in my back pack and another 9 litres on the bike and trailer.
I was expecting the sea breeze to arrive about midday, which is from the South West, but hopefully by then I would be heading East to Northhampton. Little was I to know that it wouldn't change until about 4:00 PM, just as I was arriving in Northhampton.
Today's route
I stopped for second breakfast at about 23 kms out, where there is a small picnic area. I was able to get out of the wind for awhile. I decided to eject some of the water that I was carrying to lighten the load a bit.
The sea is still visible from the road.
Welcome to Kalbarri. Sign at 23 kms out.
I then stopped for morning tea at a roadside stop where there was a bin to lean the bike against, and to keep the flies away from me. I could still see the sea. I had a look at the speedo on the bike, and noted that I had only done 54.9 kms in 4.5 hours of riding. The headwind was definitely slowing me down. Not long to the turn off to Northhampton, where I would be heading east.
Still following the sea.
55 kms in about 4 hours in a headwind.
Before getting to the turn off, on the right is the pink lake. Due to the high salt content, the water looks pink Depending on the light it can really turn dark pink. The photo doesn't quite capture it's pinkness.
Pink Lakes.
I made it to the turn off and headed east, but the wind was still head on, until the road curved north for a short bit. The road passes the Lynton convict station and this is where I was planning to stop for a break. The convict station is currently being restored from the ruins.
As I was approaching the car park for the area, I could see a little yellow BOB trailer flag waving in the wind. As I pulled into the car park, there was another mountain bike and BOB trailer parked there. Another cyclist, loaded up the with same amount of gear as me.
Lynton Convict Station.
It turns out he was cycling around Australia taking pictures of old historical sites and how they look today compared to photos taken back in their heyday. We spoke for awhile, and he said there were two more british cyclists ahead going in the same direction.
After a short break, I headed off again towards Northhampton. As I pulled out onto the bitumen, my front wheel had a bump in it every time that it rotated. I stopped and there was three large triple headed thorns embedded into the tyre. I pulled them out and thought I'd see how good these Continental Touring tyres with thorn proof tubes are. Well I definitely thought that it would go flat, but it never did.
I stopped for lunch along the road. There was nowhere to stop, so I had to unhook the trailer and lean the bike against a white pole along the side of the road. The flies were horrible, so I took to riding with a fly net over my head.
Just as I made it to Northhampton about 4:00 PM the wind finally decided to swing around and gave me the long desired tail wind. I was so stuffed, that I walked up the last hill into town. I headed to the roadhouse to stock up on a few things and get a warm pie. I walked across the road to the rotunda in the park, leant the bike against the table, sat down and took one bite of my pie. It was then that a fully loaded tourist bus pulled up so they could all use the toilet and visit the shop.
Needless to say, I was tired and I wasn't in the mood for talking and answering stupid questions, so I threw it all in the panniers and headed for the caravan park where the other cyclists were.
Sorry guys but I can't remember your names, but the british cycle tourists were there, and the guy I'd met at the convict station. His bike was in need of some serious repair work, as the rear wheel was minus quite a few spokes.
I managed to have a hot shower, cook some tea, and gave him a hand to do some maintenance on his bike. His rear tyre was worn through, and I offered him my spare off road MTB tyre, but he said that he should make it to Geraldton.
The caravan park was nice and quiet, but it was hard to sleep with the road trains going through town all night. They use their exhaust brakes to slow down on the hill and coming into town and that is all you can hear all night.
Next - Day Two
